IP and IT

Creating a commercial database and keeping it up to date is an expensive business and owners of such databases often take precautions to make sure they are not used without permission. One method of doing this is for the owners of databases to plant...

The Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) (Amendment) Regulations 2011 , which came into force on 26 May 2011, made changes to the rules that apply to websites using cookies and similar technologies to remember a user’s preferences....

The Forum of Private Business (FPB) has reported a noticeable increase in calls to its helpline from businesses that inadvertently included on their websites images that are protected by copyright and subsequently received demands for payment from the...

When one business uses the trade marks of another, an action may be able to be brought for trade mark infringement and possibly also for ‘passing off’ – the term given to the situation in which a business attempts to profit by presenting...

An advertising and media company run by a Mr Casey sought to register the trade mark ‘Carbon Virgin’. The application was opposed by Richard Branson’s Virgin Enterprises Ltd. (VEL) on the grounds of the similarity of the proposed trade mark...

MoneySavingExpert.com (MSE) founder Martin Lewis has won summary judgment in the High Court – against a cold calling company – for infringement of his trade marks. This means that Mr Lewis does not have to run to the expense of a full trial on...

Following Lord Justice Jackson’s report on his review of civil litigation costs, a new law has been introduced to make it easier for small and medium-sized businesses to bring actions to protect their patent and design rights. The Patents County...

The Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) (Amendment) Regulations 2011 , which came into force on 26 May 2011, make certain changes to the laws that cover direct marketing by electronic means. Serious breaches of the rules surrounding the...

When an insulation manufacturer created a road show to demonstrate its products in comparison with those of a competitor, there was always likely to be trouble. The comparison consisted of a series of fire tests, which were intended to demonstrate the...

Copyright is a right that exists as soon as you create the copyright material. You do not have to apply for it. There are some exceptions to copyright, but unless one of these applies, anyone else using your material without your permission is infringing...

A recent trade mark case has confirmed that a trade mark can be infringed when the sound of the mark is infringed, as opposed to the mark itself. The case arose when the international toy manufacturer Hasbro alleged that its trade mark...

The Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) (Amendment) Regulations 2011 , which came into force on 26 May 2011, make certain changes to the laws that cover direct marketing by electronic means. Serious breaches of the rules surrounding the...

Trade marks can come in a variety of shapes and sizes and can include names and numbers – but cannot, says the European Court of Justice (ECJ), include a number which is merely descriptive. The decision followed an attempt to register as a Community...

When considering legal action regarding material which is on the Internet, often one of the most difficult questions one has to face is that of where the material is ‘made available’. Since a website can be physically situated anywhere, where...

In a recent case , firms which used trade marks to which they were not entitled felt the wrath of the court. The case concerned the National Guild of Removers & Storers (NGRS), a trade association for businesses in the removal and storage industry. NGRS...

Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) are the pictorial means by which computer users can interact with their machines and, as such, they are often designed with great care and at great expense. It is no surprise, therefore, that the creators of GUIs wish to...

When copyright is licensed, use of the copyright material is limited to that contemplated by the parties at the time the licence is created. This decision of the Court of Appeal has implications for many users of licensed material. The case arose when a...

Clauses limiting liability under contracts have always been contentious, so a recent decision is to be welcomed because it sets out clearly the limitations which apply to exclusion clauses. The case involved GB Gas Holdings (Centrica) and Accenture, which...

The Digital Economy Act 2010 aims to combat the seeming tsunami of copyright infringement on the Internet. In principle, the way the Act will do this is simple. When a copyright owner advises an Internet Service Provider (ISP) that a website it hosts is...

A recent case has illustrated that, when it comes to trade marks, first impressions are important. In the case concerned, a firm sought to oppose a trade mark application by another firm which has a similar name and was in a similar business. The firm...

In order to prevent smaller firms from being deterred from litigating claims over intellectual property rights because of the costs involved, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has announced that from 1 October 2010 the limit of recoverable costs in an action in...

Earlier in the year, OFCOM held a consultation on a draft initial obligations code of practice designed to reduce copyright infringement on the Internet. The code, entitled ‘Online Infringement of Copyright and the Digital Economy Act 2010 ’...

A recent case highlights the importance of getting standard terms in contracts right. It involved a hotel group, which entered into a contract with a computer software firm specialising in software for managing hotels. A standard term in the software...

The Government Equalities Office has signalled its intention to proceed with the introduction of the Equality Act 2010 according to the previously announced timetable, which means that its core provisions came into force on 1 October. Under existing...

The Court of Appeal has issued its ruling in an interesting intellectual property (IP) case, involving copycat scents, which follows recent European rulings. The case was brought by l’Oréal and other makers of luxury perfumes. They took...