Have you ever received party political information which was formatted like a newspaper? I know I have - and also material which looked like it originated from the local council, although that's another story.

The Conservative Party is backpedalling swiftly after it used the registered trade mark of a regional news outlet on its campaign leaflets, with a fulsome apology for the infringement now published. This sort of faux pas can be very easily avoided by a simple trade mark clearance search. The moral of the tale: if you're using a brand, it's worth the cost of checking it doesn't already belong to someone else, before you start your marketing or promotional campaign. Even if you think you don't have the budget for a search, repairing damage after the event can work out much more expensive.

It was never our intention to mislead residents. We understand the confusion this may have caused, and we sympathise with the reputational damage this could cause

www.expressandstar.com/...

1362058a.jpg

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.