Any intellectual property lawyers out there

[eastegg]

Asking on behalf of a family member. I'm a lawyer myself but in a completely different field. If you owned a restaurant and got a solicitor's letter on behalf of another restaurant alleging copyright/ trademark infringement on the basis of similar logos, and you thought the claim was rubbish because the logos don't look anything like each other, what's the best course of action? Family member would like to get a respected firm to have a look at the matter and write a letter. Would an ip solicitor do this for a modest fee?

Yes an IP lawyer or a commercial litigator would be able to help with this

The fee will depend on the firm and the complexity but they should give you an indication at the outset

It depends on how good they are. My advice would be to find someone who has recently qualified but moved to a smaller firm in order to move up the ranks quicker. They normally do a decent job but don't charge too much. Honestly, I wouldn't bother getting a lawyer unless they were filing a claim though. How different is the logo really? Are there similar elements in colours, shapes, fonts or, layout? Does your relative know the other business owner personally? It would be a bit odd and pointless to spend money on such letters unless there were genuine similarities or there is some kind of personal vandetta going on. Either your relative is minimising the problem or there is something personal going on. Or the other business owner maybe be a nutcase and their solicitor unscrupulous.

Thanks for the replies.

I've now seen the logos and as my family member acknowledges there is a similarity in general style as they have been done by the same designer! But different type of lettering, different layout, different colours. The name is similar which I suppose forms part of the complaint, think 'the bear' and 'the crazy bear' but a different animal and adjective! And there's a picture of the animal in each but again, different looking.

Complainant is in London and my relative is in the far north of England. No vendetta as far as I can tell, I think there are just genuinely perceived similarities in the style and of course the name.

Does the letter refer to a registered trade mark? I am just trying to understand whether it alleges any or all of passing off, breach of registered trade mark or breach of copyright as the position may differ depending on the right concerned.

If you're just talking about some initial advice or one letter it is likely to be a few hundred pounds. They need advice from someone who has seen the two logos etc on if they have a good defence and who used the mark first (they may even be able to sue the designer who looks like the cause of all this trouble and also check if the designer transferred rights to either restaurant too - so the contract with the designer needs to be looked at particularly if the right is not registered as a trade mark.

Thanks Xenia. It really does need specialist advice doesn't it. I've discovered that a solicitor friend knows somebody likely to be able to help so I'm planning on putting them in touch with my family member and leaving them to it.

Thanks for the replies