Introduction
A Briefest of Histories

Further Information:

• The legal issues affecting a new brand name
• The legal issues affecting a new logo
• The legal issues affecting a new design
• Protecting a new brand name or new logo
• Protecting new designs
• Protecting ideas
• A Trade Mark Attorney
• Enforcement of IP rights can take the form of preventing a third party registering an identical/similar
name/logo/identity or design by way of opposition proceedings in the relevant IP Office, raising
objections to their use or registration by way of correspondence, or the more extreme step (in the
case of unauthorised use) of infringement proceedings in the courts. Passing off is an alternative
claim applicable in the United Kingdom and many other common law countries. It is intended to
protect the goodwill of a business and is often relevant where the aggrieved party might have an
unregistered right to protect. Steps such as opposition in the UK IPO or design, copyright or
registered trade mark infringement/passing off proceedings should always be preceded by
correspondence (preferably from the IP owner’s legal advisers) informing the alleged culpable party
(or infringer where infringement of an IP right is concerned) of the owner’s rights and setting out the
circumstances giving rise to the allegations made. That correspondence should also offer the
opportunity to the culpable party to withdraw his offending IP application or (in the case of IP
infringement) discontinue his offending conduct, combined with providing undertakings ( a type of
contract) governing his future conduct, and in appropriate circumstances, providing for compensation.
It is only if such steps fail that the commencement or continuance of proceedings will be necessary.
• Defending a trade mark
• Defending other IP rights
• Delimitation of rights
• Licensing
• Franchising
• Exploitation of IP rights
• Exploitation of Intellectual Property rights: raising funds and securitisation
• Intellectual Property Rights as investments
• Acquisition and transfer
• Registration of transactions
• E-commerce and the internet
• Trade Marks and the internet/e-commerce
• Domain names, “ownership” of a name and cyber-squatting
• Disputing domain names
• Websites and e-commerce – legal issues
• Contractual issues in e-commerce
• The legal issues affecting advertising
• Intellectual Property and Insurance
• Intellectual Property and Insolvency

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