Robin and Alex debate Cinderella

"Trade Marks and Designs: Overlaps and Boundaries" is the title of a debate hosted by Edwards Wildman on 16 April. The venue is Stationers' Hall, London, and the debaters are Sir Robin Jacob and Alexander von Muehlandahl. The background to this event runs like this:

Debating the Cinderella of IP law: no mean feet ...

"Recent case law throughout the world has brought design law to greater prominence. The Cinderella of intellectual property law has finally arrived at the ball. In this context, the relationship between designs and trade marks has assumed increased topicality and significance. Our debate will look at the rationales for these two intellectual property rights and at the boundaries and overlaps between them. It will also consider strategies for dealing with their relationship in a commercial context.

Can a design function as a trade mark? Should design protection trump the application of trade mark law? Can the two co-exist in parallel?

Can trade mark protection follow a term of design protection? These are some of the questions that our speakers will address.".

I have been personally assured by John Olsen that everyone over the age of five is welcome. Full details of the programme and how to register for it are here.