how can I help you

 Picking the perfect name or logo for your business or product is an exciting but tricky process!  It’s both a creative challenge and, let’s be honest, a bit of a legal minefield! Doing your due diligence is key to make sure your name is free to use, so you avoid any sticky situations like trade mark infringement or passing off.

That’s where I come in! I’ll help you refine your shortlist of names, advise you on which options can be registered as trademarks, and handle all the essential searches to give you the green light before launch. Let’s make sure your brand’s debut is as smooth as it is memorable!

 An effective brand protection strategy is complex, involving many nuanced legal and commercial considerations. A skilled pro knows which hoops to jump through, which traps to dodge, and how to tailor protection

to your brand’s unique needs. 

I will craft a strategy in alignment with your brand’s long-term vision, identify and advise upon potential risks and conflicts and help you navigate around them, provide valuable insights, helping you to avoid costly mistakes and legal pitfalls, and ensure you secure robust protection from the get-go.

 If you've received an official objection from the UKIPO at the examination stage, the chances are you probably have no idea what to do next. Talk to me!

 I have years of experience in dealing with these reports and can advise you on what options may be available to you to try to overcome them, and if so, how. 

I offer clear, proactive advice, and if it really is the end of the road for your application, I'll tell you straight. 

 Receiving a notice of threatened opposition, or a formal opposition, against your published application can be a panic-inducing experience.  

I can advise on the merits of their case, devise a defence strategy to suit both your budget and commercial objectives, and guide you through the process with clarity and direction. 

 Discovering that someone is ripping off your unique brand identity or innovative product designs is exasperating and upsetting. 

Likewise, receiving a cease and desist letter can be a distressing experience.  In either case, trying to tackle the issue without clarity on the merits of your legal position, likely costs, or a pragmatic strategy to resolve it is a recipe for disaster for the unwary.  We're here to fight your corner.  

 If your business is growing successfully and you’re ready to start advertising or making sales overseas, then the geographical scope of your trade mark rights need to be extended too. I can work with you to devise the most cost effective filing strategy and then handle it all for you.  

I understand the time, effort and creativity that is invested in the creation of sleek new product designs, the appearance of packaging and overall get-up.  

I can work with you to identify which elements of your designs are protectable with registered design protection, and offer practical advice to ensure that the representations submitted are compliant  

and will actually deliver the full gambit of protection sought. 

I can also develop filing strategies with you pre-launch to ensure that you comply with any novelty requirements and that we roll out the most cost effective route to protection possible. 

 Proper record keeping practices can often be half of the battle to establish the subsistence and your ownership of copyright or unregistered design right.  I can provide best practice guidance to set you on the right path. 

 If a freelance designer created your logo, or you commissioned a photographer to take your pics, then you might be surprised to learn that you probably don't own the copyright.  We can provide a simple assignment agreement for both parties to sign to put the ownership of the rights in order.   

 Copyright disputes frequently arise due to simple misunderstandings and ignorance of this complex area of law. At Avatar we believe that with prompt handling, pragmatic advice and a sensible approach, most disputes can be settled amicably before they ever need to escalate into full blown litigation.   

I have lots of experience working with graphic designers, brand creators, and all-round creatives to make sure that the IP provisions within their T&Cs are watertight.

Do yours actually protect your hard work and cover your behind if there's an infringement claim?

The whole point of your T&Cs is to make each party's rights and obligations very clear from the outset. This prevents disputes and misunderstandings from ever even arising in the first place.

Off-the-shelf boilerplate templates might sometimes be better than having nothing in place at all, but not always! Remember that they were not drafted with your bespoke wants/needs in mind. Do yours need a glow-up?

  Most businesses lack any clear policies on how many variations of their brand/s to register as domain names, which gTLDs or jurisdictions, resulting in unmanageable and inconsistent portfolios. 

We can cut through the confusion, offering clear guidance and develop for you a considered domain protection strategy that compliments your trade mark protection and commercial ambitions.   

  Conflicts between domains and trade marks frequently arise given that domains are so easily and cheaply registered.  

Brand owners are often aggrieved to discover that a conflicting domain is diverting customers away from their site, or that it resolves to defamatory or inappropriate content, either of which can have a serious impact on their operations or reputation. 

We can advise on the numerous dispute resolution systems that exist which can be used to transfer the ownership of such abusive domain name registrations.