Trade Mark Infringement

Trademark rights protect against unfair competition using another company’s trade mark.  Trademarks create a series of rights which operate to:

1. designate the business which is the origin of the goods and services and is marker of the quality, so that customers instantly recognise the business which sells goods and services under the mark;
2. no proof of reputation or goodwill is required to entitle an owner for an infringement to be actionable, such as with the law of passing off (also known as the law of unregistered trademarks);
3. a publicly available and searchable register puts the public on notice that a trade mark is registered to ward off competitors;
4. prevention of parallel imports of products into the European Union or UK without the consent of the trademark owner;
5. use of the trade mark is not required, unlike in passing off.

The scope and extent of protection of registered rights depends in a large part on the specification of goods and services in the registration. Rights such as these facilitate action to rectify unfair competition by online competitors and domestic companies. Copying of trade names and business names is made more difficult without these rights.

Trademark Infringement

Using identical or deceptively similar trademarks to those already in use is likely to be an infringement of owners’ rights, and entitle the proprietor to power remedies in law, which include compensatory damages, an account of profits,  injunctions, and court orders for delivery up and destruction of infringing goods and services. In cases of industrial scale use, criminal penalties may also apply.

Defences to Infringement

There are a series of defences to infringement available where the use is seen as fair, such as where a business uses its own name (which extends to companies), or where the use of the mark is descriptive.

It may also be the case that there are good grounds to challenge the very existence of the trade mark on grounds of revocation or invalidity, so as to entitle alleged infringers to expunge the mark from the relevant Register.

Trade Mark Infringement Lawyers

These rights are so fundamentally important to the identification of companies, businesses and  the products and services sold by them. The law of infringement has grown to be an extensive area of law where the basic principles are clear cut but complexities can arise in particular circumstances.

In respect to infringement of trademarks, our lawyers and solicitors have advised businesses on legal rights extensively to preserve and enforce these rights. Our legal advice includes:

1. advice on steps to address infringement in the short and long term;
2. designing around infringement of existing trade marks which may be infringed by use;
3. defending companies against weak claims of infringement;
4. enhancing trademark specifications to secure appropriate levels of protection against infringement;
5. advising on alternative routes to address detriment suffered by use of brands where claims of infringement is not the best advised course of action;
6. devised and implemented programmes to enforce rights and ward off future infringers;
7. utilising customs and border controls;
8. advising on legality of parallel imports.

We have assisted companies acquire and enforce rights in the telecommunications, manufacturing, high technology, information communications and technology, education and training, mass transport, energy, architecture, design, publishing, music and entertainment, medical and retail sectors.

London Intellectual Property Solicitors

Contact our London trademark law firm to receive expereinced and knowledgable legal advice to assist your business protect and enforce trademark rights.

London Business Solicitors & Lawyers

Our Solicitors in London assist businesses in the UK and internationally to create options, achieve realistic and attainable goals, and providing guidance to assist decision-making in a commercial context.

For more information, legal advice or to find out more about the legal services we provide, call 020 7353 1770 or contact us online.