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
TMT analysis: In a row over the ownership and exploitation of copyright and performers’ rights in the studio albums of eponymous rock band The Jimi...
IP analysis: The case of CG, YN v Pelham GmbH, SD, UP examines whether a two-second sample from the claimant’s song which is used in a hip-hop track...
The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has published updated guidance for trade mark applicants following the Supreme Court's decision in SkyKick UK...
Welcome to this week’s edition of the IP weekly highlights: a hand-picked summary of news analysis, updates and new content from the world of IP....
MLex: Getty Images dropped on 25 June 2025 the direct copyright infringement allegations against image generator Stability AI in the first day of...
Latest IP Practice Notes
Trade mark infringement—UKThis Practice Note covers infringement of UK trade marks registered under the Trade Marks Act 1994 (TMA 1994). It considers...
Social media offences and claimsThe first part of this Practice Note sets out different types of criminal offences which may be committed in relation...
WTO—an introductory guideWhat is the World Trade Organization (WTO)?The WTO administers the WTO trade agreements which govern trade between states. It...
Brexit legislation tracker 2017–19 [Archived]ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. It tracks the progress of UK...
Assimilated lawIntroductionThe body of domestic law derived originally from EU obligations and established by the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018...
Latest IP Precedents
Retained EU law—training materials [Archived]ARCHIVED: This Precedent has been archived and is not maintained.These training materials consist of...
Letter of claim—passing off[Infringer name and address][Date]Dear [insert organisation name]Letter of claim—passing off: [Subject]We are writing on...
Sustainability glossary terms (The Chancery Lane Project)These Precedent sustainability definitions, produced by The Chancery Lane Project (TCLP) as...
Hardship clauseHardship•means[, subject to clause [1.6 OR 1.7],] a [fundamental OR material] change in the balance of a party’s benefits and...
Trade mark licence quality control clause1Definitions1.1In this clause:Brand•means the Trade Marks,[ Designs,] goodwill and other Intellectual...
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
Folksong
A folksong is where a literary work and musical work is unpublished and unknown authorship.
Month
means a calendar month;
Performance
The performance of the work in public is an act restricted by the copyright in a literary, dramatic or musical work.
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