CZER’s recent statement about a lookalike brand in Dubai shows why food and drink businesses should consider trademarks early, ideally before launch.
It matters even more for brands that build an online following before they open. CZER posted its wrap on TikTok before it had premises, and more than 100,000 people saw it within a day. That’s great for a new business, but it also means your name and branding can be seen widely before you’ve protected them.
Finding out that someone else has rights in your brand, or that you have to rebrand, is expensive and disruptive at any stage. It’s worse when you’re still getting the business off the ground.
A search of the UK Trademarks Register shows CZER is registered in the UK. Registering here is often relatively quick and inexpensive, but the protection generally stops at the UK border.
Once you’ve filed a UK application, you often have six months to file in other countries and claim the original UK filing date. Whether CZER can act against CZERZ in Dubai will likely depend, at least in part, on whether it also has protection in the UAE.
Finding out that someone else has rights in your brand, or that you have to rebrand, is expensive and disruptive at any stage
Filing in lots of countries gets expensive, so focus on the ones that matter most to your business. For a restaurant brand, that might be where you plan to open, franchise or run pop-ups.
Several Caesar wrap brands have opened around the UK in recent months, which raises a separate issue. IP law doesn’t generally protect an idea on its own. But you may be able to protect how you put it into practice, through trademarks, designs, copyright, patents, confidential information and well-drafted contracts.
Most good IP strategies use more than one of these. Start with what the business is trying to achieve, then decide which rights are worth paying for, which countries you need them in, and where the money would be better spent elsewhere.
Abi Woolhouse is head of trademarks at legal services firm Greenwoods.