Solicitor for Intellectual Property Law in Lija

I’ve been using various images I found online labelled as ‘royalty-free’ or ‘free to use’ for marketing materials for my business in Malta, without paying anything or tracking exactly where each image came from. I’m now wondering whether I’ve actually been doing this properly, or whether I could be at risk of a copyright claim.

I have a registered trademark in Malta for my brand, and I’ve recently noticed a competitor operating locally under a name that sounds and looks quite similar to mine, enough that I’ve had customers genuinely confuse the two. What can I actually do to stop this?

I’ve discovered a business in Malta actively using a trademark almost identical to mine, and the ongoing damage to my brand and customer confusion is happening right now while I consider my legal options. I’m worried that waiting for a full court case to conclude will cause serious harm in the meantime. Is there a way to get them to stop urgently while the underlying dispute is resolved?

I run a business in Malta and I’m considering creating advertising that directly compares my product to a well-known competitor’s product by name, to highlight what I believe are genuine advantages of mine. Is referencing a competitor’s registered trademark in my own advertising like this actually legal?

I’ve developed a physical product with what I believe is a genuinely distinctive visual design, separate from its brand name or any technical function. I understand trademarks protect brand names and logos, but I want to know what actually protects the distinctive shape and appearance of the product itself.

I’m considering applying for a patent in Malta for a genuine technical invention I’ve developed. I want to understand how long the resulting protection would actually last, and whether I can simply keep renewing it indefinitely to maintain protection long-term.

Beyond my brand name and logo, I also use a specific catchy slogan consistently across my marketing in Malta, and I’d like to know whether a short phrase like this can actually be registered as a trademark in its own right, separate from my main brand name.

I run a small creative business in Malta and I produce a lot of original content, photos, written material, and designs, myself. I want to understand whether I automatically own the copyright to everything I personally create, or whether I need to formally register something for this protection to actually exist.