Copyright Law - Media & Creative Industries

Our experts will help you understand your intellectual property rights

Our Media and Creative Industries Team understand how important intellectual property law issues are to any business. Ensuring you have an understanding of trademark law and patent law issues could ultimately decide the longevity of your company, particularly creative businesses involved with the arts, media and science.

Intellectual property copyright and trademarks are the backbone to the creative industries in the UK. Our specialist team will help you to understand your intellectual property rights and the complex area of copyright law.

Specialist intellectual property law advice

The MACI Team are highly experienced in the area of copyright law and regularly advise clients on issues relating to intellectual property. Our specialist solicitors can help you with:

Securing protection for IP rights
Maximising the revenue that IP rights generate
Advising on IP rights licensing
IP rights infringement
The management and commercial exploitation of rights held by businesses or individuals
Acquiring IP rights for use in other media
Helping right owners and creators to build their businesses and plan their futures

If you require further information, or would like to speak to one of our experts, please email the MACI Team today.

Latest News

Digital Economy Act 2010

As part of the pre-election ‘wash-up’, the Digital Economy Act 2010 became law, bringing with it the right for the Secretary of State to create secondary legislation to require Internet Service Providers to take ‘technical measures’...

Software May Become Patentable

As programmers are probably already aware, designers of computer software in the UK are not normally able to patent their work, even if the software is innovative. The US, which takes a different approach to the issue, has long...

Trade Mark Registration Fails When Confusion Likely

A recent case before the EU General Court led to the failure of an attempt to register a Community Trade Mark (CTM). The Court found that the proposed mark (which was not a real word in Spanish) was too similar to an existing Spanish trade mark for a...

US Copyright Judgment Does Not Bind UK Court

Star Wars ‘Stormtrooper’ helmets are not sculptures within the meaning of UK copyright legislation and cannot be protected as such under English Law. Neither can a US court judgment against a UK maker of plastic toy helmets be enforced in...

Intellectual Property Insolvency Clause Unfair

It is common for a contract to be written so that if one party to it becomes insolvent the contract ceases, but when the contract relates to the creation of something of value to both parties and this is jointly owned, the situation can become more...

Online Trading- Protecting Your Business

The internet is now widely accessible by a variety of access devices and media. Businesses, from sole traders to international companies, have ha to develop and adapt themselves to use the internet for trade. As a result the law about online trading has...

Using Internet Image Costs Firm Dear

Many people think that making use of images from the Internet is allowed and that such images are free for anyone to use. However, unless the owner of an image has specifically granted a public right of use, it is copyright and the owner may sue for breach...

Key Words Do Not Breach Trade Mark

The Advocate General has recently given his opinion that the use of a competitor’s trade mark as a ‘key word’, in order to trigger the appearance of one’s own advertisement when an Internet search is carried out, is not an...

Patent Stands Despite Disclosure of Art

The ruling in a recent patent dispute will give comfort to developers of products that are patented after the developer has already ‘let the cat out of the bag’. The general rule is that a patent cannot be defended if the subject matter of the...

Data Protection Fine Proposals

The Government has announced that it intends to levy fines of up to £500,000 (yes, £1/2 million) for serious breaches of the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) . It is time for a DPA compliance review!...

eBay Not Responsible for L'Oreal Counterfeit Sales

Online auction house eBay has secured an important result in its battle to avoid liability for counterfeit goods sold via its trading website, following a recent ruling by the High Court. Cosmetics giant L’Oréal failed in its claim to make eBay...

Valuing Your Brand: New Standard

Brand value is an increasingly important issue in an economy in which intellectual property underpins the value of many businesses. The UK Intellectual Property Office has initiated a process to arrive at a new standard for the valuation of brands. For more...

IP: New Charges

The UK Intellectual Property Office has introduced a number of changes that will apply to applications for new trade mark registration. View the changes . ...

Your IP - Protect it or Lose it

Businesses which own patents need to have a system in place to ensure that they do not lapse by default. Failure to pay patent renewal fees will mean that the patent lapses and the previously patented material is then capable of being exploited by anyone. ...

Protect Your Trade mark

In a knowledge-based economy, it is critical to protect your brand from unauthorised use by unscrupulous third parties. Some business owners do not believe there is any point in registering their trading or brand name because they consider their...

What to Do About Copyright Infringement

In the UK, copyright is automatic: there is no need to register it. It is the property of the creator as soon as it is created. However, it is not sufficient to be able to prove that you thought of something before someone else, since copyright does not...

There can be few, if any, musical instruments as instantly identifiable as the Fender Stratocaster® and Telecaster®. Although the names have been registered trade marks owned by the Fender Corporation for many years, the company had not attempted to...

The Knock on the Door - It's the Information Commissioner

The ever-growing list of public authorities entitled to enter and search premises (including a person’s home) includes the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), which has the right under Schedule 9 of the Data Protection Act 1998. To...

Use of Copyright Material - UKIPO Advises on Steps to Take

Copyright of written and other visual material is an automatic right and does not have to be applied for: it lasts for 70 years after the owner or creator of the copyright has died. Because it is an automatic right, there is no register of copyright. This...

Software Abuse Brings Claim

It is common practice in many organisations for users of subscription resources to ‘borrow’ other people’s log-in details and, indeed, many licensing agreements are based on ‘average number of user’ or ‘maximum number of...

On 1 October 2008, new rules relating to the registration of company names came into force. These allow companies to object more easily to the registration of a company name which could be confused with theirs. The new rules can be found on the website of...

Trade Marks - Waiting Time Reduced

Since 1 October 2008, owners of valuable trade marks need to be quicker off the mark to oppose applications which may infringe their trade marks. The reason for this is that the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) has reduced the time for registering...

Resolving Patent Disputes - Guide

Patent disputes in the UK are dealt with by the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) , the body responsible for the administration of intellectual property rights in the UK. If you wish to claim that one of your patents has been infringed,...

Coke-Cola Faces Costs Order, Name Change

On 1 October 2008, new rules relating to the registration of company names came into force. These will allow companies to object more easily to the registration of a company name which could be confused with theirs. In the first case following the change,...

UKIPO Anti-Counterfeiting Toolkit

The United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) has launched an anti-counterfeiting toolkit for businesses that are plagued by counterfeit versions of their goods. Such problems are rife not only in the entertainment industry, but also...

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Media & Creative Industries

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Dean Orgill
Partner

T: 01273 223224 (DDI)

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