IP Law

New advice issued by the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) to help shoppers spot fake goods on second-hand online resale platforms......

Section 6 of the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 supersedes VPA 2024, s 17, scrapping the prior constraint that protected disclosures had to be made to particular recipients for specified purposes. Any term in any agreement, including commercial non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), is void to the extent it seeks to stop a victim, or someone who reasonably believes they are a victim, from revealing relevant criminal conduct-or the counterparty’s reaction to it-to anyone, for any purpose. The new provision binds the Crown, subject only to a tightly drawn national security exception. This analysis examines how these reforms align with existing common law limits on confidentiality and their consequences for standard commercial NDA templates. It is written by Richard Hanstock, a barrister at Cornerstone Barristers and the founder of Deeptech Legal, an SRA-authorised firm specialising in cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, defence technology and national security...

In this issue: Trade marks/passing off Copyright & associated rights Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Useful information Trade marks/passing off Court of Appeal confirms ‘SHORTSTV’ trade mark is invalid (Shorts International Ltd v Google LLC) The Court of Appeal, in Shorts International Ltd v Google LLC [2026] EWCA Civ 668, upheld the earlier ruling and dismissed Shorts International Ltd’s (SIL’s) appeal, confirming that Google’s use of ‘Shorts’ did not infringe SIL’s registered trade marks and that one of its registrations was invalid. SIL, a producer and distributor of short films aired on its ‘ShortsTV’ channel, contended that Google’s deployment of ‘Shorts’ for its YouTube Shorts service infringed its five registered trade marks under section 10(2) and 10(3) of the Trade Marks Act 1994 (TMA 1994) and amounted to passing off. The judge...

Practice Note This Practice Note offers practical guidance on the current border controls between the United Kingdom and the European Union, along with the changes scheduled to commence on 1 January 2022. It covers customs declarations, the payment of customs duty and VAT, and sanitary and phytosanitary checks. Introduction In November 2021, the UK released its updated border operating model, explaining how the UK border functions in relation to the EU. The model was originally brought in on 1 January 2021 following the UK’s departure from the EU customs union. From that date, certain border controls were introduced. These were phased in to allow time to build and prepare the necessary infrastructure to support those controls. In December 2021, the UK further updated the border operating model to temporarily prolong staged customs controls for goods moving from the island of Ireland into Great Britain. This interim step was taken...

This Practice Note examines music collecting societies, which may operate as ‘licensing bodies’, and/or ‘Collective Management Organisations’ (CMOs). It outlines: the rationale for music collecting societies; how collecting societies work; and the regulation applicable to music collecting societies. It then supplies details on PRS for Music (PRS) and Phonographic Performance Limited (PPL) (covering their members and the rights they administer), as well as the joint venture PPL PRS Ltd and TheMusicLicence. This Practice Note sets out practical matters to bear in mind when dealing with music collecting societies. The need for music collecting societies and the legal framework The proprietor of copyright in a creation such as a musical work or a sound recording is entitled to authorise or prevent certain restricted acts. In the UK, those acts are listed in Chapter II of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA 1988). The...

Database right Database right is a proprietary entitlement in the UK, arising from the transposition of Directive 96/9/EC (the EU Database Directive), and applies to a database where there has been substantial investment in acquiring, checking, or presenting its contents. Illustrations of what may amount to a database include: a hard copy or electronic encyclopaedia; collections of data hosted on websites; the intranet; a spreadsheet recording a database and a PDF version of that spreadsheet (see the Forensic Telecommunications Services Limited case); and a document management system. The EU Database Directive was put into effect in the UK by the Copyright and Rights in Databases Regulations 1997 (CRD 1997, also called the Database Regulations 1997), SI 1997/3032. Database right is infringed by the extraction or re-utilisation of the whole or a substantial part of the database’s contents without the permission of the rights holder. Not every database benefits from database right....

Confidentiality letter—private M&A—asset purchase—corporate seller Strictly private and confidential To: [ insert buyer name ] [ insert buyer address ] Date: [ insert date ] Dear [ insert buyer contact name ], Proposed acquisition of the business of [ insert name of business being acquired ] 1 Introduction 1.1 Further to our recent conversations, this letter concerns the intended disposal detailed herein by [ insert seller name ] (the Seller) of [ insert description of the business being sold ] (the Business), which trades under the name [ insert name of business being sold ] (the Business Name), on a going concern basis, together with [ insert description of the assets being sold ] (the Assets), to [ insert buyer name ] (or any member of its group of companies) (the Buyer) (the Proposed Acquisition). Each of the Seller and the Buyer constitutes a party and,...

This Agreement is entered into on [ insert date ]. Parties [ insert name ] [ of OR a company incorporated in [ England and Wales ] with company number [ insert registered number ] and registered office at ] [ insert address ] (the Assignor); [ insert name ] [ of OR a company incorporated in [ England and Wales ] with company number [ insert registered number ] and registered office at ] [ insert address ] (the Assignee) (each of the Assignor and the Assignee being a party, and together both the Assignor and the Assignee constituting the parties). BACKGROUND (A) The Assignor holds the copyright and database rights in the Database. (B) The Assignee is [ insert description of the Assignee’s background/background to the assignment or relevant transaction ], as applicable. (C) The Assignor agrees to assign all such copyright and database rights, and the Assignee agrees to...

CLAIM No: [ insert claim number ] In the High Court of Justice, Business and Property Courts of England & Wales, Intellectual Property List (ChD), Patents Court BETWEEN [ insert full name of claimant ] Claimant [ [ insert full name of second claimant ] Second Claimant ] and [ insert full name of defendant ] Defendant [ [ insert full name of second defendant ] Second Defendant ] Particulars of claim The Claimant is a company formed on [ insert date ] and continuing under the law[s] of [ insert country/countries ], with its registered office at [ insert address ]. The Claimant conducts, among other things, [ insert brief description of claimant’s business ]. The Defendant is a company incorporated on [ insert date ] and operating under the law[s] of [ insert...

This Q&A proceeds on the basis that: the question relates to a business-to-business transaction the question relates to a contract drafted and negotiated in the conventional manner and is not an e-commerce transaction entered into between the parties via website terms and conditions the question relates to the execution of a simple contract the question relates to the law of England and Wales Contract formation General contract law principles apply to agreements formed virtually......

In this Q&A we focus on the amendments introduced by Regulation (EU) 2015/2424 (subsequently consolidated in Regulation (EU) 2017/1001, the EU Trade Mark Regulation (EUTM Regulation)), along with the key points to consider when seeking protection for an unconventional mark. EU Trade Mark Regulation—What is new? See News Analysis: New EU trade mark reforms, which provides an analysis of the background to the new EU trade mark reforms. As outlined there, five new categories of trade mark can be applied for in the EU: Position Pattern Motion Multimedia Hologram These are in addition to a Certification Mark, which has been available in the UK for some time. The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) has issued guidance relating to the new EU trade mark reforms......

Brexit—Commercial For help with your query, please refer to the following: Brexit—contract clauses and resources—checklist [Archived] Clause: Brexit—warranty for commercial contracts clause [Archived] Clause: Territory definition For additional guidance, see: Brexit collection......