A particular problem with social media is that it blurs the professional and the personal, the business and the individual – there may be a clear commercial objective to all this tweeting and blogging, but it’s the authentically human voice that makes an account stand out. A business may...
Adidas likes to think of itself as synonymous with its famous logo – so much so that its founder, Adolph ‘Adi’ Dassler, referred to it as the “three-stripe company”. From early days, Adi was concerned to give his products a distinctive look. Very much ahead of his time, he...
Even the biggest brands need to play by the rules – and they don’t come much bigger than McDonald’s. The global burger chain has thousands of trade mark registrations worldwide and spends an eye-watering amount each year maintaining and enforcing them. But in a recent dispute with Irish burger...
To cynical observers such as BrandSoup, the festive season may hold few surprises – the same old songs, the same old traditions, the same old advertising campaigns. And that’s precisely why we love it so much: it’s a beacon of consistency and reliability in a fast-moving, uncertain world. So...
BrandSoup was flicking through the internet recently, wondering what to cover in our next blog – whether to write about Turkish celebrity chef Nusret Gökçe, who is seeking to register his trade mark gestures? Or the controversy over video game Fortnite ‘stealing’ other people’s dance moves? Imagine our joy...
A trade mark registration gives its proprietor a measure of control over how third parties can describe their wares. In the case of an identical mark used on identical goods and services, it’s a reasonably straightforward proposition. But, as the marks and their respective goods/service begin to differ, you...
Thrings corporate partner Graeme Fearon shares his take on artificial intelligence (AI) ahead of tomorrow’s Bristol International Balloon Fiesta Business Breakfast debate. AI is everywhere. Every Silicon Valley start-up worth its seed-funding seems to be working on an AI application to revolutionise your world, while simultaneously coming after your...
This week, BrandSoup has been mostly catching up on back episodes of Suits. It’s as reliable an insight into New York legal practice as it is an accurate profile of the Duchess of Sussex. But it’s fun, there are some great lines and everyone is fabulously well dressed! One...
A couple of years ago, BrandSoup reported on the Kylie v Kylie spat – two ladies fighting over one name. Since then, Mlles Minogue and Jenner appear to have kissed and made up, but… what’s this? It’s only Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM to some)...
Just before Christmas, an old friend asked BrandSoup for some help with a spot of online infringement. Our friend, a town crier (yes, such things do still exist!), was having trouble with his Twitter account. He tweets as @ramsburycrier, sharing snippets from the village diary and details of upcoming...
Even though some supermarkets have been stocking mince pies since September, for most of us the festive season doesn’t officially start until the annual ‘John Lewis Xmas ad plagiarism scandal’. This year it’s all about whether John Lewis’ Moz the Monster is really Chris Riddell’s Mr Underbed doing...
In a classic David-versus-Goliath smackdown, a US-based musician-turned-programmer has won a protracted legal struggle against the mighty Trump Organization over rights to the ‘iTrump’ trade mark. Tom Scharfield is the founder, CEO and, indeed, sole employee of app developer Spoonjack. A keen brass player, he is the creator of...
If you’ve been anywhere near a school playground recently, you’ll have seen kids playing with what look like mini-propellers. Fidget spinners are the latest, greatest craze and are (a) entertaining and calming or (b) distracting and annoying, depending which side of the teacher’s desk you’re sitting. Plenty of press...
