One of Ashfords' Intellectual Property Partners, Tom Phipps, has recently commented in The Times' daily newsletter 'The Brief' on the recent ruling from a European court that the MacCoffee trademark is invalid.
Singapore-based business, Future Enterprises, applied to the UK Intellectual Property Office to register MACCOFFEE as an EU trademark relating to food and drink. The application was initially successful but after McDonald's applied to seek its invalidity on the ground that it conflicted with its earlier marks, the court ruled that there was a sufficient overall degree of similarity between the names.
This decision has significant implications for large multinationals with major trade mark interests and for businesses seeking to compete with them over similar trade mark rights.
This article was published in the 3 August 2016 edition, and to read the full article please click here.
