Trade marks policy issues

We are responsible for formulating and delivering UK policy trade mark topics. The following detail the latest position on the main issues that we deal with:

Brands

A brand is a 'promise of an experience' and conveys to consumers a certain assurance as to the nature of the product or service they will receive. Intellectual property rights provide legal protection for some of the most important aspects of a brand.

Ambush marketing

Ambush marketing occurs when one product brand pays to become a sponsor of a large-scale event (usually a sporting event) and a competing brand cleverly connects itself with the same event without paying the sponsorship fee.

Look-a-like packaging

Look-a-like items are items that look like a well known brand. The product may have very similar packaging; same size, same type and shape of container and very similar graphics and or a similar brand name as that of a brand leader and therefore may benefit from another product's reputation.

European Community issues

As a member of the European Community, the UK has an interest in the development of the Community Trade Mark and Design system as administered by the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (OHIM). A report on the European system by the Max Planck Institute on behalf of the European Commission is due to be published this autumn.

Domain names

The Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which has responsibility for the domain name system, is proposing to introduce an unlimited number of new top level domain names (TLD) into the domain name system. This is likely to impact on brand owners.