Intellectual property

Most businesses own more intellectual property than they realise and protect less of it than they assume. A name used consistently for years, a database built up by staff, a design commissioned from a freelancer, the code behind an internal tool — each is an asset, and each belongs to somebody. Often not to the company paying for it, because ownership follows rules that have nothing to do with who wrote the invoice.

Intellectual property law decides what can be owned, who owns it, how long it lasts and what an owner may stop other people doing:

• the rules on what a trademark protects, and on the searches that should precede a new name;
• the rules on registration, classes and the territories a right actually covers;
• the rules on copyright — what arises automatically, and who holds it when work is commissioned;
• the rules on employee and contractor creations, and the assignments that should have been signed;
• the rules on designs, and on protecting the appearance of a product rather than its function;
• the rules on know-how and trade secrets, and what must be done to keep them secret in law;
• the rules on licensing — exclusivity, territory, royalties and what happens at the end;
• the rules on infringement, and what an owner may demand before going to court;
• the rules on use in advertising, comparison and on platforms an owner does not control.

Our lawyers can support you in all these areas of law.