14. Industrial Designs

All books in this flagship series contain carefully selected substantial extracts from key cases, legislation, and academic debate, providing able students with a stand-alone resource. This chapter discusses: design protection in the UK and EU; the history of industrial design; registered designs; unregistered design right; the relationship between copyright and industrial designs; and the future of the interface between design protection and copyright.

12. Patents II

All books in this flagship series contain carefully selected substantial extracts from key cases, legislation, and academic debate, providing able students with a stand-alone resource. This chapter discusses the requirements of patentability: novelty, inventive step, and sufficiency and support. Novelty means that the invention is new, i.e. is not anticipated. Under section 3 of the Patents Act 1977, an invention involves an inventive step ‘if it is not obvious to a person skilled in the art, having regard to any matter which forms part of the state of the art’. Patent applicants must also satisfy disclosure requirements. Section 14(3) provides that the specification of an application must disclose the invention in a manner clear and complete enough to be performed by the person skilled in the art (sufficiency of disclosure). Section 14(5)(c) provides that claims must be clear, concise, and supported by the description, a requirement (supported by the description).

6. Trade Marks I

All books in this flagship series contain carefully selected substantial extracts from key cases, legislation, and academic debate, providing able students with a stand-alone resource. This chapter examines the main justifications for the protection of registered trade marks. It considers the substantive law relating to the subject matter of registration as set out in the Trade Marks Directive (2016) and its predecessor. It looks at which signs will be registered as well as the absolute grounds for refusal of registration and at the Court of Justice of the European Union and domestic case law interpreting these grounds. The practicalities of the trade mark registration process both domestically and internationally are also considered. The chapter then looks at the relationship between registered marks and the public domain.

3. Copyright II

All books in this flagship series contain carefully selected substantial extracts from key cases, legislation, and academic debate, providing able students with a stand-alone resource. This chapter discusses principles relating to the authorship and ownership of copyright, and the significance of this designation. It examines how owners of copyright can exploit their works by either assignment or licence and the circumstances in which courts can imply terms in the absence of parties having agreed as to how a copyright work can be exploited. The chapter discusses the term of copyright protection and also examines exclusive rights, both moral and economic in nature, that authors and owners respectively have in their copyright works.

13. Patents III

All books in this flagship series contain carefully selected substantial extracts from key cases, legislation, and academic debate, providing able students with a stand-alone resource. This chapter discusses patent infringement, exceptions to infringement, and entitlement. Assessment of whether a patent has been infringed involves a three-stage process. First, the patent claims must be construed to see whether the defendant’s activities fall within the scope of the monopoly. Second, identify the infringing acts that the defendant is alleged to have carried out. Third, consider the applicability of exceptions to infringement. The chapter then focuses on three key exceptions to infringement within the Patents Act 1977: acts done for experimental purposes (‘experimental use’); acts done for private and non-commercial purposes (‘private use’); and the right to continue use begun before the priority date (‘prior use’). Finally, it considers persons entitled to the grant of a patent.

11. Patents I

All books in this flagship series contain carefully selected substantial extracts from key cases, legislation, and academic debate, providing able students with a stand-alone resource. This chapter begins with an overview of the history of UK patent law. It then discusses: justifications in support of patent rights; sources of patent law; obtaining a patent; patentable subject matter; exclusions from patentability relevant to biotechnological inventions (e.g. plant and animal varieties and non-microbiological processes for their production; software and business methods; and inventions that are contrary to ordre public or morality); industrial application requirements for patentability; and methods of medical and veterinary treatment.

4. Copyright III

All books in this flagship series contain carefully selected substantial extracts from key cases, legislation, and academic debate, providing able students with a stand-alone resource. This chapter discusses the circumstances in which an owner’s economic rights may be infringed; the exceptions and limitations to copyright infringement; changes to the exceptions regime recently introduced into UK copyright law and how technological protection measures interrelate with copyright exceptions; and database right.

9. Breach of Confidence

All books in this flagship series contain carefully selected substantial extracts from key cases, legislation, and academic debate, providing able students with a stand-alone resource. This chapter focuses on the action for breach of confidence as it relates to commercial secrets. It first considers the jurisdictional basis of the action for breach of confidence and then discusses the elements for establishing a breach of confidence. The first element is that there must be confidential information; the second element is that the defendant comes under an obligation of confidence; the third element of a breach of confidence requires an unauthorized use of the information to the detriment of the person communicating it. The chapter also reviews the main confidentiality obligations that apply to employees and ex-employees with regards to commercial secrets.

7. Trade Marks II

All books in this flagship series contain carefully selected substantial extracts from key cases, legislation, and academic debate, providing able students with a stand-alone resource. This chapter discusses the relative grounds for refusal to register a trade mark; acts that constitute infringement; and remedies for infringement. It considers the finding of the Court of Justice of the EU that the investment, advertising, and commercial functions of a trade mark will be protected as well as its role as a badge of origin in cases of ‘double identity’ under the Trade Marks Directive. The chapter considers possible changes to the position under the new Trade Marks Directive and looks at the CJEU’s interpretation of cases where a third party is deemed to have taken unfair advantage of a trade mark with a reputation. It also discusses the use of trade marks on the internet and the implications for findings of infringement.

5. Passing off

All books in this flagship series contain carefully selected substantial extracts from key cases, legislation, and academic debate, providing able students with a stand-alone resource. This chapter discusses the protection which the law affords to unregistered trade marks through the tort of passing off. It covers the definition of passing off; the relationship between passing off and unfair competition; the elements of passing off; and defences to passing off (delay or acquiescence, bona fide use of the defendant’s own name, and concurrent use).