intellectual property

Intellectual property law is all about the management of ideas. Without careful and thorough protection, intellectual property rights can fall into the public arena and their value diminish, sometimes to nothing. If the right steps are taken at the right time, they can be and remain for many years valuable assets for you or your business.

Intellectual property rights are embodied in a surprisingly wide variety of products and services – from obvious examples such as famous brand names, works of art, films, music and books, to scientific processes, computer programs, databases, industrial designs and even confidential information. It is even possible these days to own and protect rights in distinctive smells and colours. Whilst some protection of these rights is granted by the law without your needing to actively do anything, other protections need to be implemented – registration of trade marks, design rights, patents and domain names are some examples of what may need to be carefully carried out.

With the right safeguards in place, it is possible to buy, sell, license and otherwise exploit your intellectual property rights, and to prevent others copying or stealing your ideas, with the full weight of the law behind you.

At Clarke Willmott, our Intellectual Property team is able to advise you on all aspects of both litigious and non-litigious intellectual property law, and on the commercial aspects of exploitation of these rights – including agency, distribution, sponsorship and other licensing arrangements. We are able to help you to avoid disputes where that is possible, and to resolve them quickly and cost-effectively where it is not.

For further information, please contact Peter Livingstone.