| 1 | London 2012 Olympic Games toolkit A toolkit to guide users through PLC content that may be useful in the context of the London 2012 Olympic Games. The toolkit includes materials that will be helpful for businesses involved in the Olympics in a commercial capacity and those that have sites in London that are likely to be affected during the course of the Olympics. | Practice note: overview | 02-Jul-2012 |
| 2 | Overview of Trade marks The Overview describes what a trade mark is, and provides links to practice notes on trade mark registration and portfolio management; infringement; exploitation (including competition law issues); cancellation of trade mark rights; and comparative advertising. | Practice note: overview | Maintained |
| 3 | Ambush marketing 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. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 4 | Change of company name: Comparison between the ... A note outlining the changes to the law on the change of a company's name 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. Part 5 (a company's name) of the 2006 Act came into force on 1 October 2009 apart from objections to company names (sections 69-74, 2006 Act) and trading disclosures (sections 82-85, 2006 Act) which came into force on 1 October 2008. | Practice notes | 14-Jan-2009 |
| 5 | Character merchandising licences: IP rights and competition ... 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. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 6 | Companies Act 2006: implications for IP&IT 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. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 7 | Comparative advertising An overview of the key legal issues which need to be considered when devising an advertising campaign that refers to the name, trade mark or product of one or more competitors, either explicitly or implicitly. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 8 | Domain names This note discusses the nature of domain names (electronic addresses for websites), the registration, transfer and resolution of disputes in relation to domain names, and the relationship between domain names and trade marks. These issues are considered in relation to generic top-level domains (gTLDs), and in relation to country-code top-level domains (ccTLDs). Note: This note does not reflect ICANN's generic top-level domain (gTLD) expansion program. For more information, see Article, Generic Top-level Domain (gTLD) Expansion | Practice notes | 31-Jul-2009 |
| 9 | Intangible property: tax The rules in Part 8 of the Corporation Tax Act 2009 apply to a company's intangible assets. This practice note considers those rules, and how they affect a company's liability to corporation tax. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 10 | Intellectual property issues relating to employees and ... This practice note considers how the UK intellectual property regime applies to employees and consultants. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 11 | Intellectual property rights in the fashion industry 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. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 12 | IP rights in the semiconductor industry 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. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 13 | Legal issues on assignment of intellectual property rights A practice note that discusses legal issues likely to arise on an assignment of intellectual property of any kind. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 14 | Metatags and advertising keywords Analysis of the legal issues raised by the use of metatags and advertising keywords, a practice developed by web businesses in order to exploit the commercial potential of the web. NOTE: We are in the process of updating this note to reflect the High Court's decision in Interflora Inc and another v Marks and Spencer plc and another [2013] EWHC 1291 (Ch), 21 May 2013 (see Legal update, High Court rules Marks & Spencer's use of advertising keywords infringed Interflora's trade marks). | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 15 | Recording a change of name or address on the UK Trade ... A note summarising the procedure for applying to register a change of name or address of a proprietor, licensee, agent for service of documents or other named person or entity on the UK Trade Marks Register. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 16 | Registration of interests in UK trade mark applications and ... A note summarising the procedure for registering assignments, licences and other transactions in relation to UK registered trade marks, and the legal effects of doing so. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 17 | Taking security over intellectual property A note on taking security over intellectual property, including patents, trade marks, copyright and design rights. This note also contains links to a multi-jurisdictional guide to finance (which includes issues relating to taking security over intellectual property) and to a detailed note on taking security over intellectual property in the United States. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 18 | Threats actions and intellectual property rights 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. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 19 | Trade marks: Cancellation This note explains the various ways in which a trade mark proprietor can lose rights in a UK-registered mark or Community trade mark (through expiry, surrender, declaration of invalidity, or revocation), the difference between actions to revoke trade marks and to have them declared invalid, the grounds on which such claims can be brought, and who can bring them. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 20 | Trade marks: Exploitation This practice note sets out key legal and commercial considerations for brand-owners wishing to exploit their trade marks, including the licensing and sale of marks, the use of heads of agreement, local law issues, formalities, taxation, and the application of EU and UK competition law. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 21 | Trade marks: Infringement and offences This practice note sets out the law on infringement of UK and European Community trade marks, including defences to infringement, criminal offences relating to trade marks, the forum for enforcement and the remedies available to a trade mark proprietor. It also discusses best practice when monitoring and enforcing marks. NOTE: We are in the process of updating this note to reflect the High Court's decision in Interflora Inc and another v Marks and Spencer plc and another [2013] EWHC 1291 (Ch), 21 May 2013 (see Legal update, High Court rules Marks & Spencer's use of advertising keywords infringed Interflora's trade marks). | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 22 | Trade marks: Registration and portfolio management This practice note summarises the main considerations relating to registration and protection of UK, EU and international trade marks, including a detailed consideration of what can be registered. It also sets out key issues for the management of a trade mark portfolio. | Practice notes | Maintained |