Trade Mark Disputes
Our Trade Mark team coordinates trade mark oppositions, invalidity actions, revocations and litigation across the globe. We also manage worldwide trade mark watch services.
The team has experience representing clients in contentious proceedings before the UKIPO and EUIPO, as well as on appeal before the Appointed Person in the UK and before the Boards of Appeal at the EUIPO. We also act on further appeals up to the General Court and Court of Justice. We manage disputes strategically and understand that contentious proceedings often need to be addressed as part of global business objectives.
We work with clients to devise dispute strategies that fit with budgets and are proportionate to the agreed objectives. Enforcement policies often begin with having a suitable watch service in place and our team uses such services to ensure disputes are identified, and ideally dispensed with, at an early stage.
Trade mark disputes are frequently cross-jurisdictional and such international disputes make up a large part of our practice. Our Trade Mark team has experience both lodging claims directly and working with trusted partners in other territories. We pro-actively manage multi-jurisdictional disputes to ensure a holistic and consistent approach is taken. As part of any dispute we manage, we regularly review client objectives and the merits, as both can change as a case develops.
It is important to be pragmatic, so we will always consider methods for resolving disputes through amicable settlement and alternative dispute resolution, e.g. negotiation, mediation and arbitration. Our disputes practice extends from actions before the registries, to litigation before the courts and ADR forums. Trade mark disputes are not dealt with by the team in isolation, and our team is also able to assist with related domain and/or company name disputes and/or designs disputes.
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