Innovation drives our economy and is key to growth for many of our clients.
Innovation is the catalyst for growth. Doing it is difficult, but we find it fascinating. It helps that IP law provides a legal framework for innovation, but we can offer so much more than simply the law as we have worked with so many clients at different stages of innovation. This allows us to frame our advice in the context of your end goal – we have seen first-hand the challenges that crop up and can help you avoid or resolve them.
We are there for the whole product lifecycle – from its creation, to IP protection, collaborative development and commercialisation.
Household names, such as Topshop and Debenhams, have closed their doors forever. The attraction to visit stores is vanishing, but e-commerce thrives.
Online retailers are transforming consumer experiences. Consumers can shop at their convenience and, by utilising data to personalise the shopping experience, on-line businesses are building their consumer following in ways that retail businesses have struggled to do. The try before you buy mentality may have given traditional stores an edge in the past but with the introduction of buy now pay later apps such as Klarna, on-line clothing rental and the popularity of e-marketplaces encouraging circular fashion; e‑commerce really is stealing the throne from the high street to become the new star.
Recent retail acquisitions show there is still some magic left around retail fashion brands. Fast fashion group Boohoo came to Debenhams’ rescue, but cherry picked the intellectual property. Boohoo acquired Debenham’s website, 800 trade mark registrations and customer data. Asos also swooped for Topshop, Topman and Miss Selfridge, paying £265 million for their brands and other IP.
These knights in shining armour have emphasised the beauty and value retained in IP, meaning that even where the sparkle has left the building for a retail business, its brands can still go to the ball.
To protect, enhance and make your brand irresistible as the retail industry evolves, consider carefully:
Have you got trade mark protection in place for your logo and brand name? Trade mark registration will prevent third parties using your name and logo and protect your brand’s reputation.
Make sure your trade mark covers all your goods and services.
E-commerce extends your reach to new countries. Do your trade mark registrations cover all these territories?
Are you keeping up to date? If you don’t use a trade mark in its registered form or pay the renewal fees on time, then you could lose it.
Remain vigilant to anyone infringing your trade mark or any counterfeiting. There are processes in place to help with this.
Please get in touch if you have any questions around protecting your brand, trademarks, or taking your brand online.
The decision in the recent case of Taplin v Freeths (www.gov.uk/employment-tribunal-decisions/mr-mj-taplin-v-freeths-llp-2602284-slash-2018) is surprising at first glance. Here, the Employment Tribunal ruled that a partner in a law firm who had control over the hours he worked, was ambitious and successful, and had a very strong work ethic, should have been protected from burning himself out by working too hard. In fact, they went as far as concluding that the firm had discriminated against him on grounds of disability by not supporting him properly to recover from the illness caused by his ‘workaholism’.
“Surely successful, highly paid professionals and managers should be expected to manage their workload and take responsibility for their own mental and physical wellbeing?” I hear you ask. Apparently not according to this case.
The judge was struck by the “lack of real engagement with the issues” by the partnership and noted the absence of a “holistic approach” to supporting Mr Taplin in his recovery from his serious mental illness.
Although the decision is fact-specific and it remains to be seen whether it is challenged on appeal, there are some sobering lessons we can learn from the (very long) judgement in this case:
Declining mental health, even in someone with no previous history of mental illness, can be so serious that it gives an employee protected legal status against being dismissed or treated unfavourably, no matter how senior they are in a business.
Where there are red flags that might indicate someone is struggling such as a change in behaviour or working excessive hours these should not be ignored. Prompt intervention is needed to make sure that employees are not overloaded and there aren’t other factors affecting their health.
Where someone has suffered from “burn out” because of their work, a properly thought-out and agreed return to work plan is key to making sure that they do not relapse.
Phrases like “We didn’t know how bad things were” or “we didn’t like to ask” will not impress Employment Tribunals. It is becoming increasingly important for employers to engage with employees about their health and well-being so as to get a good understanding of any problems at an early stage and take appropriate steps to address them. This can be hugely challenging when someone is off sick, is unwilling to engage, or exhibiting difficult behaviours, but there must be clear evidence that there have been efforts to engage in a supportive way.
In a time when many people are continuing to work from home and face to face contact is limited, businesses will have to think outside of the box to make sure they are supporting everyone in their teams appropriately and nipping issues such as overworking and deteriorating mental wellbeing in the bud.
