Abion

✨ Lorenzo Litta and Abion have been recognised in the Business Leader Awards 2026, managed by Acquisition International Magazine The winning business leaders and organisations are selected through a merit-based process, with judges considering areas such as strategic innovation, organisational transformation, people-focused leadership, and industry contribution. This year, we are delighted to share that the awards recognised: - Lorenzo as the “Most People-Focused Commercial Leader 2026 - Europe” - 𝗔𝗯𝗶𝗼𝗻 as the “Most Innovative Intellectual Property Services Firm 2026 - Europe” The selection highlighted how Lorenzo “combined commercial leadership with a people-centred approach, supporting Abion’s strategic growth through the acquisition of Baylos”, while Abion is “advancing AI integration into legal practice, and fostering a culture of trust, accountability and high performance across international teams”. 👏 Congratulations to Lorenzo and everyone across Abion who has contributed to this recognition. #BusinessLeaderAwards #BusinessLeadership #Innovation

440 pages. One application. Very little time.⏰   If you're considering applying for a dotBrand Top-Level Domain, the biggest challenge isn't necessarily the application itself, it's navigating the 440-page ICANN Applicant Guidebook and knowing what actually matters.   Based on our own experience, the biggest focus should be on getting your organisational documentation in order.   Start with: 1. Corporate information: company formation, proof of good standing and ownership details. If your business has multiple ownership layers, you'll need documentation for each. 2. Leadership information: personal details for directors, officers and partners. 3. Financials: audited or third-party validated financial statements, plus ICANN's required financial templates, even for dotBrand applicants.   The good news? The application is far less technical than it was in 2012. If you've selected a Registry Service Provider (RSP), much of the technical complexity has already been addressed, and ICANN's self-certification forms are straightforward to complete.   With the right preparation, an application can be submitted in just a few days.   👇Swipe through for a simplified breakdown of what dotBrand applicants should focus on first or contact Matt Serlin and we’ll guide you through the whole process. #dotBrand #ICANN #BrandTLD #BrandProtection

Further IP STARS 2026 recognition for our teams in Central & Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa ⭐ Following the latest IP STARS 2026 rankings, we are pleased to celebrate additional recognition for our colleagues in the above jurisdictions. These rankings highlight the expertise and dedication of practitioners across our international network, and we are delighted to see our colleagues recognised for their continued contribution to the IP community. 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿: Mark Devaney (UAE) 𝗥𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿: Nicole Giblin (UAE) 𝗡𝗼𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗿: Yasemin Aktaş (TR) Congratulations to Mark, Nicole and Yasemin on this well-deserved recognition. These achievements reflect their expertise, commitment and the high-quality work they, and the teams, deliver for clients across these regions. As before, we would like to thank our clients, colleagues and friends for their continued trust and support.💚 #IPStars2026 #TradeMarkLaw #IPLaw

As the World Cup came to an end on Sunday (congratulations to Spain 🏆), one thing is clear. The future of sport is about more than sporting performance. During the tournament, we have discussed several themes: 1. Athletes are building valuable IP portfolios around their identities. 2. Brands are finding new ways to engage audiences around major events. 3. Rights holders are strengthening protections around sponsorship and association. 4. Legislators are adapting to keep pace with technological and commercial change. Taken together, these developments point to a more fragmented but more commercially active sports IP landscape, where value is distributed across multiple stakeholders rather than concentrated in a single rights holder. And in that environment, intellectual property is no longer on the sidelines; it is part of the game. ⚽ #IPinSport #IP #SportsLaw

⛵ Set sail for summer.   Summer has a way of encouraging us to step back for a while. Calendars become a little lighter, inboxes a little quieter, and there’s often space for fresh perspectives to surface.   While you’re enjoying some well-earned time away, we’ll be here keeping things on course, helping to minimise risk, and ensure your brand remains protected.   ☀️ Wishing our clients, partners and connections a brilliant summer, wherever that might be. #HappySummer

🥷 Ambush Antics: When brands get creative.  ⚽ As the FIFA World Cup 2026 reaches it's final stages, we cover one of our favourite topics during major sporting events: how brands find creative ways to join the conversation without owning the official rights.  Here’s some standout examples from over the years:   1. Stadium naming restrictions created unexpected opportunities, with Levi’s Stadium and Gillette Stadium turning the restriction into the campaign itself. Levi’s  capitalised on the moment by extending the “covered logo” concept in some stores around the world. Gillette also responded with its own playful take on the cover-up by using shaving foam. 2. Heinz took a similar approach after its marks were covered on condiment containers in the stadium. Rather than treating the restriction as a limitation, Heinz turned it into “Unofficial Stadium Ketchup”, creating a blacked-out bottle design. The brand then extended the conversation further with its “Penalty Packets” campaign, showing how a moment of restricted visibility could become a wider commercial opportunity. 3. CHECK24’s Euro 2024 campaign distributed approx. 5 million jerseys featuring national symbols to fans, gaining unrivaled visibility while avoiding official UEFA IP. 4. Paddy Power’s 2012 Olympic campaign claimed to sponsor the “largest athletics event in London this year”, referring to an unrelated egg-and-spoon race in London, France, generating attention without directly using Olympic IP. 5. At the other end of the spectrum, PRIME’s packaging led to legal action from the US Olympic Committee for unauthorised use of Olympic-related IP. These campaigns illustrate an important point. Ambush marketing is rarely about copying protected logos or names. It's about creating an association in consumers' minds. For brands, the challenge is finding creative ways to be relevant. For rights holders, it's protecting the value of sponsorship investments. And for lawyers, the key question remains the same: At what point does clever marketing become a misleading association? #IPinSport #AmbushMarketing #SportsLaw

What does it mean to manage IP when the business never stands still? In this episode from Abion Accento, Daniel Zohny reflects on working at FIFA, where major events, commercial rights, and fast decisions made intellectual property a central part of the organisation's success. Listen to the full episode on YouTube or search for Abion Accento your podcast app. Watch the episode: https://lnkd.in/ePvzuxeC

Football’s biggest rivalries are not always decided on the pitch. 🥅   In our latest article, Reuben Emeni, Junior Associate in our UK Office, explores the rivalry between FIFA and the Ballon d’Or through the lens of brand strategy and trade mark law. He talks about how reputation is built, the challenges of co-branding, and why ownership of goodwill can become just as valuable as the trophy itself.   👉 Read more here: https://lnkd.in/eT83JkvG #IPLaw #IP #BrandReputation

🎧 Few organisations are as closely tied to IP as FIFA. ⚽ In the first episode of 𝗔𝗯𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗼, our new podcast series, Lorenzo Litta sits down with Daniel Zohny, Abion Partner and former Head of IP at FIFA. They discuss what managing IP at FIFA taught him, what Daniel looks for when hiring, and his advice for the next generation of IP professionals. With Abion Accento, we want to bring more of the people behind IP into the spotlight. Their experiences, challenges, and perspectives on the role IP plays in business today. Find Abion Accento in your podcast player or on YouTube. 👉 Watch the first episode: https://lnkd.in/eNnBQz9c

🌐 With 19,000 FIFA-related domains already registered since January 2026, the digital threat landscape around the World Cup was established long before kick-off.   Many of these domains impersonate official ticketing platforms, broadcasters and travel providers, as part of coordinated phishing campaigns targeting fans at a global scale.   ⚠️ We are already seeing this play out in practice. US authorities recently seized hundreds of domains allegedly used to illegally stream World Cup matches, while the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center also issued warnings around World Cup-related scams and fraudulent activity targeting consumers.   This is no longer opportunistic fraud, but industrial-scale brand impersonation.   For rights holders and commercial partners, the issue is no longer purely reactive enforcement once harm has occurred. It is proactive brand protection across domains, DNS infrastructure and digital identity, designed to preserve trust before fans are exposed.   🔐 In large-scale competitions like the FIFA World Cup, brand owners must actively defend trust across their digital presence to maintain integrity throughout the tournament lifecycle. #IPinSport #IP #DomainManagement