The Inside Scoop
How Unilever successfully stopped someone from registering a similar trade mark in relation to ice cream and similar goods and services.
Hallou-cination?
Unravel the details of the Halloumi v BBQLOUMI battle.
What IP is at your summer garden party?
Brands create trust by protecting themselves against competitors.
Trade mark strategies of celebrity chefs
We have an insatiable appetite for celebrity chef’s restaurants, recipes and cookware – we take a look at how, from Jamie to Nadiya, they protect and use their brands.
Protecting your food and drink brand in a new world
Lockdown has forced the hospitality industry to adapt and change overnight.
Packaging trade marks
What packaging cues and looks can you protect with a trade mark? We show you how these help food and drink makers protect their brands.
What features of food and drink can be a trade mark?
Taste and smell are integral to food and drink manufacturers appealing to consumers’ senses – but can they be protected as trade marks?
The same but different: how Unilever’s branding lives from the heart
Why does Unilever use different words to accompany the Heartbrand logo when the standard advice is to use trade marks in a consistent and uniform way?
How to energise your drinks brand
How do Red Bull and Monster use their reputations to energise their IP portfolios? We share the lessons that can help businesses in the drinks sector thrive.
Non-traditional trade marks – bottle shapes
Distinctive bottle shapes and packaging can be protected as a trade mark, this can be valuable to food and drink manufacturers to help them to stand out, we explore the details.
Geographical indications explained
Not just a tasty-sounding combination. Stilton and Cornish pasties cannot be used on just any cheese or pasty product. This is because they’re protected by geographical indications (GIs).
Leverage your brand to build a successful business
Your brand has never been a more important part of building a business in the food and drink sector - how do you leverage it to make your business a success?
Which food and drink companies got there first?
To what lengths did Bass Brewery go to secure the UK’s first registered trade mark? We take a historical look at the early UK trade mark registrations you’ll still recognise today.
15 top IP tips for food and drink brands
Branding is vital to your product standing out – what do you need to know to protect it?
Packaging – why a design registration could protect your look
Packaging is part of your visual identity so you need to protect it, particularly in crowded markets like the food and drink sector.
Who’s the Boss? Craft brewers vs the big boys
Craft brewers are synonymous with innovative names for beers – but what happens when their brands clash with the registered trade marks of big names?
Blending trade marks: a recipe for success?
How is merging words to create brand names like Nayonaise, Tofurky and Ginspire about to take off in the food and drink sector?
How valuable are food and beverage trade marks?
Brands are vital to any organisation operating in the food and beverage manufacturing business.
Trade marks for craft beer brands
As craft beer goes mainstream, how should brewers go about protecting their brands?
Logos and social distancing
How are brands like Coca-Cola using 'fluid' trade marks to promote social distancing?
The winner bakes it all
What do the brands and trade marks belonging to this year’s The Apprentice finalists tell us?
What is a certification trade mark?
What do the ‘Red Tractor’ logo and ‘Parma Ham’ logo have in common? They are a different type of trade mark that tells you a product meets certain standards.
Why Campbell’s succeeded where McDonald’s failed
The differing recent fortunes of Campbell’s and McDonald’s trade marks highlight the need for businesses to document use of trade marks, as Chartered Trade Mark Attorney Graeme Murray explains.
How McDonald’s lost its Big Mac trade mark
How did Irish burger chain Supermac’s manage to get the Big Mac trade mark cancelled across the EU? The answer lies in the lack of evidence presented by McDonald’s as Daniel Bailey explains.
How do supermarkets get away with ‘lookalike’ own-brands?
Supermarket shelves are full of own-brand products that mimic leading brands. Ever wondered just how they get away with it?
The food and drink sector is brand-rich and full of intangible assets and ideas protected by trade mark registrations and other IP rights. We have brought together leading analysis and case studies from the experts in trade marks to help businesses in this vital sector of the economy to maximise their value and opportunities from their ideas. We hope you enjoy and benefit from these articles.
Case studies:
Boost Drinks
With annual turnover of around £35m, and exports to over eight countries, Boost Drinks knows success. But in a crowded marketplace, where the value of a business can be completely tied up with the brand, working with a Chartered Trade Mark Attorney can make all the difference.
Ace Cafe
North London’s Ace Cafe is a destination venue. But how do you protect such an iconic café? Especially on a global scale?
Candy Kittens
Candy Kittens is a gourmet sweet range designed to challenge and disrupt the confectionery industry. With the help of a Chartered Trade Mark Attorney, the business is now fully protected - and growing fast.
Types of intellectual property
Trade marks
A trade mark can be any sign that identifies you as the owner of your goods or services to make it clear they belong to you.
Many things can be registered as a trade mark - names and logos are the most common.
Designs
A registered design right protects the look of an item, not the functional aspects of its appearance or how it works.
The design could be a two-dimensional image – such as a logo, pattern or icon. Or it can be a three-dimensional physical object.
Patents
Patents protect inventions from being used or sold without the owner’s permission.
A patent gives you a monopoly right to take legal action to stop any competition to your invention for a limited period, normally 20 years.
Copyright
Copyright is an automatic intellectual property right that protects original works from being copied without the permission of the creator or licence holder.
Sound recordings, films, broadcasts and original artistic, musical, dramatic and literary works are all things that can be protected by copyright.
Trade secrets
A trade secret is can be any confidential business information which provides an organisation with a competitive edge. They are often used when an invention is not eligible for a patent or if the inventor does not wish to disclose the ‘secret’ publicly, which a patent requires you to do.
Geographical indications
A GI designates that a product is of a certain nature, quality and reputation linked to where they are made, or characteristics linked to that place.
To be a GI a sign or word must indicate a product as coming from a certain location and the reputation for quality that comes from that place.