Thursday 2 February 2026, 18:00 (BST); BG402

The event is free to attend, but registration is required.  Please e-mail Professor Dinusha Mendis at dmendis@bournemouth.ac.uk to book your place.

Abstract

Trade mark law, with its focus on averages consumers, frequently devolves into a measure of what the majority of consumers think. This does not protect the interests of minorities – a point which this presentation will illustrate through trade mark law’s approach to languages other than English. Hence, the presentation will seek to reconceptualise the average consumer: trade mark law’s benchmark for infringement and registrability, drawing a middle ground between ascertaining consumer perception through the eyes of a single, hypothetical individual and through a purely empirical approach. Instead, Professor Fhima will argue that the focus should be on average consumers as a balancing exercise of the interests of groups of consumers. This reality-based approach allows for a consideration of a more diverse cross section of the public and reflects developments in other areas of law.

Professor Ilanah Fhima, is Professor of Intellectual Property Law at University College London, where she is also co-director of the Institute of Brand and Innovation Law. She has researched and published on many aspects of trade mark law, with a particular interest in balancing the needs of competitors, consumers and the wider public. Her two monographs, published by OUP, focus on trade mark dilution and likelihood of confusion.  Ilanah’s most recent research focusses on the social impact of trade marks.