NIPC News

The United Kingdom  Intellectual Property Bill  was introduced in the House of Lords on 10 May 2013 and received its first parliamentary discussion on 22 May 2013 at  Second Reading . The Bill was referred to a Grand Committee for further examination, which is scheduled to begin on 11 June 2013, following the recess. The Bill addresses a disparate collection of intellectual property issues, mainly concerning itself with designs and patents. Apart from laying the foundations for the Unified Patent Court, pursuant to the  agreement  among EU Member States reached on 19 February 2013, the Bill’s most eye-catching provision is the creation of a criminal offence of deliberate infringement of a UK or Community registered design, to be enforceable by Trading Standards. The offence is committed where someone copies a registered design in the course of a business so as to make a product exactly or substantially to the design, knowing or having reason to believe ...

Huddersfield Media Centre, Source The Media Centre Jane Lambert Since 2004 I have supported Yorkshire businesses and their professional advisers by offering specialist advice on intellectual property and technology law and representation before the Patents and Patents County Courts, Chancery Division and Intellectual Property Office tribunals as the only full time specialist intellectual barrister outside London. I have provided those services from Huddersfield Media Centre . Although my practice is now managed by Stephen Broom and George Scanlan I am still there. You can still get through to me on 01484 590090 or 0113 320 3232 or by filling in my contact form . The big difference is that I am no longer on my own. I can now call upon support from my excellent colleagues in our IP and Technology Law Group as well as those from other departments such as Atlas Tax Chambers whose members include Anne Fairpo , an authority on IP and tax. O...

Manchester Civil Justice Centre, Wikpedia Commons Jane Lambert In "Success Fees and ATE Premiums in the Patents County Court: Henderson v All Around the World Recordings Ltd " 4 May 2013 NIPC Law, I blogged about Judge Birss QC's decision in  Henderson v All Around the World Recordings Ltd and Another [2013] EWPCC 19 (27 March 2013) where an impecunious singer song writer who had successfully brought proceedings in the Patents County Court for infringement of her performer's rights against a major record label was allowed  £52,484.25 in costs. Had she brought her claim in the Chancery Division she might well have been awarded £232,676.20. One of the reasons why Judge Birss QC would not allow her more was that "a litigant who wishes to recover a reasonable proportion of the totality of his of her legal costs has a clear option available, to litigate in the High Court. In that system none of the problems now faced by the claimant would...

Jane Lambert On Monday 15 April, 2013 I chaired a meeting of the monthly arbitration forum of the Irish branch of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators . The topic was "WIPO Arbitration: Current Trends with Intellectual Property and Domain Name Disputes." The speakers were my colleague, Joseph Dalby of the 4-5 Gray's Inn Square Intellectual Property and Technology Law Group and Kate Colleary , Head of Intellectual Property and Data Protection at the Dublin office of Eversheds . The meeting took place at the Dublin Dispute Resolution Centre  which is a joint venture of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and the Irish Bar . It is in the Distillery Building in Church Street, a few hundred yards from the Four Courts where the superior courts sit.  According to the Centre's website: "The centre has four rooms designed specifically for holding arbitrations, in addition to five ancillary breakout / meeting rooms. All rooms have power and data dir...

Jane Lambert The World Intellectual Property Organization is the specialist UN agency for intellectual property.  It was established by the Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization ( "WIPO Convention" )  which came into force on 26 April 1970. Ever since the anniversary has been celebrated throughout the world as World Intellectual Property Day. The day is an opportunity to raise public awareness of intellectual property. Governments, intellectual property offices, trade associations, professional associations, patent and trade mark agencies, law firms, barristers' chambers, universities and schools around the world hold seminars, workshops, exhibitions and other events to celebrate the day.  Here are some suggestions from the WIPO as well as records of the events from previous years. The WIPO has a special Facebook page for World Intellectual Property Day to publicize this year's events. E...

Jane Lambert Revised 16 May 2017 Some years ago, the Intellectual Property Office published a leaflet entitled "Choosing the Right IP Adviser". It contained a lot of useful information and I recommended it. However, there was one section that needed improvement and that was the one headed "IP Barristers" on page 6: "IP barristers are likewise part of a wider profession and IP barristers give specialist advice in IP matters and conduct cases in Courts. The more experienced members of this group are generally able to provide a certain amount of business advice around IP too, although it is not normally their speciality." Introduction to an IP Barrister will normally be through a solicitor, a patent or trade mark attorney or an accountant." That information was incomplete, out of date and in some respects misleading.   That leaflet has now been replaced by the web page  Seeking intellectual property advice . What is a Barrister?...