Four fingers to KitKat

Many businesses are increasingly realising the importance of protecting designs and innovations. The process of protecting designs is commonly referred to as protecting intellectual property. Such protection may help a business in that it would stop people stealing or copying the names of products or brands, inventions, the design or look of products or things that are written, made or produced.

Intellectual property is something that is unique which is physically created. An idea alone is not in itself intellectual property. Copyright, patents, designs and trademarks are all types of intellectual property protection.

A person or organisation will own intellectual property if they created it, bought intellectual property rights from the creator or previous owner or have a brand that could be a trademark. Intellectual property can have more than one owner, belong to people or businesses and be sold or transferred.

A well known product has been in the news recently in the form of the chocolate bar, KitKat.

The organisation that owns this brand is Nestlé. That organisation has again failed to secure trademark protection for the shape of its four finger KitKat bar. Nestlé has had a long running battle with Cadbury. Recently the Court of Appeal upheld the High Court ruling that the four finger shape of a KitKat was not sufficiently distinct not least because the packaging hid the design.

The case is an interesting reminder that the bar is set quite high for the protection of shapes, sounds and colours etc. as trademarks. The case considered, in particular, the extent of consumer recognition required to obtain trademark protection over a shape or design.

If your business develops ideas or products that are central to the success of your business you may wish to consider protecting that idea or product as a trademark.

To discuss this or other aspects of your business contact us.