The Eighth principle of Data Protection Act 1998 requires that, "Personal data shall not be transferred to a country or ...   more »

Escrow comes in to play when two parties hand over something valuable (money, contracts, software etc) to a trusted third ...   more »

E-commerce Regulations and what website owners need to display on their websites in order to comply   more »

The question that is often asked relates to adverse changes to the contract of the employee. This is permitted.

The ...   more »

Company Names Tribunal- first ruling!   more »

What should be done to protect your copyrights when commissioning work to a contractor   more »

importance of having a team of experts around you to help you   more »

Lego registered its three-dimensional 2x4 shape as a Community Registered Trade Mark in 1999. The Danish toy maker's classic red ...   more »

Top London restaurant, Cipriani, situated in trendy Mayfair, which has hosted the likes of the Beckhams, Naomi Campbell and Bernie ...   more »

A trade mark dispute has broken out between the owner of a teashop in surrey, The Tea Box in Richmond, ...   more »

MFI administration Wickes rescue bathroom orders   more »

VAT changes- update your terms and conditions   more »

Lindt have been asked to recently defend its Community trade mark rights to its famous chocolate Easter bunny wrapped in gold foil which also has a red ribbon and bell around its neck. An Austrian competitor of Lindt's has claimed that it acquired its EU-wide protection in bad faith at a hearing this week. Lindt argued back that the trade mark for the famous Easter bunny was gained "honestly and fairly".

The Austrian competitor brought the claims because Lindt's trade mark is being used to prevent the Austrian company from making products which are allegedly confusingly similar to the gold Easter bunny. Lindt learnt of their competitors bunny at a fair in Switzerland where the competitor presented them as a 'new product'. Litigation was inevitable after Hauswirth rejected Lindt's lawyers suggestion that Hauswirth adopt bronze wrapping instead of gold and a green ribbon instead of red.

Lindt's lawyer said "here is a product that's been around for some 50 years and sold about 20 million times in the EU in the year 2000, when we applied for the trade mark the company acted in good faith when we sought the right to exclude the use of that same product by others."

The outcome is expected in about a year's time.

Do you play music in the background of your shop or office and wondered whether you need to play money to the relevant collecting society?   more »

Heads of terms or heads of agreement are usually contained in a document which is usually quite short and sets ...   more »

There is no exact science to this and ultimately the value of a business is determined by what price a ...   more »

Considering buying a business- this article looks at advising on which type.   more »

buying a business as a going concern advantages disadvantages   more »

Two of the most commonly used marketing agreements are agency and distribution agreements.

Agency agreements are used vastly in the ...   more »

When you access a webpage the details of that webpage that you access are stored on your computer hard disk ...   more »

The US Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) has voted to keep the current online music royalty rates the same, without a fee increase of 9 cents to 15. Each time a consumer purchases a song on a CD or downloads a music track online, musicians and record studios earn 9.1 percent. If the CRB had agreed upon a higher royalty rate, online retailers like Apple iTunes, Amazon and Rhapsody would have increased the price they sell their songs for. The digital music business is now a multi-billion industry that grew 38 percent from 2006 to 2007. There will also be a royalty rate of 24 percent for each mobile phone ringtone sold, which is similar to the 10 percent industry wide revenue sharing for each $2.50 ringtone sold.

Database

A database is a structured collection of data. The legal definition of a database is set out in s3A(1) ...   more »

A common problem that exists in the business world (although at first it may seem strange) is that parties fail ...   more »

China and patents

Under increased pressure from concerned western countries, and the World Trade Organization (WTO), China has instituted reforms ...   more »

Although copyrights and trade marks are under the same umbrella of Intellectual Property rights, the two are often mistaken to be one of the same. In fact the two are separate and distinct.   more »

The UK Intellectual Property Office have recently reported that Oscar winners Wallace and Gromit will be at the heart of ...   more »

Over the years, we have seen many cases of failed attempts to register IT terminology as a Trademark.   more »

Most limitation periods are laid down in the Limitation Act 1980 (LA 1980) as amended. Several other statutes lay down ...   more »

(1) Proceedings are started when the court issues a claim form at the request of the claimant.

(2) A claim ...   more »

What does the Practice Direction supplements to the CPR Rule 3.4 say about striking out a case?   more »

The European Patent Office (EPO) has announced the launch on 29 September 2008 of its one-year trial cooperation programme with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the "patent prosecution highway" (PPH). The programme was first announced in April 2008 and allows patent applications that have been examined and allowed in either the EPO or the USPTO to be fast-tracked in the other office. The EPO announcement also sets out the requirements for filing a request for participation in the PPH programme. The majority of applications are filed under the Patent Co-operation Treaty, but these will not be covered by the programme, which only extends to applications filed under the Paris Convention.

http://www.epo.org/patents/law/legal-texts/InformationEPO/archiveinfo/20080926.html).

The UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has updated the Manual of Patent Practice (http://www.ipo.gov.uk/patent/p-law-manual-practice) to reflect changes in practice. In particular, the update reflects the judgments in Conor Medsystems v Angiotech Pharmaceuticals Eli Lilly v Human Genome Sciences and Re Council Regulation (EEC) No 1768/92. The IPO note on changes to Manual of Patent Practice cab be found at http://www.ipo.gov.uk/practice-tablechange.pdf

Does anyone know what TUPE stands for?
Bill

An issue over the rate of music royalties composers and songwriters should be paid for their work has emerged in the US. Apple is threatening to shut down its iTunes Store if told to pay artists higher royalties...   more »

The clothing industry have been calling for stronger worldwide intellectual property protection for fashion designs because they fear major losses ...   more »

By Riyaz Jariwalla

As solicitors we hear great ideas/inventions however on many occasions we have to break the bad news ...   more »

It is important to register transactions, such as an assignment or a licence, relating to UK registered trademarks or applications for trademarks as soon as possible.   more »

If you find that you have invented a term, even where it’s an abbreviation of an existing name and you think it may be used by others then consider having it registered as a trademark, before it’s too late.   more »

brand owners allowed to stop opportunistic company name registrations   more »

Hi does anyone know where I can get a shareholders agreement drafted?

Thanks

Riyazj   more »

What exactly it copyright law and what sorts of things does it protect?   more »

Microsoft have filed for a patent on software that monitors workers at their desks by remotely measuring ...   more »

Escrow- what is it and the importance of it for software developers and users of bespoke software   more »

 

Patent trolls are companies or individuals who possess patents, perhaps many, and sit on these patents waiting (perhaps under ...   more »

Nintendo Wii in US

 

In a recently filed lawsuit in the US, Nintendo has been accused of violating ...   more »

Wondered what a third party debt order was? Want to impress your friends? Well read on.   more »

Been sent a letter from Davenport Lyons Solicitors for downloading a game? See what our Michael Coyle, Solicitor-Advocate had to say on this point.   more »