Infringement litigation can be disruptive and expensive, the paper Patents, Trade Marks and Design Rights: Groundless Threats: A Consultation Paper examines the law regarding false accusations of patent, trade mark or design right infringement, the mere threat of which may cause significant commercial damage to a business. The existing law provides protection to businesses if an infringement threat is groundless. The groundless threat provisions were introduced in the nineteenth century to resolve disputes about steam engines. The Commission believes that they need to be adapted to the new global battles over information technology and is consulting on how they can be brought up to date. The Commission is consulting on two approaches to reform: (i) to build on the reforms made to patent law in 2004 and to extend these to the other rights, also proposing that legal advisers should be protected from liability for groundless threats; and

Recognized since its first edition as the preeminent work on its subject, this incomparable book thoroughly and expertly examines the intricacies of the provisions concerning trademarks and industrial designs enshrined in the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (the TRIPS Agreement). It is organized as a paragraph-by-paragraph annotated text of the Agreement, with detailed commentary not only on the articles specifically dealing with industrial property but also on every clause in the agreement that could affect the protection of trademarks and/or designs. The fourth edition brings the author's prodigious analysis of case law, dispute settlements, ongoing scholarship and other pertinent developments fully up to date. With the authority and in-depth experience of a former long-time WIPO official with unparalleled knowledge of WTO Members' practices in implementing TRIPS provisions, Nuno Pires de Carvalho brings his practical insight and vast scholarship to such complex questions as the following: • What are signs that can constitute trademarks? Which elements assist in identifying a well-known mark? • What are the limitations on the protection of non visually perceptible marks like sounds, scents and tastes? • What lessons can we learn so far from the Dispute Settlement Mechanism? • What are WTO Members' obligations as regards marks that relate to goods and services that offend religious and moral values? Are they obliged to register and protect them? • How strict is the TRIPS Agreement as regards the use of industrial property in relation to public policies? Are private rights limitless? Are they enforceable no matter what? The recent worldwide phenomenon of measures involving the use of trademarks to pursue public health goals through plain packaging schemes is thoroughly analyzed and evaluated. Lawyers, judges, scholars and government officials will find a wealth of information and legal analysis in this new edition of that will help them identify new approaches and solutions to problems of trademark and design law posed by the implementation of the TRIPS Agreement. With its combination of practically focused article-by-article commentary and scholarly analysis and insight, this edition will be an invaluable resource to all those who wish to understand industrial property at a deeper level.

Do you have a great idea for the next big thing, an eye-catching new corporate logo, or an exciting new business concept? Understand how to safeguard your ideas and creations with this expert guide to the fundamentals of intellectual property. Walking you step-by-step through the processes involved in protecting your great ideas, this book offers all the advice you need to ensure that you're the only one cashing in on your creativity and hard work.

In this incisive book, Minyu Zheng examines the various legal responses to unjustified threats of patent infringement. Employing a comparative, jurisdiction-based analysis, Zheng investigates whether the unjustified nature of such threats originates from the inaccuracy of the infringing accusation, or the inappropriateness of issuing threats. In particular, Zheng reveals how to resolve threats which are issued in an undue way but contain a correct allegation of patent infringement.

This book focuses on intellectual property (IP) in the context of product innovation and design-led start-up management. A distinguished feature is that it analyses innovation-related scenarios within their continuously changing contexts. IP is discussed in relation to the way in which its value changes over time as a venture matures. The book reveals how IP strategies can enhance a start-up’s survival prospects and its growth potential if they are connected systematically to other business development attributes. Being mainly addressed to enterprising designers, it may also support business administration programmes, innovation hubs, design educators, incubator managers, as well as business coaches and IP attorneys who support creatives and inventors. All in all, this book offers a unique and timely strategic guidance in the field of design and innovation management. “Design and design rights have long been overlooked in the plethora of studies on the links between IPR and innovation. Matthias Hillner’s thoughtful and eloquent journey provides a contemporary and meaningful analysis which will no doubt assist governments, economists, academics and designers’ better understanding of design in the context of successful business strategies and IPR. Given design’s significant contribution to global economies, I am confident it will offer much needed guidance.” Dids Macdonald OBE, founder CEO of Anticopying in Design (ACID) "This is an immensely practical book for designers and entrepreneurs who want to understand the issues of IP, product innovation, and business development. With clear explanations, many vivid examples, and strategically useful tips, it will be a valuable resource for creative minds at all levels of experience. A serious book but written with a sensitive touch on how to protect new ideas." Richard Buchanan, Professor of Design, Management, and Innovation, Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western Reserve University

What do you do if ... you need to seek a court order against a former employee who has set up in competition with you, having first helped themselves to your customer database? ... Or if you are deluged with complainants who have bought products they thought were yours, but turn out to have been made from inferior materials and without your knowledge or consent? ... Or if you receive a solicitor's letter complaining that a product you are about to launch infringes their client's trade mark or registered design? Jane Lambert's concise and practical guide gives you the knowledge that you need to make crucial decisions to protect your intellectual assets before it is too late. It should be kept close at hand for use in emergencies, just like a first aid manual. Its purpose is to alert you to problems so that you can take the right steps to manage them, in consultation with your professional advisors, before they develop into crises. And, if the worst does happen and you need to go to law, the guide provides you with the information you need to understand the process, the risks and how to prepare effectively. If you are planning an enforcement strategy, looking for the optimum patent or registered trade mark or design protection and to secure the appropriate insurance to make sure you have a fund available to enforce these, then this book is for you. If you're already in hot water, someone with an intellectual property problem who needs to make fast decisions in very little time, then this book is for you too. It could help you avoid the most expensive mistake of your life.

The leading textbook on this subject, Introduction to Business Law is an ideal companion to law modules for business, management, and finance and accounting students. Its visual and practical approach will enable students to engage with the legal essentials required for success in study and a business career.

Providing a comprehensive and systematic commentary on the nature of overlapping Intellectual Property rights and their place in practice, this book is a major contribution to the way that IP is understood. IP rights are mostly studied in isolation, yet in practice each of the legal categories created to protect IP rights will usually only provide partial legal coverage of the broader context in which such rights are actually created, used, and enforced. Consequently, often multiple IP rights may overlap, in whole or in part, with respect to the same underlying subject matter. Some patterns, for instance, in addition to being protected from copying under the design rights regime, may also be distinctive enough to warrant trade mark protection. Each chapter addresses a discrete pair of IP rights and is written by a specialist in that area. Facilitating an understanding of how and when those rights may be encountered in practice, each chapter is introduced by a hypothetical situation setting out the overlap discussed in the chapter. The conceptual and practical issues arising from this situation are then discussed, providing practitioners with a full understanding of the overlap. Also included is a valuable summary table setting out the legal position for each set of overlapping rights in jurisdictions across Europe, Central and South America, and Asia, and the differences between them.