Lupton Fawcett LLP - Openbrief » Intellectual Property

Increase in counterfeit goods blocked by customs agencies

John Sykes — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 13:17:25 +0000

The European commission has just issued a press release about the actions in 2008 by EU customs to enforce intellectual property rights at the external borders of the EU. The press release can be found here http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/09/1106&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en. Detentions of counterfeit goods by Customs reached an all time high again - at 49, 000 - surpassing the [...]

Confidential information and the ex-employee

John Sykes — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 12:05:25 +0000

This old chestnut has been in court again. The law about what information in a business is regarded as confidential and so must not be taken or used by an ex-employee is complex. The practical effect of the law often seems at odds with commercial common sense depending on the circumstances. In the most recent [...]

UK government seeks to protect the British sausage

John Sykes — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 09:50:50 +0000

Regular readers will recall the stories we posted about the Melton Mowbray pie being granted the status as a protected regional product and that the name Newcastle Brown Ale ceased to be a protected regional product as production was moved from the area where it had been brewed and become iconic. It is still a [...]

Nike signs endorsement deal with race horse

John Sykes — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 14:32:11 +0000

Nike has signed an endorsement deal with US race horse, Big Brown, over seven years reported to be worth $80 million. Nike technicians created a unique horseshoe for Big Brown featuring Nike’s patented air cushioning system using gas pressurised in an aluminium and polyurethane structure. Read more about this here http://www.theonion.com/content/news/nike_signs_big_brown_to_90_million

Heirs take action to stop use of Steve McQueen name and likeness

John Sykes — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 13:34:28 +0000

The heirs to the Steve McQueen legacy acting through family trusts have taken action in a New York court to prevent the use of the name ‘Steve McQueen’ and his likeness by Belstaff USA Corp according to news reports from the US. The name and image are being used on various types of clothing such [...]

Melton Mowbray Pork Pie

John Sykes — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 17:06:25 +0000

The Melton Mowbray Pork Pie Association have applied to register the name ‘Melton Mowbray Pork Pie’ as a protected geographical indication (PGI). The published application can be found at http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:C:2008:085:0017:0020:EN:PDF. The proposed geographical areas is around the town of Melton Mowbray but is defined by boundaries described by reference to various roads in the region. [...]

View from India on IPR and indigenous peoples

John Sykes — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 09:17:58 +0000

The advantage of extending the existing IPR system to protect traditional knowledge is that it will generate incentives amongst indigenous peoples to conserve and protect their culture and environment. This assumption is drawn from the experience of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists in Australia who obtained a national certification trademark which in turn [...]

Zapped for music tributes to Zappa

John Sykes — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 12:28:54 +0000

Frank Zappa died 14 years ago. Iconic to many people, his muisc has been and still is played by several tribute bands. Like the music of the Beatles, Presley and Abba. But the Zappa Family Trust is not happy about this according to a report in Herald-Review.com and its lawyers have sent letters of claim [...]

Trade mark new year’s resolution

John Sykes — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 10:39:34 +0000

Why not start the new year with something positive. Check out the company name, logo or design or your product names or the brands used in your business and give them some real value - register a trade mark for them. The cost to apply is fixed, is a few hundred pounds not thousands, and the [...]

Pre contract negotiations irrelevant to understanding a contract

John Sykes — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 09:47:58 +0000

Recently the English courts in the case of Eunetworks -v- Abovenet [2007] EWHC confirmed that the interpretation of a written contract in English law requires the court to read the words used in the contract, in any documents attached to it as part of the contract, and in any documents specifically made part of the [...]

Being realistic about intellectual property

John Sykes — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 15:26:20 +0000

What is intellectual property? Intellectual Property can mean different things in different contexts. In a strictly narrow legal sense, intellectual property means legal rights such as patents, trade marks and designs and confidential know-how. In a commercial sense, intellectual property often includes more than this such as the general know-how in an organisation, [...]

Staying in control - designed in Europe, made in China

John Sykes — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 09:47:08 +0000

European manufacturing cannot compete with the cheap labour costs in many countries such as China, Turkey, Vietnam and so on. Many products are now made in those countries and more will be in the future. However many product designs are created in Europe and the United Kingdom has a very good track record of design [...]