Information Law analysis: This long-running dispute concerns the misuse of alleged confidential information relating to investment opportunities in distressed Venezuelan sovereign debt. The court dismissed applications submitted by the claimant to amend its pleadings, noting the importance of clearly defining what confidential information a claimant seeks to protect such that a defendant knows what case it has to meet. However, with mere months to go before trial, the court also showed a general reluctance to order summary judgment where the trial judge could decide the issue with the benefit of oral testimony. Of the various applications before the court, we consider below: the defendants’ applications for strike-out and summary judgment in relation to aspects of the claimant’s pleaded case and claim for injunctive relief; and the claimant’s applications to amend its pleadings by way of deletions, new allegations and certain clarifications.

Introduction Copyright is an IP right which protects a person’s exclusive right to control how their original work is reproduced and dealt with by third parties. The main piece of legislation governing copyright law in China is the Copyright Law of the People’s Republic of China (the ‘Copyright Law’), which was adopted in 1990 and has since been amended in 2001, 2010 and 2020. What is copyright? Copyright is an IP right that protects a person’s exclusive right to reproduce, publish or sell their original work. Copyright seeks to protect the expression of an idea rather than the idea itself. To be eligible for copyright protection the work must be original and reproducible. Most types of works that can be protected by copyright in Europe can be protected by copyright in China. Creative works such as books, music, recordings, plays, films, paintings, sculptures and photographs are capable of copyright protection. Databases are also protected. In China computer software is also expressly protected

These training materials consist of template PowerPoint slides that can be used as the basis of one or more training seminars on issues arising in relation to copyright. It is anticipated that those providing training will use these slides as a helpful starting point for their presentations and then amend them accordingly to reflect their particular circumstances. The training materials are customisable. Click the link below to download the presentation. Contents • Terminology and the law • Three stages to copyright protection • What is copyright? • Categorising copyright works • Copyright notices • Creators and authors

Content This Practice Note considers how the rights of stakeholders in relation to different types of commonly held intellectual property rights (IPRs) may be protected in the event of the insolvency of the licensor, licensee or a chargor of the IPRs. The Practice Note considers three main areas of protection: • how the rights of a licensor may be protected should a licensee enter an insolvency process • how the rights of a licensee may be protected should the licensor enter an insolvency process, and • how a holder of security may protect its interests where the assets of the chargor include valuable IPRs This Practice Note touches on various aspects of English insolvency law including a brief discussion of the powers of an insolvency practitioner (IP). However, a detailed consideration of the different types of insolvency process available under English law is outside the scope of this Practice Note. Unless otherwise stated, the umbrella term ‘insolvency process’ will be

This Practice Note summarises the main legal and practical issues that rights holders and their lawyers need to bear in mind when considering whether to bring a private prosecution for counterfeiting or piracy. It also looks at the benefits of criminal prosecutions, the types of offences and potential risks, and provides a summary of the main stages of a prosecution and the relevant legal and procedural matters that may arise. This Practice Note considers England and Wales; slightly different rules apply in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Why prosecute? Certain infringements are designated as criminal offences in each of the Trade Marks Act 1994 (TMA 1994), the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA 1988) and the Registered Designs Act 1949 (RDA 1949). Prosecutions for those offences can be brought by various authorities (eg the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and Trading Standards), and by ‘any person’, which includes legal persons as well as natural. Repeat offenders and organised criminals frequently copy, counterfeit and pirate protected goods.

This training presentation provides a general introduction to how inventions can be protected. It focuses on patent protection but also introduces the concept of trade secrets. It outlines how to patent an invention, what can be patented, exclusions to patentability, opposition proceedings, patent revocation (invalidity), patent infringement, threats of patent infringement and patent infringement defences and remedies. The training materials are customisable. Click the link below to download the presentation. Contents • What is a patent • What is a trade secret • Patent or trade secret? • How to patent an invention • What

These training materials consist of template PowerPoint slides that can be used as the basis of one or more training seminars on issues arising in relation to protecting know-how. It is anticipated that those providing training will use these slides as a helpful starting point for their presentations and then amend them accordingly to reflect their particular

The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) issued a press release announcing that it has made a £60m direct investment in the Haweswater Aqueduct Resilience Programme (HARP), a major infrastructure project designed to ensure long-term water supply for 2.5 million people in Greater Manchester and Lancashire. Executed entirely by the PPF’s in-house investment team, the transaction forms part of a wider £3bn financing package and highlights the organisation’s growing capability to manage complex deals internally. This investment reinforces the PPF’s role as a long-term, responsible investor in the UK economy, with nearly half of its £31bn in assets under management invested domestically. Independent research by Frontier Economics shows that the PPF’s UK investments support £38.8bn in economic activity, 460,000 jobs, and £7.5bn in annual tax contributions. Since its inception in 2005, the PPF has protected the retirement incomes of over 500,000 individuals, paying out more than £10bn in compensation, with investments such as HARP contributing both to member security and national infrastructure.

These training materials contain template PowerPoint slides and associated notes for use by a trainer when outlining the law on protection of designs. They summarise the protection available for designs in the UK (including UK registered designs, UK unregistered designs, supplementary unregistered designs (SUDs) and copyright in designs) and the impact of Brexit. They compare the scope of the various rights and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of registration. They also cover enforcement. The training materials are customisable. Click the link below to download the PowerPoint presentation. Contents • Why is design protection important? • UK design protection before Brexit • UK design protection post-Brexit • Overview of protection for designs

Unacceptable behaviour in the workplace, such as bullying, harassment and discrimination, are detrimental to your staff and your firm—and, by extension, your clients. Where once, although not accepted, such behaviour may have been more widespread in parts of the profession, times have changed. Legal protections are stronger and there is much greater recognition generally of the need to address poor behaviours when they arise, and to promote a culture where they don’t occur in the first place. In 2022, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) published the results of a thematic review into workplace culture, together with separate but related guidance for law firms and solicitors on the workplace environment and its approach to the risks of failing to protect and support colleagues. It subsequently published additional guidance on its approach to sexual misconduct, which it may consider a regulatory matter even where the misconduct takes place in a private setting outside of the workplace. The SRA has also made changes to the SRA Codes of Conduct to make explicit its expectations. Research

Arbitration analysis: The Supreme Court of New South Wales (NSW) recently granted an application to set aside an arbitral award under section 34(2)(a)(ii) and 34(2)(b)(ii) of the Commercial Arbitration Act 2010 (CAA 2010). CAA 2010, s 34(2)(a)(ii) provides, relevantly, that an award may be set aside if the court is satisfied that the party making the application was otherwise unable to present its case. CAA 2010, s 34(b)(ii) provides, relevantly, that the award may be set aside if the court finds that the award is in conflict with the public policy of NSW. The application in this case was based on the arbitrator’s case management decisions, in particular, directions made by the arbitrator precluding the plaintiff from filing additional or new expert evidence on accounting issues. Having regard to the paramount objective of CAA 2010, being to facilitate the fair and final resolution of the dispute impartially without unnecessary delay or expense, the court found that, in the circumstances of the arbitration as a whole, the plaintiff had not been given a reasonable opportunity to present its case and the award ought to be set aside. The decision must be considered in the context where CAA 2010 provides a different standard to that contained in the International Commercial Arbitration (UNCITRAL Model Law). Article 18 of that instrument requires that the parties have ‘full opportunity’ to present their case. As the court noted, Article 18 has been described as a ‘fundamental principle’ of the arbitral process guaranteeing parties equal treatment. In contrast, CAA 2010 provides that parties must be treated with equality and each party must be given a reasonable opportunity of presenting the party’s case (CAA 2010, s 18). Written by Bronwyn Lincoln, partner, and Eddie Morcombe, associate, Thomson Geer.

Introduction Protecting a trade mark in China ensures that a business can establish a brand and reputation in the world’s second largest economy. This helps a business to generate new customers and to make sure that no one else uses their name to sell their goods or services. China operates a ‘first-to-file’ system. This means that the first business to file their trade mark application is entitled to register that trade mark. Practically speaking this means that a business may lose legal protection if an identical or similar trade mark has already been registered in China. As a result it is vital that a business registers their trade mark in China at the earliest available opportunity. Chinese law does provide grounds for opposing a trade mark application or invalidating a registered trade mark. However, being the first to file is always the cheapest and most efficient way to secure a trade mark. It is possible to enforce trade mark rights without registration in China through unfair competition law.