Tesla has just made a mistake we commonly see in business. It went public with a new name before securing the rights to it and is now suffering the consequences.

This is surprising given Tesla’s size and standing. It’s more understandable when small businesses make the mistake of assuming that the way to secure rights to a name is through company or domain registration...

Imagine how much easier it would be if you could launch your start up with a name that’s already well known.

That’s exactly what Operation Bluebird, a U.S. startup, is hoping to do. The company is intending to launch its social network under the name twitter.new.

Operation Bluebird’s General Counsel, Stephen Coates, a former Twitter trademark lawyer, is behind t...

Thinking about the year ahead, it is worth highlighting a recent court decision that demonstrates the importance of brand owners taking the right actions to protect the distinctiveness of their brands.

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The “use it or lose it” principle applies to trademarks in all countries.

The rationale behind the principle is to make names available for others to secure after five years of registration unless the owners of those registrations are still using their marks. 

So, it’s essential that trademark owners are able to demonstrate genuine use of their marks within...