Intellectual Property Disputes
Our Dispute Resolution Team are highly experienced at being able to resolve disputes regarding intellectual property including claims, providing pragmatic and commercial advice to you.
Intellectual Property (IP) encompasses a vast and diverse array of property from software and other copyright materials, to designs and logos and inventions and processes. Most people benefit from a basic understanding of Intellectual Property rights to help protect what they create and to avoid them infringing the rights of other people and businesses.
Our Dispute Resolution Team are highly experienced at being able to resolve disputes regarding intellectual property including claims, providing pragmatic and commercial advice to you.
Copyright Infringement
Copyright is probably the intellectual property which is most commonly infringed. The law protects original artistic, dramatic and literary works. An infringement occurs whereby the work is unlawfully copied in whole or in part. Where your Copyright has been infringed, you are entitled to take action to stop the infringing action and recover damages and any account of profits made by the infringing party as a result of the infringing act.
Copyright infringement is a very common issue for businesses and individuals that hold copyrights. In the modern world, the various ways copyrights are being infringed are numerous and can often be complex and technical. It is important to seek the advice of specialist copyright and litigation lawyers to advise you on the appropriate course of action.
Whilst our team endeavour to use their commercial insights and legal knowledge to bring matters to a satisfactory conclusion without the need for court intervention, sometimes it is unavoidable. Should Court action be necessary, our experts will be able to guide you through the High Court or the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court (depending on which is the most appropriate for your claim).
Our Lawyers have experience advising individuals and businesses with copyright infringement and other intellectual property matters.
Trademark Infringement
Trademarks can have protection both in an unregistered and a registered format. Whether registered or not, a trademark can be infringed by competitors or others looking to capitalise on your accrued goodwill and reputation either by using an identical mark, or a substantially similar mark even if it is in relation to a completely different product or service.
Our team of Trademark Infringement Lawyers are experienced with navigating trademark disputes, including the relevant dispute processes at the Intellectual Property Office, as well as action through the courts (the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court) and High Court injunctions. Our Team also has the relevant expertise with the post-brexit issues of international trademark disputes.
When a trademark is unregistered, our team has the relevant experience to advise you on potential breaches of the unregistered mark, and to pursue a passing off claim.
Our Lawyers have experience advising individuals and businesses in all aspects of trademark infringement disputes.
Design Rights
These rights can be registered or unregistered. A registered design provides a legal monopoly. Design Rights give a designer protection over their creation and allow them to have exclusive rights to reproduce that design. As with trade marks design owners can apply for a UK registered design or a Community Registered design.
Our team of design right Lawyers can advise you in relation to potential infringement by another party or when you have been accused of infringing on someone else’s design rights.
Design rights can be complex and technically specific. Our team will advise you on the most appropriate course of action giving consideration to your commercial needs, whether this be via court action or injunctive relief.
Our Lawyers have experience advising individuals and businesses in all aspects of design rights disputes.
Patent Disputes
Patents give the inventor of a technical device or process an absolute monopoly over it for a fixed period of time. The process of obtaining a patent is strict and a formal application process needs to be undertaken.
Patents are vitally important to businesses and individuals that have them. Often Patents are the key to protecting technology, machinery and product design. If someone is infringing your patent, this can have a devastating impact to your business.
The Patents Act 1977 sets out what can be considered an infringing act against a Patent. Our Patent Dispute Lawyers are experienced in advising business and individuals as to how to deal with infringing behaviour and how to defend yourself from vexatious claims that you are infringing someone else’s patent. They can understand the complex nature of patents and advise you as to the best course of action.
Confidential Information
It can be possible to protect information which is sensitive to a business through rights in confidential information (which covers know how and trade secrets). Whilst these are not strictly IP rights they can protect sensitive information, both technical and commercial and do not need to be registered.
Brand Protection
It is important for individuals to protect their assets and this includes the non-tangible assets that you might own. Often the value of a business is tied into the intellectual property it holds. Failure to protect your intellectual property can make you less appealing for potential investors and easier for competitors to gain an advantage over your business.
Registering your ownership of those assets that can be registered is key but equally important is vigilance to stop unauthorised use. It is important to take action to stop other individuals and companies from infringing your rights as if you do not take action, it can later be argued that you have granted an implied licence for your works to be used.
Often disputes such as these can be resolved without the need to resort to litigation and early involvement from us can ensure that any IP infringement is stopped promptly. When it is not possible to bring the dispute to an end quickly through correspondence, we have unrivalled expertise in running proceedings to enforce and defend intellectual property rights for you through the Courts or the UK IPO (Intellectual Property Office) process should this be necessary. Should immediate action be required our experienced IP litigation team can advise on the obtaining of interim injunctive relief to maximise your protection pending the final resolution of the dispute.
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