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 Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has published guidance to supplement the Green Claims Code. The guidance outlines what businesses need to...
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: The Court of Justice of the EU ruled 15 January 2026 that the EU's laws permit national legislation that requires electronics...
MLex: The UK creative sector can start using a national content marketplace for licensing digital content as a government pilot begins at the end of...
IP analysis: Artificial intelligence (AI) tools are increasingly being explored by patent offices worldwide as a means of improving efficiency,...
Latest IP Practice Notes
Life sciences tracker—EUThis Practice Note is intended to be used to track the progress of EU legislative proposals and current consultations relevant...
Brexit timelineOn 23 June 2016, the UK held a referendum on its membership of the EU, with a majority voting in favour of the UK leaving the EU. On 29...
Brexit legislation trackerThis Practice Note tracks the progress of UK legislation introduced as part of the legislative project associated with the...
Jurisdiction—a guide for dispute resolution practitionersThis Practice Note aims to provide an understanding as to what is meant by the term...
Infringement of UK registered and unregistered designsThis Practice Note discusses infringement of UK registered and unregistered designs, including...
Latest IP Precedents
Draft Settlement agreement—pre-action settlement_____________________________________[DRAFT ]SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT—pre-action settlement[WITHOUT...
Draft Settlement agreement—for settling disputes post-commencement of proceedings_____________________________________[DRAFT ]SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT...
Intra-group intellectual property licenceThis Licence is made on [insert date] (Commencement Date):Parties1[insert licensor name] a company...
Non-confidential disclosure letter agreement[insert address of sender]Our ref: [insert reference]Your ref: [insert reference][insert address of...
Confidentiality letter—one-way—pro-discloser[insert address of sender]Our ref: [insert reference]Your ref: [insert reference][insert address of...
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
Performer's property rights
The performer's property rights are exclusive rights which initially belong to the performer, but may be transferred to others.
Semiconductors
Computer chips consist of microscopic patterns etched onto a circuit which is then placed between two or more semiconducting layers. They do not qualify for copyright, patent or design right. The semiconductor topography right is an additional right to unregistered design law, intended to protect the electronic circuit board and the arrangement of semiconductors. Semiconductor topography right derives from EU legislation which was implemented in the UK by the Design Right (Semiconductor Topographies) Regulations 1989, SI 1989/1100 (subsequently amended by a number of statutory instruments). It grants an exclusive monopoly right for ten years from the end of the year during which the product first came to market. The right allows the rights holder to authorise or refuse sale or import of a copied topography. Following Brexit, marketing that takes place in the EU is no longer sufficient to qualify for protection in the UK.
Surrender of patent
A patent proprietor can ask to surrender his or her patent. This has the effect of the patent rights coming to an end once the surrender has been accepted.
CONTACT US
