Posts under ‘design rights’

Intellectual property is the cornerstone of many modern businesses, and the law offers various mechanisms to safeguard know how, creativity, ingenuity and investment in reputation and marketing.  A significant complexity when it comes to securing rights is deciding which means of protection is/are appropriate.  An important factor in such a decision is the nature of [...]

The internet revolutionised the way people could discover and share information, but as technology has developed, the volume of information which can be shared online, and the variety of its application have broadened significantly.  When the bandwidth available to typical internet users was sufficient, there was an explosion in online sharing of music through services [...]

A Business’ IP is often the most valuable asset it generates.  So just neglecting to protect your IP in these recessionary times when budgets are tight can have adverse and long term implications—especially if there is a time limited window within which your IP may be registered. To avoid a large hole in your IP [...]

In a competitive market setting your products apart from other people’s is key to maintaining an edge. Product design is often an important characteristic of a brand. It could even be the USP of the business. Where, however, the function of a product dictates how the design is formed then Intellectual Property law provides few solutions, bar patents, to protect the design. In general, Design law is clear that it does not protect the functional elements of registered designs.

You may have read about  the High Court ruling that Portsmouth FC must submit a statement of affairs next week, in advance of a hearing of the case brought by HMRC for winding-up the organisation.  This is the latest, and possibly the last, chapter in the club’s recent story of financial hardship, but an earlier [...]

We often receive enquiries from clients wanting to register their logos.  Few know what registration they want or what protection is available, so it seems worth looking at this question in this blog. Before explaining what legal methods are available to protect logos here are a few examples of the different types of logos that [...]

When finding out his bottle was a possible infringement of the Westmalle Belgian ringed bottle (trademark rights in which had been assigned to the New Belgium Company in Colorado) Mr Hindy, the owner of the Brooklyn Brewery was happy to withdraw the similar bottle design his designer had come up with for the Brooklyn Local [...]

During the last year several cases have highlighted the current state of flux in Registered Community Designs (RCDs). This area of law remains a frequently overlooked and underrated intellectual property right). RCDs can potentially offer organisations with a very effective tool when faced with infringing copycat designs. Key to relying on RCDs to attack copycat [...]

One challenging aspect of advising small businesses is the vagueness of the law. It is difficult to give the clear, black and white answers business people need. One client recently asked me what letters we would be able to send out to enforce her design or trade mark rights if she registered them. She even [...]