Member Article

Next beaten in Manchester SEO trademark case

British retailer giant Next has lost out on a trade mark registration case against a Manchester-based search engine optimisation business.

SEONext were taken to task by Next after the retailer raised a formal objection to the firm’s brand name in November 2011, claiming it infringed their intellectual property.

The case swung in favour of SEONext in a trademark registration battle that ended this week.

Founded by brothers Justin and Mark Blackhurst and their university friend Vaibhav Kakkar, the business filed for their trademark in June 2011, after establishing SEONext two years beforehand.

Mark Blackhurst is a former corporate lawyer, and appointed trademark and patent lawyers, Wilson Gunn, to support them in the case.

Mark commented: “The SEONext moniker has formed the foundations of our success. In just four years, we’ve gone from an initial investment of £4,500 to annual turnover of £1.6million and our brand name is synonymous with high quality SEO services.

“Our growth plans for 2013 are aggressive and simply wouldn’t facilitate a name change, so we welcome the ruling and look forward to developing the brand further. In this instance, David really has beaten Goliath!”

Tim Rose, registered trade mark attorney at Wilson Gunn, added: “A trademark can be the single most effective marketing tool for a company, so this is a very pleasing result for SEONext.

“Typically the complainant has 28 days to challenge the decision, but Next has accepted the ruling, which means that Mark and the team can press ahead with their business delivery plans.”

SEONext is based at East Manchester’s creative hub, The Sharp Project, where they provide services to more than 250 clients in the UK.

The firm has a manual work location in India and a growing sales team in Miami, as well as plans to open a satellite office in Dubai later this year.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Miranda Dobson .