Intellectual Property

Intellectual property rights are at the heart of most of the transactions we negotiate or disputes we litigate for our clients. Copyright content and consumer-facing brands are core to our practice. But we are also one of the few firms that covers the entire spectrum of IPRs, from personality and performers' rights, to patents and industrial designs. Below are links to more information on the main types of IPRs, giving information on the rights themselves and the work we do.

Copyright

Copyright lies at the heart of what many of our clients do, be they content owners, technology developers or service providers. We deal with all aspects of copyright law, across all the sectors in which it matters.

Our film, TV, music, theatre, games and publishing lawyers deal with specific issues arising in each of those industries. Our litigators protect rights in copyright and deal with issues arising under copyright licences, assignments and other agreements. We also play a part in the development of copyright law, contributing regularly to consultations on proposed changes to law and speaking at copyright conferences.

Design

Design plays an integral part in any brand strategy. The IP team can advise you on all aspects of UK and European Community design rights, both registered and unregistered. We regularly advise clients on the registrability of designs and provide them with pre-launch advice in relation to identified third party rights. Our international network of associates assists us with advising on global design strategy.

Our team has particular expertise in the licensing and assignment of designs across all industry sectors and in most commercial territories.

Dispute resolution is integral to the design practice. Design disputes do happen, and whether you have been accused of copying another's work, or if your design has been copied, we will provide you with cost-effective advice in a commercial context.

We advise designers of all disciplines and in all fields including interactive media, animation, fashion, furniture, product and graphic designers.

Branding

The ways brands can be used have never been more varied than they are today. Understanding brands requires an appreciation of the way relationships with consumers are evolving, of the new channels through which those communications are being made and of the concerns that society expresses through regulation. We provide advice on all aspects of brand law, from advising on the protection of a brand concept, through to exploitation and enforcement of rights in that brand, whatever the perspective might be.

Brand Acquisition

Our services include advising on the initial choice and acquisition of brands. We help with trade mark clearance and avoiding potential infringements. We provide advice on registrability and registration strategies and the comparative benefits of the available registration systems in the UK, in Europe and internationally. We also assist our clients in maintaining their brand portfolios.

Maximising Brand Value

We advise on all transactions in brands and on how best to achieve value from a brand. This entails working with our clients on their strategies for brand extensions and advising on their commercial arrangements. We have particular specialist knowledge of sponsorship agreements, merchandising agreements and the use of brands in advertising. Our clients include a range of major brands across a truly diverse range of industries. We advise on a wide range of activities within those fields, from advising on advertising consumer products to drafting agreements for the manufacture and distribution of clothing, from advising on exploiting rights in music to the sale of toys.

Anti-Counterfeiting

We also work with clients to prevent the dilution of their brands through anti-counterfeiting activities. Counterfeit goods are a massive global business and our anti-counterfeiting team is well placed to act swiftly and decisively using our international network of lawyers and working in conjunction with local customs and law enforcement officials.

Brand Enforcement and Dispute Resolution

We advise our clients on the avenues open to them to prevent infringements of their rights and to defend allegations made against them, on how to resolve contractual and other disputes about their brands and on how to obtain the necessary redress and compensation. Where possible, we assist our clients in avoiding or resolving difficult situations sufficiently early that Court proceedings can be avoided. We represent our clients in arbitrations and alternative dispute resolution procedures where dialogue is not possible or our clients require emergency injunctions, we represent our clients in Court proceedings. Whatever the dispute, however, our goal is to deliver to our clients the best result in the most effective manner relying on legal knowledge, industry expertise and creativity.

Patents

A patent provides up to 20 years' monopoly for a product or process. It can therefore be an enormously valuable asset for an owner, or a major obstacle (or additional cost by way of royalty fee) for anyone else.

It's often thought that patents are only really relevant in highly technical or specialised "scientific" areas, such as pharmaceuticals and genetic engineering. This isn't the case at all - almost any invention in any business area can be protected by patenting. For example, the digitisation of content and the development of new distribution platforms and channels has seen an explosion of patent protection in all related areas, from disc and playback/reception equipment manufacture, to copy protection, DRM and communications protocols.

As an illustration of the broad application of patents, we have recently advised clients in relation to matters as diverse as book packaging, airline seat design, graphic analysis software, and the compression and encoding of digital audio and video. We have also considered with them the related competition and anti-trust issues which can also be involved, especially as patent pool licensing becomes more frequent.

Whilst the detailed provisions for drafting and filing applications for patents can be complex, the basic principles are clear. We help clients in assessing whether patent protection may be available, as well as, or instead of, other forms of IP. In some cases, it might make more commercial sense for a client not to patent its invention, bearing in mind that the principle is that in exchange for the 20 year monopoly, the invention subsequently falls into the public domain. We also assist them in protecting their ideas pre-filing (for example, when needing to disclose information in order to obtain backing, but without risking the loss of future patent protection - which is only available where something is new and has not been disclosed to anyone at all). After grant, we work with them as they commercialise their products or technology, whether by selling outright, or by granting (or taking) patent licences. Finally, there are times where infringement is suspected, and again we assist clients in enforcing their portfolios and taking action where necessary, or - for people threatened with infringement action - in resisting the claims and investigating the validity of the patents concerned.

For further information please contact Mark Owen.