Re-branding: be careful what you wish for
A fresh, contemporary online image is key to transitioning to the digital world, but sacrificing the original brand’s identity is highly risky, as Brett Heavner reports.
Jade Johnson interview: an athlete’s take on rule 40
With the IOC set to review some of its rules on advertising around the Olympic Games, TBO spoke to British long jumper Jade Johnson about the interplay between the rights of sponsors and athletes.
Olympic Rights: Preventing an ambush
The IOC has a chance to come up with new advertising rules to address the grey area of official commercial sponsors’ and athletes’ rights during Rio 2016. TBO reports.
Alibaba Focus: E-commerce powerhouse triumphs in Russian trademark fight
China’s Alibaba Group has successfully cancelled the Russian trademark registration for ‘Alibaba/Алибаба’, on the grounds that it has an interest in the mark. Igor Motsnyi reports.
The power of a poor review
A bad—or good—online review can have a huge impact on consumers’ purchasing decisions, so brand owners need to be vigilant in addressing false reviews and misleading online review tactics, say Marc Rachman and Brandie Lustbader of Davis & Gilbert.
Social media and trademarks: making a hash of it
What is the scope for registering social media hashtags as trademarks in Europe, and could trying to control the public’s use of hashtags actually be a bad idea? George Sevier and Dan Smith of law firm Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co take a look.
Taylor Swift trademark applications: walking the line
Singer Taylor Swift has applied for several US trademarks that feature lyrics from her songs and has thereby sparked a flurry of interest from the media, including TBO.
User-generated content: use your head
Brand owners are increasingly employing user-generated content in their advertising campaigns, but they should behave in a legally responsible way when doing so. Adam Rendle of law firm Taylor Wessing reports.
AdWords: clarity out of confusion
The position on trademark infringement regarding Google AdWords and keyword bidding has been clarified in recent years with a number of rulings handed down by the CJEU. Luke Portnow of Boult Wade Tennant reports.
Google: a battle of words
Whether Google plays a passive or an active role when offering its AdWords service is a continuing debate, as Marie-Emmanuelle Haas of Me Haas and Tobias Malte Müller of Wirsing Hass Zoller explain.
