Intellectual property Definition

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What does Intellectual property mean?

The trade secrets of an employer that are normally protected as registered trade marks, designs or copyright.

Many businesses will possess highly confidential information, designs, trademarks and copyright which are protected as Intellectual Property under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 and the Patents Act 1977. This legislation protects the employer's intellectual property from being misused or abused by employees or other third parties. Quite often an employer will also regulate the position further in the contract of employment, particularly for senior employees.

View the related checklists about Intellectual property

MVNO agreement—checklist

MVNO agreement—checklist This Checklist covers some of the main provisions to be included in a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) agreement under which a mobile network operator supplier will provide wholesale access services to an MVNO for resale to its own retail customers. It covers some of the main provisions that are specific to an agreement of this kind. See also the Precedent: MVNO agreement. In this Checklist, the following definitions are used: • Agreement—means the MVNO agreement between the MVNO and the Supplier for the provision of the Services • End-User—means a customer of the MVNO • IPR—means intellectual property rights • MVNO—means mobile virtual network operator, the customer in the Agreement • Services—means the wholesale network services being provided to the MVNO by the Supplier • Supplier—means the mobile network operator providing network services to the MVNO The third column can be used to record observations or comments as the Checklist is worked through. Checklist Further information Notes (if any) General terms and conditions ☐ Consider duration....

Issues with franchising in an overseas territory—checklist

Issues with franchising in an overseas territory—checklist This Checklist sets out the issues for a franchisor to consider when preparing to operate the franchise in an overseas territory. The advance of technology has helped facilitate the rise of a global economy. This has led to the creation of opportunities for companies to trade outside of their domestic markets and exploit developing territories. However, a number of issues arise when a franchisor is preparing to operate in an overseas territory some of which are detailed below. PESTLE analysis A franchisor may wish to carry out a political, economic, environmental, sociological, technological, legal and environmental factors (PESTLE) analysis in relation to a new territory. The information obtained from the analysis can be used as a guide to strategic decision making when considering international franchising. Below is a list of legal and non-legal issues that might arise with international franchising. Political • There may be increased political or legislative risks that should be taken into consideration by businesses before they commence operations in...

UK design infringement action—flowchart

UK design infringement action—flowchart This Flowchart provides an overview of a UK design infringement action. The specific right relied on could be one of the following design rights which coexist in the UK: • UK registered designs (including re-registered designs) • UK unregistered designs (sometimes referred to as ‘design right’) • supplementary unregistered designs For more information about these rights, see Practice Note: UK registered and unregistered designs. Stage 1—preparing to bring a claim and pre-action matters Claim preparation and pre-action matters—Practice Notes • Infringement of UK registered and unregistered designs • Design disputes—a practical guide • How to run an IP dispute • Copyright in designs • Types of dispute resolution • IP and mediation • IP and arbitration • UK Intellectual Property Office—mediation scheme • Disclosure scheme—when and where it applies Claim preparation and pre-action matters—Precedent • Timetable for disclosure—Business and Property Courts disclosure pilot Claim preparation and pre-action matters—Forms • Application for injunction • Application notice • Notice of hearing of application Stage 2—Letter before action...

EU trade mark registration—flowchart

EU trade mark registration—flowchart This Flowchart provides an overview of the EU trade mark (EUTM) registration process as implemented by the EU Intellectual Property Office. It covers the key stages of application; publication; opposition; registration; cancellation and expiry. For more information about applying for an EUTM (including use of the fast-track procedure), see Practice Note: EU trade marks (EUTMs). For an example search sheet setting out instructions as to the scope of the clearance searches to be conducted prior to

Measuring the in-house legal team

Measuring the in-house legal team This Practice Note discusses how in-house legal teams can use metrics such as staffing, spend, income and client satisfaction to demonstrate their value. Metrics are a useful tool to increasing self-awareness, implementing strategic improvements, focusing on reducing costs, increasing the influence of your legal function and developing and motivating your team. Why measure? Self-diagnosis Identifying trends and the current state of play, for example, workload, spend and staffing. Implementing strategic improvements Gathering the information you need to build business-wide support for your management strategies, for example:—maintaining headcount—pushing work to the business—outsourcing or insourcing—de-skilling or skilling-up—technology or further investment Focus on reducing costs A true focus on savings means keeping on top of data on costs or income, for example:—monitoring volume of external spend, discounts and rebates under alternative fee arrangements—building a platform from which to work closely with finance and procurement functions to achieve further savings Increasing the influence of your legal function Helping your legal team to become a key influencer...

UK and Community design right threats—pre 1 October 2017 [Archived]

UK and Community design right threats—pre 1 October 2017 [Archived] As of exit day (31 January 2020) the UK is no longer an EU Member State. However, in accordance with the Withdrawal Agreement, the UK has entered an implementation period, during which it continues to be subject to EU law. This has an impact on this Practice Note. For further guidance, see Practice Note: Brexit—IP rights. ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. This Practice Note sets out the law of unjustified threats of UK and Community design right infringement prior to its amendment by the Intellectual Property (Unjustified Threats) Act 2017 (IP(UT)A 2017). Communications made prior to 1 October 2017 continue to be governed by the old regime in respect of patents, trade marks and designs, as appropriate. All references in this Practice Note to the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, the Registered Designs Act 1949, and the Community Design Regulations 2005, are references to the legislation as it...

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Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Schedule

The ScheduleIntellectual Property Rights 1 1.1 [ Copyright works Description of Copyright work Nature of work (eg literary, artistic, databases, etc) Date of creation of work (if already created) [Insert details] [Insert details] [Insert details]

Warranty limitations—pro-seller—share purchase agreement

Insert the following definitions as new definitions into clause 1 of Precedent: Share purchase agreement—pro-buyer—corporate seller—conditional—long form: 1 Definitions and interpretation Claim means a claim by the Buyer for any breach of the provisions of this Agreement (including a claim for breach of the Warranties); Data Room means the data room relating to the [Company OR Group] comprising all contracts, agreements, licences, documents and other information made available to the Buyer and its advisers, as listed in the Data Room index attached to the Disclosure Letter; The ScheduleLimitations on the Warranties ...

Dive into our 482 Precedents related to Intellectual property

Where an employee has insufficient length of service to claim unfair dismissal, could they nevertheless bring a claim in the employment tribunal (ET) on the basis that the employer breached their contract of employment such that it terminated their employment? What is the ET’s jurisdiction to hear a breach of contract claim in those circumstances?

Where an employee has insufficient length of service to claim unfair dismissal, could they nevertheless bring a claim in the employment tribunal (ET) on the basis that the employer breached their contract of employment such that it terminated their employment? What is the ET’s jurisdiction to hear a breach of contract claim in those circumstances? Where an employee has insufficient length of service to bring an unfair dismissal claim under the statutory regime set out in Part X of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA 1996) (ERA 1996, s 94), if the circumstances of the termination are not such that the statutory qualifying period for bringing a statutory claim is reduced or dispensed with entirely, any termination of their employment will need to be considered in terms of common law principles. For further information, see Practice Note: Qualifying period for unfair dismissal. Under common law, if an employer dismisses an employee in breach of contract, eg dismissal without notice due under the contract, then such a dismissal would be wrongful. For...

Do all charitable incorporated organisations (CIOs) and charitable companies need to be recognised by HMRC to claim relief from corporation tax on bank interest?

Do all charitable incorporated organisations (CIOs) and charitable companies need to be recognised by HMRC to claim relief from corporation tax on bank interest? The basic rules for tax exemptions available to charities are set out in Part 10 of the Income Tax Act 2007, for income tax purposes (charitable trusts) and in Part 11 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010 for corporation tax (charitable companies). There has been some form of tax exemption for charities in tax legislation for a considerable period of time, but this exemption has not always been in the form it is now. There is an overriding requirement for a claim to be made for exemption and for the income concerned to be applied by the charity for charitable purposes only. Even so, only certain income can be exempt, namely: • profits of charitable trades • profits of small-scale trades and miscellaneous income • profits from fund-raising events • profits from lotteries • property income • savings and investment income and,...

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Crying over spilt ‘milk’? Oatly loses TM battle to Dairy UK (Dairy UK v Oatly)

IP analysis: The Court of Appeal allowed an appeal by Dairy UK Ltd and reinstated a declaration made by the UK Intellectual Property Office that Oatly AB's trade mark ‘POST MILK GENERATION’ was invalidly registered for oat-based goods. The court of appeal followed the ruling in VSW v TofuTown,and held that trade marks would fall within the definition of ‘designation’ under Regulation (EU) 1308/2013 (the ‘Regulation’) on labelling of agricultural products. Both the Regulation and VSW v TofuTown being assimilated law pursuant to the Common Organisation of the Markets in Agricultural Products Framework (Miscellaneous Amendments, etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019. The trade mark ‘POST MLK GENERATON’ containing the term ‘milk’ shall be used exclusively for dairy products derived from animals. The court found that the trade mark was not of such a nature as to deceive the public, however, it failed to describe any characteristic of the oat-based products in question and was invalidly registered. Written by Andrew Rigden Green, partner, head of International Arbitration at Stephenson Harwood (Hong Kong).

Public Law weekly highlights—12 December 2024

This week's edition of Public Law weekly highlights includes coverage of the Northern Ireland Assembly's historic vote to give democratic consent to the continued application of articles 5 to 10 of the Windsor Framework for the next four years, and the Cabinet Office’s new and updated guidance for the Procurement Act 2023. Additionally, these highlights cover the recruitment exercise for the UK judge on the European Court of Human Rights, a speech on judicial review by Mr Justice Fordham, and the DBT’s subsidy control assessment guides for public authorities. This edition further includes Brexit hightlights, Brexit SIs, Post-Brexit transition guidance, Constitutional and administrative law, Equality and human rights, Information law and Other Public law news.

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