A room with a view
Over the past few decades architectural design has brought us some iconic buildings, many of which have been given fanciful names. This has led to a desire to protect not only the appearance of the buildings but also their names or nicknames. The Bullring (Birmingham), the Shard and the Gherkin (both in London) are all registered in the UK and/or the EU, and there is now an application in the EU to register the mark EMPIRE STATE BUILDING. This need not be limited to such well-known and instantly recognisable buildings, but other constructions (bridges?) and smaller ‘works’ could also be covered.
If you own an interesting building, or a building or other construction with a distinctive name and there is a business associated with that it is worth considering protection of not only the name but also its appearance, by trade mark registration.
For more information, please contact: