Disputes
There are many different ways in which disputes may arise. There may be arguments over the terms of your licensing or other agreements. Someone may have posted unflattering comments about you on an online forum. Sometimes disagreements arise with illustrators or others who you commission to produce artwork, or other designs. A very common situation causing dispute is where competitors use similar domain or other names or otherwise copy your intellectual property.
Whether you have received a cease and desist letter, or yours is a domain dispute, product ownership disagreement, copyright infringement, trade mark infringement, opposition, cancellation or passing off claim, your business is unlikely to welcome litigation if it can avoid it.
You probably want to resolve your dispute because litigation can waste valuable time and money. With our extensive commercial experience, if there is a way to resolve the dispute we will be able to help you identify it. If it does not prove possible to settle your dispute to your advantage without recourse to court proceedings, then it may be a sensible business decision to litigate.
We will provide full cost estimates for sending a letter before action and initiating legal proceedings. We work closely with leading intellectual property barristers to appear in the High Court, County Court, the Patent Office or the Trade Mark and Design Registry.
High Court (Chancery) Litigation
If you wish to appeal a decision from the Trade mark Registry, or are on the receiving end of an appeal there are certain steps you will need to take and timescales to observe to lodge and progress your appeal in the High Court. The steps involved may include: Filing the appeal with the court, before which it is necessary to instruct Counsel to draft the Grounds of Appeal (i.e. statement of case) and skeleton argument. These must then be lodged with a sealed copy of the Registrar's Decision. A bundle of documents containing duplicate copies and evidence from the original hearing will also need to be prepared.
It may also be necessary to draft witness statements, and serve the documents on the other side. It generally takes 6 months for the matter to come before the Court once all the required documentation has been filed. After the hearing (which may require one day) the Judge hands down a written judgment.
What next?
If you need legal work please call us on +44 (0)20 7700 1414 or if you prefer send us an enquiry using the form below. Depending on your requirements we may suggest a free meeting. This is often the best way to assess whether we would be the right firm for you, and to understand the work involved, your priorities, attitude to risk, and desired timescales.
