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 UK government deposited a declaration with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) on 11 May 2026, extending its ratification of the...
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...
EU Law analysis: The EU Commission has now approved the new EU Designs Implementing Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2026/138), setting out a number of...
TMT analysis: Lewis Silkin recently hosted a webinar on the legal risks of marketing campaigns linked to the FIFA Men's World Cup 2026 (taking place...
The House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee has published the UK Government’s response to its report on AI, copyright and the creative...
Latest IP Practice Notes
This Practice Note provides practical guidance when drafting a jurisdiction clause in a commercial, business-to-business (B2B) contract. It considers...
The purpose of an anti-counterfeiting and anti-piracy strategyMany brand owners and other IP right holders face an uphill struggle when it comes to...
What is a letter of claim?A letter of claim puts an alleged infringer on notice that court proceedings may be brought against them. A letter of claim...
BackgroundThis Practice Note provides a high-level summary of key themes of comparison between the UK and EU in relation to designs that have arisen...
This Practice Note sets out details of the criminal offences relating to UK registered designs which are set out in sections 33, 34, 35 and 35ZA of...
Latest IP Precedents
This Agreement is made on [insert date] (the Commencement Date)Parties1[insert name], [of OR a company incorporated in [England and Wales] under...
These Precedent sustainability definitions, produced by The Chancery Lane Project (TCLP) as part of its climate change glossary, provide definitions...
[Alleged infringer’s name and address][Date]Dear [insert organisation name],[REGISTERED DESIGN NUMBER AND DESCRIPTION]We are instructed by [name of...
[Alleged infringer’s name and address][Date]Dear [insert name][Insert title of the letter here, which should refer to the IP rights relied on, eg ‘UK...
1Appointment and powersWe, [insert name of company] a company incorporated in [England and Wales] under number [insert registered number] whose...
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
False attribution
A person has the right not to have a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work falsely attributed to him as author, and not to have a film falsely attributed to him as director.
Research
Copyright is not infringed in a literary, dramatic, musical and artistic work where it amounts to fair dealing for the purposes of non-commercial research.
stock option
“option” includes any right to acquire shares
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