Intellectual Property

Overlap Between Trade Marks, Copyright, and Design Rights (UK)

Understanding the different intellectual property (IP) rights you have is important as a business. Each type of IP—trade marks, copyright, and design rights—are distinct, yet they can interact creating an overlapping protection for the various elements of a brand. In ...

Fashion work studio
Designs

Unregistered Design Rights – Scope and Limitations

Businesses that create aesthetic products know how designs are an essential part of their appeal to the market. With customers demanding innovation and creativity in design, it’s important to be able to protect your intellectual property (IP) when you create ...

Art Brushes
Copyright Infringement

Copyright and non-traditional creative works

When you hear the word “copyright”, you likely think of books, paintings, music, or films. However, in the UK copyright protection extends far beyond these traditional works—covering areas like fashion, industrial design, software, and even exercise machines, as seen in ...

Draping
Designs

Understanding design infringement through case law

Design rights are very important, and if you operate in creative industries, you would be aware of the rights they provide. Within the European Union (EU), the regulatory framework for design rights provides clarity on what constitutes protectable designs and ...

Designs

Defences for design infringement (registered or unregistered)

Designs are at the heart of creativity, combining innovation with aesthetic appeal to set products apart in a crowded marketplace. Think of the design of the most innovative products like the Swiss Army Knife or Bic’s Cristal Ballpoint Pen. As ...

Graphic depicting copyright infringement case
Copyright Infringement

Understanding copyright subsistence and its importance for copyright claims

Copyright subsistence is a very important concept in intellectual property law, and its the first key part we discuss with new clients when they approach us with a copyright infringement claim. Copyright subsistence is used to qualify different type of ...

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