Molly Potts - McDaniels IP Solicitors | Intellectual Property Lawyers Newcastle

Barbie’s German Sister

Ruth Handler, a co-founder of toy giant Mattel and the creator of the iconic fashion doll ‘Barbie’ has confirmed that the much-loved doll owes her existence to a 1950s German comic strip character ‘Bild Lilli’. Handler first spotted the Bild Lilli dolls whilst on a family holiday in Lucerne, Switzerland back in the 1950’s. Following […]

Scott the Difference

Bike manufacturer Scott Sports has lost its trade mark battle against the late AC/DC frontman Bon Scott’s estate. The family of the Scottish-born singer, who tragically died in 1980, had sought to register his name as a trade mark for use on merchandise including clothing, sunglasses and bags. Cycling and sportswear brand Scott, however, opposed […]

Concern over fraudulent USPTO imitation site

A website linked to Pakistani trade mark filing platforms has been revealed to be impersonating the US Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) website. The offending site uses text and phone numbers taken directly from the USPTO’s ‘Trademark Assistant Centre’ platform. This is not the first instance of its kind for the USPTO with a number […]

"British Hairways" grounded by German Patent Court

The German Patent Court has rejected a private individual’s application to register a trade mark for “British Hairways” following opposition from airline giant British Airways. The new mark, somewhat unsurprisingly, was applied for in relation to hair salon services, a service not currently offered by British Airways and consequently not covered by their EU trade […]

“BRBY” Barbie or Burberry

Mattel, owners of the Barbie brand, have requested that the US Patent and Trademark Office reject Burberry’s proposed “BRBY” trade mark claiming that the mark is likely to cause confusion amongst customers. In a filing on Monday, Mattel argued that the British fashion house’s “BRBY” mark would mislead customers and cause them to believe that […]

Taco Wars – Taco John’s Strikes Back

We reported last month that Taco Bell had petitioned the US Patent and Trademark Office to cancel the federal trade mark “Taco Tuesday” owned by rival fast-food chain Taco John’s. Taco John’s parent company, Spicy Seasonings, have now responded to the filing to deny that there is “anything ‘not cool’ about” obtaining and maintaining a […]

The circle that cost £8 million

Back in April we reported on the High Court battle between supermarket giants Tesco and Lidl. The dispute centred around Tesco’s use of a yellow circle on a blue background to advertise its Clubcard prices. The Judge ruled in favour of Lidl claiming Tesco had “taken unfair advantage of its [Lidl’s] distinctive reputation”. The plot […]

Google hit with another hefty sum

We recently reported that Google had been ordered to pay $32.5 million in damages to Sonos for infringing its patent. Now, a Delaware federal jury has ordered the tech giants to pay $15.1 million to audio software company Personal Audio for infringing their patent. Personal Audio alleged the Google’s flagship music streaming platform, Google Play […]

Battle of the Rochester's

The University of Rochester last week sued Rochester University for alleged trade mark infringement following the latter’s recent name change. Rochester University, based in Rochester Hills, Michigan, previously operated under the name Rochester College before announcing the transition to its current name in 2018. Rochester University is accused of damaging the University of Rochester’s brand […]

From car boot to court room

A Blackpool based business woman has been given a 4-month home detention curfew for selling illegal counterfeit goods. Aiva Sarapnicka was regularly selling counterfeit goods branded Adidas, Prada, Calvin Klein and Alexander McQueen, amongst others, at a car boot sale in Thornton Cleveleys. That was until an officer working for Trading Standards visited Sarapnicka’s stall […]

Tune in to watch this play out

Social media platform, Twitter, is facing more legal troubles. The most recent for alleged copyright infringement. The claim has been filed by a group of 17 music publishers in a federal court in Tennessee this week. Part of the claim relates to the period of time in which Elon Musk has owned the company, but […]

LIV Golf back in the firing line

Argentine skateboard apparel brand Fallen has filed a federal trade mark infringement claim against the LIV Golf League and its HyFlyers GC team in the US. The HyFlyers team, captained by six-time major champion Phil Mickleson, are accused of copying Fallen’s logo which it has purportedly used on its popular clothing and footwear since 2003. […]

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