General IP

An overview of the law on ambush marketing.  The note describes the ways in which ambush marketing can be prevented, including practical steps and the laws aiming to prevent ambush marketing at the London 2012 Olympics. The note is also useful for advertisers wishing to understand the rules so that they do not fall foul of them.

An overview of the procedure in the UK Supreme Court.

This note sets out the intellectual property rights relevant to a licence for character merchandising, in the sense of an image of a fictional character and related trade marks being reproduced on an article (such as a mug, lunch box or bed linen), and discusses the competition law issues that arise in relation to such licences.

This note discusses the changes made to the law by the Companies Act 2006 that have implications for intellectual property and information technology. The majority of the relevant changes came into force on 1 October 2009. However, sections of the Act providing for a new right for any person to object to an adjudicator if a company's name is the same as a name associated with the objector in which he has goodwill, or sufficiently similar to such a name that it would be likely to mislead came into force on 1 October 2008.

A note outlining the changes to the law on execution of documents by companies under the Companies Act 2006 (2006 Act). For a link to the 2006 Act, see Companies Act 2006: publication of final text. For general background to the 2006 Act, see Practice note, Companies Act 2006: materials. For detailed information and sample execution clauses, see Practice note, Execution of deeds and documents. Part 4 (A company's capacity and related matters) of the 2006 Act is effective from 1 October 2009, with the exception of section 44 which came into force on 6 April 2008.

This practice note explains the tax aspects of creating, acquiring and disposing of intellectual property (IP), cost-sharing arrangements, the research and development (R&D) tax incentives offered by the UK and other key jurisdictions and the tax issues to consider when establishing an IP holding company. It includes a comparison of the leading jurisdictions for locating an IP holding company.

This note tracks implementation of each of Lord Justice Jackson's recommendations for reform of civil litigation costs (including those not formally presented as recommendations) in specific types of litigation. The note links to a separate note dealing with all other recommendations.

This practice note considers how the UK intellectual property regime applies to employees and consultants.

A note on the impact of intellectual property rights on the fashion industry including the application of copyright, design rights and trade marks to this sector; issues relevant to online fashion sales; and the enforcement of rights applicable to high-street fashion and the luxury goods arena.

This note considers the intellectual property aspects of joint ventures and strategic alliances, including collaborative research and development joint ventures.

This practice note explains the rule under section 3 of the Human Rights Act 1998 that, so far as possible, legislation must be read and given effect in a way compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights. The note explains: The scope of the rule and how it applies to various types of legislation. How the courts have approached its application. The limits of what kinds of interpretation are "possible" to achieve human rights compliance.

This note explains the basic technical issues relating to the manufacture of semiconductor chips and describes the structure of the semiconductor chip manufacturing industry. This is followed by an analysis of how different intellectual property rights are used to protect various elements of a silicon chip manufacturing business.

A note explaining what intellectual property rights issues (aside from copyright) may arise in a professional appointment and how the parties can address them.

A note outlining the law under the Companies Act 2006 on the registration of charges created on or after 1 October 2009 (but before 6 April 2013) by companies and limited liability partnerships registered in England and Wales. The relevant sections of the Companies Act 2006 referred to in this note came into force on 1 October 2009. For a note setting out the registration regime under the Companies Act 1985, the regime that applied to charges created before 1 October 2009, see Practice note, Registration of charges under the Companies Act 1985. Note: The regime for registering charges at Companies House changed on 6 April 2013. For more information, see Practice note, Registration of charges created by companies and limited liability partnerships on or after 6 April 2013.

This note considers: The Rome I Regulation on the law applicable to contractual obligations.   The Rome II Regulation on the law applicable to non-contractual obligations. It summarises the background to both Regulations, their legislative history and key objectives (including the instruments which preceded their introduction, namely the Rome Convention on the law applicable to contractual obligations and the Private International Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1995).

This note explains what the Court of Justice of the European Union (formerly known as the European Court of Justice (ECJ)) is, why a reference would be made to it and who can make a reference. The note gives examples of questions which might be referred to the ECJ and sets out a brief summary of the procedure to be followed and the effect of a ruling by the ECJ on the question referred.

A document tracking the development of certain notable pieces of proposed new legislation relating to intellectual property taxation.

This practice note summarises the relevant statutory provisions and key cases concerning threats to sue for infringement of intellectual property rights and provides practical advice on how these may affect any intellectual property (IP) disputes.

Arbitration depends on the consent of both parties, expressed in the arbitration agreement. However, there are circumstances in which third parties, who were not parties to the original agreement, may either be bound by, or take the benefit of, an arbitration agreement. This note considers the situations in which a third party may invoke, or be bound by, an arbitration agreement as a matter of English law, including assignment, novation and statutory provisions.