Licensee speaks to Intellectual Property Office about how it enforces its IP rights.
Dress-up specialist Smiffys has spoken to the Intellectual Property Office to outline how it isn’t prepared to stand back and allow copycats to take advantage of its business.
Sam Lucas, head of IP enforcement at Smiffys told the IPO that “the growth of online retailing and the ability of third parties to copy and take advantage of established brands was a key driver in our desire to protect our IP”.
The company serves around 5,000 stockists worldwide and has offices in China, Australia and the US. Due to the spread of Halloween and carnivals across Europe, Sam explains that operations have expanded by 80% in five years and Smiffys is now shipping 26 million items a year.
Smiffys has a dedicated in-house team to manage IP rights – as well as using external IP, trade mark and design lawyers – and has registered its name and logo as trade marks. It relies on design rights for costumes and copyright protection for its imagery and website.
Sam said: “Passing off is an issue, particularly on online trading platforms. People pose as Smiffys sellers but supply inferior unbranded or counterfeit products. We aren’t prepared to stand back and allow copycats to take advantage of the business. They damage our reputation by cheating consumers into buying substandard and unsafe products.”
