NIPC News

Rt. Hon Theresa May MP Crown Copyright Open Government Licence v.3.- Jane Lambert It is hard not to feel a little bit sorry for Mr Ray Dorset , the lead singer of Mungo Jerry , whose case I discussed yesterday in  Music and Entertainment Law: Music Contracts - Editions Musicales Alpha S.A.R.L. v Universal Music Publishing Ltd and Others   28 June 2017 NIPC Law. Mr Dorset wrote the words of the hit song Alright, Alright, Alright   from   which he might reasonably have expected a shed load of money as it reached number 3 in the charts. Instead, he has been ordered to pay £33,600 plus costs to a company run by a former business associate of his former manager.  It could have been even worse for Mr Dorset as a claim by that company against him for breach of contract might well have succeeded. So how did he find himself in that position?  Well, his first problem was that he tried to record a song without first getting the per...

Jane Lambert I have just launched a new blog called NIPC Branding  which covers trade marks and branding for startups and other small businesses. This blog has grown out of my public access practice. On the About page I explain that "difficulties have arisen that could have been avoided, or opportunities missed that could have been exploited, had the persons involved been made aware of the issue in advance." The purpose of this blog is discuss those issues and the countermeasures that can be taken to avoid the difficulties and steps that can be taken to exploit the opportunities. I also set out the services that I offer and how I can be instructed if anyone wants further advice or assistance. The very first post addresses the question of whether an entrepreneur can apply for a trade mark by him or herself or whether he or she should instruct a trade mark attorney (see  Can I apply for a Trade Mark by myself or must I instruct an Attorney?   31 Ma...

Jane Lambert "Litigation should be a last resort" begins para 8 of Practice Direction - Pre-Action Conduct and Protocols which both sides to a dispute are required to follow. The paragraph continues: "As part of a relevant pre-action protocol or this Practice Direction, the parties should consider whether negotiation or some other form of ADR might enable them to settle their dispute without commencing proceedings."  The obligation to consider ways of settling a dispute is not a once-and-for-all step but continues even after a claim form has been issued. What Paragraph 8 means in Practice When I read that paragraph to clients they often have three questions: What is meant by "ADR"? How do I get some of this ADR? and What happens if I don't consider ADR? What is meant by ADR? "ADR" stands for "alternative dispute resolution" which is defined in the Glossary to the Civil Procedure Rules as "Col...

Jane Lambert First Published 2 Nov 2011 JD Supra, Revised 30 Jan 2017 Essentially, there are two ways of resolving any kind of dispute: the parties can agree to settle; or  a third party, such as a judge, arbitrator or hearing officer , imposes a settlement on them.  They are not mutually exclusive. Some issues in a dispute may be settled by one method while other issues may be settled by another. Agreed Settlement There are two routes to an agreed settlement: Direct negotiation between the parties; or Mediation, that is to say, negotiation facilitated by a third party known as “a mediator”. There are also two negotiation strategies, namely positional and principled negotiation. Mediation developed out of principled negotiation. Direct Negotiation P ositional Negotiation:   The parties bargain. One side begins by demanding more than it expects to get while the other offers less than it expects to give. In subsequent exchanges, the pa...