NIPC News

  Author Marcel Krüger   Licence CC BY-SA 3.0   Source Wikimedia Commons Jane Lambert A few days ago the Intellectual Property Law Association of Nigeria  referred me to a thread of tweets by a Nigerian national who was shocked that a private limited company in the United Kingdom could register the name of some 70 million people as a British trade mark.  S.4 (3) of  The Trade Marks Act 1994  prevents the registration of national emblems and the emblems of certain international organizations as trade marks and s.3 (a) the registration of signs that are contrary to public policy, but it does not specifically exclude the registration of the names of tribes or peoples.  Having previously spoken at a webinar organized by that Nigerian IP Law association I offered to advise and assist it pro bono in this matter. My offer has not yet been accepted. I guess that is because the complainant had already carried out his research and anticipated what my advi...

Jane Lambert Before he began his distinguished career in the WIPO, Francis Gurry  was best known for a rather good book on the law of confidence .  It is now in its second edition having been updated and edited by Tanya Aplin, Lionel Bently, Phillip Johnson, and Simon Malynicz. Although the law of confidence can be used to prevent unauthorized use or disclosure of any kind of secret information, it is the legal mechanism by which trade secrets are protected in the United Kingdom.  It is probably the most widely used means of protecting investment in innovation and creativity in this and other common law countries. The law of confidence offers a number of advantages over patents and other registered rights.  It is free. It arises whenever information the use or disclosure of which would benefit the confidant or harm the confider is imparted in circumstances that give rise to an obligation of confidence. It cannot be revoked as a patent can and t...

National Media Museum, Bradford     Source Wikipedia Jane Lambert Tomorrow is World Intellectual Property Day . I wish all my readers a happy World Intellectual Property Day.   Folk may think that that is an odd greeting. But is it?  When someone is ill don't you wish him a speedy recovery? What is more likely to accelerate his recovery than the medicine or medical device that may have cost millions to develop.  The fruits of that investment are protected by the patents, trade marks and other rights that prevent competitors from taking advantage of the research and development work known collectively as "intellectual property".   Intellectual property is the glue that holds investment in branding, design, technology and creative works together.  So the greeting "Happy World Intellectual Property Day" is a kind of celebration of the world's advances in science, technology, the arts and literature. Every year there is a differ...

Source Wikipedia Jane Lambert One of our most distinguished members is Professor Louis Harms . Professor Harms was until recently the Deputy President of the Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa which is the highest court of that country for all but constitutional matters. He is a distinguished intellectual property lawyer and holds professorships at several universities. His career is summarized in "A Singular Colleague",   an article that appeared in the December 2011 edition of the Advocate published by the South African Bar Council. Having retired from the South African Supreme Court, Professor Harms practises as an arbitrator and he heads a panel of specialist intellectual property arbitrators and mediators from these chambers which I shall discuss in a future article.  He will be in chambers on the 25 Sept and has kindly offered to give a special lecture entitled "The principle of self-interest rightly understood' to an invite...

Jane Lambert Not long ago most commercial practitioners spent a lifetime in the law without ever having to advise on an intellectual property matter or coming anywhere near the Patents Court. It was a specialist field with its own court having its own rules, the judges and practitioners of which spoke an almost impenetrable argot. Most law schools ignored IP except as a specialist option with the result that many practitioners did not have a clue what it was all about. There were horror stories of solicitors receiving writs for writing the same sort of letter before action as they would write in any other case and it was all horribly expensive. Best left to specialist law firms like Bird & Bird and Bristows and the handful of specialist counsel who knew what they were doing. The internet and programmes like Dragons' Den    have changed all that. Clients often with quite small businesses are now coming to you with questions about software licensing and doma...