At this month’s IP Law Café, Dermot Doyle, Head of Trademark and Design Division of the Irish Patent Office, gave an extremely interesting and provocative talk on the role of trademarks  and the practical issues that one needs to consider when deciding whether to register a trademark or not. In a broad ranging talk, he dealt not only with Irish law but also many different approaches from his international counterparts. As usual, this well attended event consisted of people from a wide variety of backgrounds, including not only lawyers but also business people, academics and entrepreneurs. Dermot’s talk builds upon previous events in this series and next month on November 19, Eddie Keane from the Law School at UL will discuss the issue of employees, the trade secrets that they acquire, and the challenges facing employers in protecting their IP rights. For further information on the IP Law Café please contact Raymond J Friel, Director, ICEL, School of Law, email: raymond.friel@ul.ie