About IP Law
With the laws around Intellectual Property and Information Technology changing all the time, keeping pace is hard enough. But knowing the law isn’t enough. You need to know what those changes are going to mean for your clients. The big picture, the fine detail, the impact and the next steps.
Copyright
Practical information about copyright, moral rights, performers’ rights and rights in performances. Get precedent copyright assignments and licences here.
Trade marks
Practical information about trade marks, passing off, geographical indications and anti-counterfeiting. Get precedent trade mark assignments and licences here.
Patents
Practical information about patents and supplementary protection certificates. Get precedent patent assignments and licences here.
IP disputes
Get guidance on strategic and practical steps for dealing with IP disputes, including ways of trying to avoid them in the first place. Our case analysis highlights points from judgments so you can be confident at work.
Topics We Cover
Latest IP News
The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) has published the first EU-level study examining how social media influencers engage with...
This week's edition of IP weekly highlights includes: a hand-picked summary of news analysis, updates and new content from the world of IP. These...
Law360, London: A former Playtech employee and the Latvian company he now works for succeeded in throwing out the gambling company's accusations of...
Dispute Resolution analysis: In this significant case concerning legal professional privilege and litigation conduct, the High Court addressed the...
Dispute Resolution analysis: The Court of Appeal overturned the High Court’s decision permitting Playtech to serve trade secrets and copyright...
Latest IP Practice Notes
Settlement agreements—interpretationThis Practice Note considers the effect of the settlement with regard to general principles of contract...
Image rights—protection, exploitation and taxationFORTHCOMING CHANGE: it was announced at Budget 2025 that the government will legislate in Finance...
Absolute and relative grounds for refusal to register a UK trade markAbsolute and relative groundsA trade mark’s essential function is to be a badge...
Defining termsThis Practice Note discusses the role and importance of defined terms in an agreement. It identifies the defined terms that most...
Anti-counterfeiting in the UKThis Practice Note summarises the main types of legal action that can be taken against the UK trade in counterfeit goods,...
Latest IP Precedents
Confidentiality letter—mutual[insert address of sender]Our ref: [insert reference]Your ref: [insert reference][Insert address of recipient]Date:...
Confidentiality letter—short form[insert name and address of sender] (We)Our ref: [insert reference]Your ref: [insert reference][Insert address of...
Confidentiality agreement—short formThis Agreement is made on [date]Parties1[insert name of party] [of [insert details ] OR a company incorporated in...
Confidentiality letter—know-how[insert address of sender]Our ref: [insert reference]Your ref: [insert reference][Insert address of recipient]Date:...
Board minutes approving a proposed commercial agreementCOMPANY NUMBER:[ insert company number][insert company name] [LIMITED OR PLC]Minutes of a...
Latest IP Q&As
Featured IP content
Introduction to passing off
Introduction to passing offUnlike many other countries, the UK has no unfair competition law. Brand owners seeking to prevent competitors from...
Trade mark infringement—UK
Trade mark infringementRights conferred by a trade mark registrationThe registration of a trade mark gives the owner the exclusive right to prevent...
Copyright—authorship and ownership
Copyright—authorship and ownershipThe Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA 1988) defines the author of a work as the person who created it....
Passing off—goodwill, misrepresentation and damage
Passing off—goodwill, misrepresentation and damageWhat is passing off?Passing off is a common law tort which protects rights that are not capable of...
Absolute and relative grounds for refusal to register a UK trade mark
Absolute and relative grounds for refusal to register a UK trade markAbsolute and relative groundsA trade mark’s essential function is to be a badge...
Copyright infringement—remedies
Copyright infringement—remediesThis Practice Note covers the remedies available for copyright infringement.The remedies available in cases of...
Introduction to revocation of patents
Introduction to revocation of patentsPatents may be revoked, that is, taken off the register of patents, if it is decided that they are invalid in...
Joint ownership of intellectual property rights
Joint ownership of intellectual property rightsWhen parties collaborate on creative projects or research and development, complex questions arise...
Sub-licensing intellectual property rights
Sub-licensing intellectual property rightsAn intellectual property (IP) owner may choose to license its IP to a third party. This can be an effective...
Brand protection online—strategy
Brand protection online—strategyHaving an online presence is essential for most brands. Many advertise and sell their products online—on their own...
Types of dispute resolution
Types of dispute resolutionThis Practice Note provides an overview of the main types of dispute resolution that are an alternative to litigation in IP...
Parallel imports—UK
Parallel imports—UKThe legal frameworkThis Practice Note explains trade mark law on parallel trade. Parallel imports, or ‘grey market’ goods, are...
Know-how—protection and licensing
Know-how—protection and licensingThis Practice Note explains what know-how is and sets out the different ways know-how can be protected before...
Copyright—secondary infringement
Copyright—secondary infringementWhereas primary infringement requires in most instances the act of reproduction, secondary infringement is about...
Licensing intellectual property rights
Licensing intellectual property rightsLicensing IP rights—introductionDrafting IP licences can raise a number of commercial and legal issues, which...
Application to register a UK trade mark
Application to register a UK trade markThis Practice Note provides guidance on applying to register a trade mark at the UK Intellectual Property...
IP rights and semiconductors
IP rights and semiconductorsBackground to semiconductorsA semiconductor is essentially any material which has electrical conductivity and can thus...
Can the assignment of a patent be retroactively effective?
Associated legal terms
Copyright Tribunal
The Copyright Tribunal is a body set up under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to adjudicate over licences.
Intellectual Property Assignment
An intellectual property assignment is the transfer of an intellectual property right to another so that the assignor is no longer the owner of that right. The assignor cannot therefore use the right unless the assignee grants a licence back to the assignor.
Unity of invention
A patent must only relate to a single invention or a single inventive concept.
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