Legal Practice Notes

This Practice Note This Practice Note reviews mechanisms used in settling litigation. A Tomlin order consists of a consent order paired with a schedule. It operates to stay proceedings on terms that have been agreed. The provisions contained in the schedule may remain confidential. This Practice Note describes the scope of confidentiality attaching to the schedule and sets out how it differs from a standard consent order. Sample wording for a Tomlin order is included, alongside links to precedents, as well as guidance on court approval. It also addresses varying, setting aside and enforcing a Tomlin order, including the considerations the court will take into account when handling applications for each. Further guidance is provided on interpreting and applying the relevant provisions of the CPR; however, some courts and divisions impose very specific requirements for both drafting and approval, and for...

This tracker sets out the key decisions and information relating to the proceedings concerning: patent applications for inventions claimed to be created by DABUS (device for the autonomous bootstrapping of unified sentience), an AI ‘creativity machine’ developed by Dr Stephen Thaler a copyright registration for an image generated by Thaler’s ‘creativity machine’ It records pivotal rulings in the UK, across Europe and worldwide from patent offices — including the UK Intellectual Property Office ( UKIPO) and the European Patent Office ( EPO) — as well as national courts. With the exception of South Africa, where substantive examination of patent filings is not undertaken, patent offices and courts in multiple jurisdictions have refused Thaler’s patent applications on the basis that an AI system cannot qualify as an inventor under the applicable patent laws. This reflects a legal consensus that the named inventor on a patent must be a...

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note is archived and no longer maintained. How does Brexit impact supply of goods? Brexit influences the supply of goods wherever movements cross between the UK and the EU, as fresh trading frameworks between the UK and EU have applied since 1 January 2021. Parties should review goods supply contracts, in particular where they touch on intellectual property, data protection and competition law issues. Sector-specific factors and chosen routes to market will also require attention. For manufacturers, updates to product safety and conformity arrangements will be critical. A gradual divergence in product liability is likewise expected over time. Contracts for the supply of goods The rules governing business-to-business supply contracts stem from UK law; therefore, agreements for purely domestic supplies (that is, goods traded between two UK-based entities) are, in the main, unaffected by Brexit. From IP completion day, the UK is treated as a third...

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note is archived and is not maintained How does Brexit impact standard terms and conditions? Brexit’s key effects on standard terms and conditions arise from practical adjustments to be addressed when drafting and assessing the suitability of standard form terms for the purchase and supply of goods and/or services, covering both business to business and business-to-consumer contracts. Review of suitability Standard form terms and conditions should be checked to ensure they remain appropriate for use after IP completion day, both for the commercial arrangements they govern and the contract wording itself. Consider whether any standard terms and conditions require amendment or tailoring. This may include clauses on territorial scope, pricing, tax, intellectual property, data protection, applicable law, jurisdiction and dispute resolution. See Practice Notes: Brexit—contract risk management [ Archived] Brexit—drafting commercial clauses [ Archived] ...

This Practice Note offers a concise overview of how spare parts are treated under the main IP rights recognised in English law (designs, trade marks, patents and copyright). It also includes illustrations of how the rules operate in practice and down-to-earth guidance for rights holders and for businesses that make and/or sell spare parts. What are spare parts? A ‘spare part’ is an interchangeable component kept in stock and used to repair or replace failed units. Spare parts are integral to logistics engineering and supply chain management, frequently supported by dedicated spare parts management systems and distinct markets focused on the manufacture, supply and/or fitting of parts, including businesses where spares are a principal offering, such as garages and repair centres. Designs The connection between design rights and spare parts is especially close, as in certain circumstances protection can cover a part of a product, not only the...

This Practice Note delivers a high-level overview of the varied forms of social media services and sites, setting out principal ways organisations may deploy them in practice today, while also recognising several business risks that accompany social media use at a glance... Key social media types Social media sites such as Facebook, Tik Tok, Twitter (now known as X), You Tube, Linked In and Instagram commonly sit at the heart of campaigns and community-building efforts. This is in part due to the strong control they give over targeting and reaching specific audiences... A business’s approach to social media will typically be shaped by the nature of its industry, the audience segment in view (for example, Instagram and Tik Tok are popular with 16–24-year-olds), the online spaces and communities its customers and target market frequent, and the likely effectiveness of each site in supporting the...

ARCHIVED This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. It was originally prepared for Lexis Advance® Practical Guidance Singapore. Registration of a trade mark grants the proprietor the exclusive ability to use the mark in relation to the goods and services for which it is registered. It also provides the power to prevent others from using identical or similar marks on identical or similar goods or services, with infringement proceedings available to enforce those rights. Registration is not always essential for protection. An unregistered trade mark used in Singapore may still be safeguarded under the common law tort of passing off. In Singapore, registered trade marks are governed by the Trade Marks Act ( Cap 332). A registration endures for ten years from the filing date of the application and can be renewed indefinitely in successive ten‑year...

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. This Practice Note was originally prepared for Lexis Advance® Practical Guidance Singapore. An interested person may apply to the Registrar of Designs ( Registrar) or the High Court to revoke a design registration on the grounds that: the design was not new on the date of registration there are additional reasons why the design ought not to have been registered at the time of registration it was a corresponding design to an artistic work in which copyright subsisted, and the registered design rights have expired pursuant to section 22(1) of the Registered Designs Act ( Cap 266) For the definition of “artistic work”, see section 7(1) of the Copyright Act ( Cap 63). In High Court proceedings concerning the Singapore government’s use of a registered design, the government may likewise seek...

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note is archived and not maintained. It was originally prepared for Lexis Advance® Practical Guidance Singapore. Performance rights shield a performer’s live or recorded dramatic and musical performances from unauthorised recording or broadcasting, and from other unapproved dealings. These rights now form a bundle of economic rights in performances encompassing non‑property, property and moral rights, granting performers of qualifying performances the ability to consent to, and to receive equitable remuneration for, specified reproductions of their performances. They are particularly valuable for addressing ‘bootleg’ recordings, that is, when a live performance is captured without the performer’s consent. Unauthorised use of performance The exclusive rights afforded to performers for their performances under the Copyright Act ( Cap 63) can be grouped into two principal categories: a primary right against the following unauthorised uses where a person: makes a...

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note is archived and no longer maintained. It was originally prepared for Lexis Advance® Practical Guidance Singapore. Duration of copyright The ethical rationale for intellectual property is to provide creators with a temporary monopoly that encourages creation, with the expectation that works will ultimately pass into the public domain for the wider good. Copyright operates on the same principle: its protection must be time‑bound so that, once it lapses, the work becomes available to all. The question, naturally, is how long that protection should endure. Duration of copyright— Berne Convention Article 7(1) of the Berne Convention (for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works) sets the minimum term for copyright across its member states. In essence, protection lasts for the author’s lifetime and a further fifty years after death. For clarity, that additional fifty‑year period is measured from 1 January of the year...

This Practice Note provides guidance on resolving an IP dispute. It outlines the reasons to settle an IP dispute, when settlement should be considered and the forms a settlement can take. It also examines how negotiations might be conducted and the principal terms to capture in a settlement agreement, together with practical pointers for the parties. Why settle? ‘ Settlement’ generally describes a scenario where the parties agree to bring the dispute to an end and enter into an agreement (often a formal contract) setting out the terms reached. Settlement may occur before litigation starts or during court proceedings. Although there are occasions when it is tactically sensible to litigate, it is usually better avoided. IP proceedings are no exception. However persuasive a rights holder’s case may seem, the result of litigation is inherently uncertain, and the process can be expensive, time consuming and...

This Practice Note This Practice Note examines how standard essential patents ( SEPs) and fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory ( FRAND) licensing feature in patent disputes before the Courts of England and Wales (the English Courts). It focuses, in particular, on the legal position following the UK Supreme Court’s ruling of 26 August 2020 in the combined Unwired Planet and Conversant appeals, and the practical consequences of that decision. For further information, see News Analysis: Supreme Court— English courts can determine terms of global licences for portfolios of standard essential patents ( Unwired Planet v Huawei). Since then, two further significant rulings on FRAND rates have been issued in England and Wales and have been the subject of appeal judgments, as noted below: First, judgment was handed down on 16 March 2023 in the dispute between Inter Digital and Lenovo following a High Court FRAND trial in...

Introduction Recording interests can significantly affect the priority ranking of competing security interests. This Practice Note summarises the effect on priority of making registrations at the relevant IP registry for: a UK patent a UK registered trade mark, or a UK registered design For information on how registration against other classes of asset influences the priority of security interests, see the following Practice Notes: Effect of registering security at the HM Land Registry/ Land Charges Department on priority of security interests Effect of registering security on the UK Ship Register on priority of security interests Effect of registering security on the UK Register of Aircraft Mortgages on priority of security interests In addition, most security interests created by a company formed and registered under the Companies Act 2006 must be registered at Companies House to be effective. For more detail on the...

ARCHIVED This Practice Note is archived. The framework governing search orders was materially revised with effect from 6 April 2025. For the position from 6 April 2025, consult Practice Note: Search and imaging orders—execution of the order and next steps. This Practice Note explains how a search order ought to be executed. It also considers non-compliance with the order’s terms by applicants and respondents, alongside the privilege against self-incrimination. It addresses variation and discharge of the order, and sets out the requirements for steps to be taken once execution of the order has occurred. For related guidance on search orders, see the following Practice Notes: Search and imaging orders—guiding principles Search and imaging orders—making the application Search orders—the draft order and electronic documents (pre- April 2025) [ Archived] Search orders—key and illustrative decisions (pre- April 2025) [ Archived] A specimen form of imaging order was approved and appended to CPR PD 25A from 6...

Retained EU Law ( Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 The Retained EU Law ( Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 ( REUL( RR) A 2023) overhauls the framework set by the European Union ( Withdrawal) Act 2018 ( EU( W) A 2018). It has a marked effect on the status and treatment of what had been retained EU law ( REUL); from 1 January 2024, by virtue of the Act, this is recognised as assimilated law. The legislation also confers a broad set of powers enabling the further amendment, repeal, and substitution of assimilated law over time. REUL( RR) A 2023 came into force in part on 29 June 2023, with additional provisions taking effect on 29 August 2023, and the remaining elements commencing on appointment. It was brought into force on 1 January 2024, save for section 6 ( Role of courts). For...

When commercial software is obtained from a supplier, what is typically granted is a non‑exclusive licence. The supplier keeps copyright in the code; they authorise delivery or download of the code to the customer and, in return for a fee, the customer accepts a licence governed by often extensive terms and conditions. Although people speak of software being ‘bought’ or ‘sold’, for commercial offerings there is, almost without exception, no transfer of title. Only a restricted permission to use is conferred. This Practice Note reviews the legal and commercial questions over whether such licences, when no longer needed by the licensee, can be ‘resold’, that is, assigned to a new user. Second-hand software market This Practice Note focuses on the resale of business software, not games software; the latter combines music, imagery and animation, creating further copyright complications. After the Court of Justice of the EU’s...

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note is archived and not maintained. It was originally prepared for Lexis Advance® Practical Guidance Singapore. Designs Designs often give consumer and industrial products a crucial advantage, enhancing utility or visual appeal. Securing registration matters, as neglecting it can forfeit both design rights and copyright. A registered design right safeguards the look of all or part of an article. Under the Registered Designs Act ( Cap 266), a design covers features of shape, configuration, pattern or ornament applied to any article by an industrial process. In Singapore, no dedicated statute protects unregistered designs; such designs are instead covered by copyright law. Relevant legislation and subsidiary legislation Singapore registered designs: the Registered Designs Act as amended the Registered Designs Rules ( R 1) GN No S 504/2000 ( Revised Edition 2002) the Registered Designs ( International Registration) Rules 2005 No S...

STOP PRESS: With effect from 24 February 2025, the principal provisions of the Procurement Act 2023 ( PA 2023) are now operative. Procurement exercises launched on or after that date must, without exception, proceed under PA 2023, whereas those initiated under the previous regime—including the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016, Concession Contracts Regulations 2016, and the Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011—must continue to be procured, administered and managed in accordance with that legislation. The Cabinet Office has likewise refreshed and republished its collections of standard contract documents, templates and guidance materials for the government’s Model Services Contract, Mid‑ Tier Contract and Short Form Contract. These revised materials were issued in tandem with the PA 2023 ‘go‑live’ on 24 February 2025. This Practice Note will be updated shortly to reflect and incorporate these developments. In the meantime, see News...

Introduction Safeguarding a trade mark in China enables a business to build a brand and reputation within the world’s second largest economy. This supports customer growth and helps ensure no one else uses their name to sell goods or services without permission. China operates a ‘first-to-file’ system, meaning the earliest filer is entitled to register the mark, so timing is critical. In practice, legal protection can be lost if an identical or similar trade mark has already been entered on China’s register before your filing. Consequently, it is crucial to register a trade mark in China at the first available moment. Chinese law does provide bases to oppose an application or to invalidate a registered trade mark where appropriate. Nevertheless, filing first is generally the least costly and most effective way to secure a mark and avoid disputes. Challenging earlier filings later can be...

Content This Practice Note explores how stakeholders’ interests in commonly held intellectual property rights ( IPRs) can be safeguarded where the licensor, licensee, or a chargor over IPRs becomes insolvent. It addresses three principal strands of protection: measures available to a licensor when a licensee enters an insolvency process measures available to a licensee when the licensor enters an insolvency process steps a secured party may take to preserve its position where the chargor’s assets comprise valuable IPRs The Note also touches on elements of English insolvency law, including a concise overview of an insolvency practitioner’s ( IP’s) powers. A full analysis of the individual insolvency procedures recognised under English law falls outside its scope. Unless indicated otherwise, the umbrella expression ‘insolvency process’ is used to describe liquidation, administration, and administrative receivership, each involving the appointment of an IP over the...