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Copyright – Receiving less than you bargained for?
IPcopy is pleased to welcome guest contributors Yavan Brar and Alex Canham from Herrington & Carmichael LLP who take a look at the issue of copyright arising in oursourced contractual work. The article is reproduced with the kind permission of the authors.
A number of businesses now look to outsource non-core functions, particularly in creative areas, to third party contractors. This may be in the form of marketing design work (such as a brochure or an article), software development/maintenance work or a musical composition. However, are commissioning really clear as to the rights they have in the finished product?
Ministry of Sound releases Spotify Mash Up in UK High Court
Monday 2 September 2013 saw Ministry of Sound, the well-known dance music brand, launch UK copyright infringement proceedings against the music-streaming service Spotify on the grounds that it has refused to take down users’ playlists that copy many of Ministry’s compilation albums. (more…)
3D printing – seminar review
On 26 June 2013 Field Fisher Waterhouse held an excellent afternoon seminar on “Developments in UK and EU patent law”. David Knight’s session on 3D printing (“3D Printing – A licence to infringe IP rights?”) was particularly interesting as it looked at the implications for intellectual property rights owners arising from the developing field of 3D printing.
In this post we provide a (hopefully accurate!) recap of David’s talk and a look at the world of 3D printing. (more…)
Name that IP Right – A Cheat-Sheet
Are you writing about Intellectual Property Rights?
Are you writing about the right Intellectual Property Rights?
Experience suggests there’s a good chance you aren’t (see ipcopymark on this subject here). But don’t worry, IPcopy is here to help! Here’s a handy flow chart you can follow to make sure you don’t get your trade marks confused with your design rights, or your patents confused with your copyright. Run through it if you find yourself about to type a phrase like “Company X have patented the copyright in this technology” or “the manufacturing process infringes Company Y’s trade marks“. And if you’re still stuck, feel free to drop us a line to check!
IP – Hit or Miss? Patenting the socks off of your copyright (TM)
Not another newspaper article about IP! (Image from flickr – Brandon Grasley – source link below)
OK, before we begin, please note that this could turn into a mild rant. There, you’ve been warned.
One of the recurring topics on this blog is the series of articles called “IP – Hit or Miss?” which we use to analyse the representation of intellectual property (IP) in films, TV and the media. We’ve generally focussed on film and TV references but recently I’ve noticed a number of articles in the press where the terms “patent”, “trade mark” and “copyright” have been used seemingly interchangeably. Now come on guys, it’s not that hard to get it right? Is it?
Well, maybe it is. So it’s time to name and shame and then educate. In the words of Popeye “That’s all I can stand, I can’t stands no more”.
Misleading Invoices: a warning
What do you mean I spent all my pocket money settling a fake invoice?
No IP blog would be complete without a warning on misleading IP invoices, so here’s ours!
If you are the owner of an intellectual property (IP) right then you may from time-to-time receive communications that resemble official looking invoices for IP services. Such misleading invoices are sent directly to the IP owner and are designed such that they give the impression to the IP owner that they have to either use the service offered or pay the amount listed.
It is important that all IP owners double check the invoices they receive and satisfy themselves that such invoices are genuine.
Power in Numbers – Trade Mark Squatters in China
Trade Mark squatting is big business in China and is becoming more and more common. The new target appears to be up and coming European brands. It would appear that as soon as a mark becomes the slightest bit known in the UK, throughout Europe or the US, the marks are being filed as trade mark applications in China by opportunistic third parties known as trade mark squatters.
It would also seem that these third parties are not just trying to reap the rewards of just one trade mark either. It is becoming more common for trade mark squatters (which are now large ‘squatting’ companies) to file hundreds of well-known or well-publicised up and coming brands belonging to foreign owners.
IP Hit or Miss?
Ever been watching a film or something on TV and noticed that the intellectual property (IP) reference that just cropped up in the script is wrong? No? Well, you probably manage to get out more than me.
To this author at least (patent attorney, tech nerd and SF geek) references to patents, trade marks and the like seem to pop up quite frequently in the entertainment media.
IP Hit or Miss? is an occasional series of articles that takes a light-hearted look at IP as it appears in the media (films, TV, news reports etc) as an excuse to talk about different IP topics. A vague rating of “IP hit or miss?” may also be given depending on how well the particular IP concept has been incorporated into the media in question.
Want to suggest a film, TV show or other reference that we can take a look at? Drop us an email or leave a comment below.
Small Claims Track in PCC
On 1 October 2012 the Patents County Court (PCC) introduced a small claims track to run beside the PCC multi-track.
The small claims track will be suitable for claims up to a value of £5,000 and is expected to be of benefit to individuals and SMEs who previously may not have wanted to start claims in the PCC.
Cases in the PCC small claims track will be handled more informally than in the PCC multi-track. Suitable cases relating to trade marks or passing off, copyright and unregistered design right may be brought in the PCC small claims track. However, claims concerned with patents, registered designs (including Community registered designs) and plant varieties may not be brought in the PCC small claims track.
If you’d like to know more, speak to your friendly neighbourhood trade mark attorney
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