Intellectual Property is an integral part of any business with practical implications across a whole range of issues. Our services cater for this ever-widening aspect of your business. Choose an issue from the index below.
Company Monitoring (Identity Theft) | Competitive Intelligence | Computers, Software and Data Protection | Copyright | Industrial Designs | IP Law & Practice | Media and Performing Rights | Names Services | Technical Problem Solver |
Company monitoring - Identity theft
Company monitoring - Identity theft
All companies need to keep a close eye on Companies House records to prevent
their companies from being "stolen" through fraud.
Criminals can "steal" a company by filing forged forms at Companies
House. The company may have no idea that its public record has been changed
(to appoint a director it has never heard of and to transfer its registered
office to an unrelated address) until the Serious Fraud Office turns up.
Typical abuses include criminals filing forged forms then buying goods or
services on credit in the company's name, opening a bank account or applying
for a credit card, again in the company's name. By the time the supplier's
invoice reaches the real company, the defrauders have disappeared. Companies
House does not bear any responsibility for this: the law states that responsibility
for the accuracy of the information on the public record lies with the company's
directors and its company secretary, not the Registrar of Companies.
Service
Crooks running these scams need time, so it is vital you spot them early.
We can provide a monitoring service and check the company's public record
regularly for filings via an automated company search. If the filing is
fraudulent, companies can correct the public record fast - and then try
to find out who attempted to defraud them. We already work with Trading
Standards in this field.
Searching patents and trademarks is an effective way to find information
on the business and development activities of UK and international public
and privately held companies. Patents always provide the name of the inventor,
a technical description of a patented device or composition of matter (drug,
alloy, etc.) and the legal description of what was protected. Patents may
also provide the name of the assignee or owner of the patent. By obtaining
a regular search you can see at a glance whom is doing what in an industry,
or what a particular company is interested in from a research and development
point of view. Simple patent counts can be used to determine technological
activity such as R&D.
However, analysis of patent references can provide additional information
regarding the importance of patents. Patents may refer to earlier patents
(prior art) and may themselves be cited by later patents. Thus each patent
can be considered to have been influenced by an earlier one. Additionally,
companies can refer to other patents held by them. This is called a self-reference
and indicates that the company concerned is building on its own technology.
Co-citations, where two or more patents are cited by a third, are usually
related in subject matter. This means that cluster analysis can be performed
without necessarily reading each patent. The existence of a cluster of patents
is an indication that the company thinks it has a core invention, which
it considers worthwhile protecting by improvement inventions. When a company
refers to the patents of other companies, it is usually building on someone
else's technology. These other companies are in fact "teaching"
their competitors.
Service
Two levels of provision:
Staff will demonstrate basic research techniques enabling you to conduct
a free self-search by company, industry or subject as directed, or you can
commission us on a pay-as-you-go basis, our fee covering use of major databases
and time costs.
Computers, Software and Data protection
The law on buying, selling, supplying and using computer hardware and software
or information technology covers the following:
hardware specification agreements, software specification and licensing
support agreements, turnkey agreements, disaster recovery, data protection,
software distribution agreements, Value added reseller agreements
Service
Information on data protection issues. Information on need for Data registration. Software copyright.
Copyright is an intellectual property right in an original work, which gives the person holding it the exclusive right to exploit the work. Copyright can exist in literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works and in computer software. Copyright arises automatically without the requirement for any registration in the UK. Usually the owner of the copyright will be its "author". There are various conditions to be satisfied as to the author’s nationality and domicile for UK copyright to exist. If there are joint authors then the copyright will be jointly owned. But what if the copyright arises from the efforts of an employee? Does the copyright belong to the company or to the employee? Usually it will belong to the Company unless there is an express agreement to the contrary or it does not relate to the work of the employee.
Service
Copyright information fact sheets. Information on legal remedies. Examples of the application of copyright in work situations. Legal Agreement templates.
Protecting rights in the design of industrial products
Design rights are intellectual property rights in the design of industrial products (i.e. those products which can be mass produced.) 'Design’ refers to the shape and unique aspects of the product rather than to the drawings or design documents, (which may be protected by copyright). There are two forms of design rights; registered and unregistered.
Unregistered design rights
These arise automatically when an original design has been recorded or
product has been made in accordance with the design. They usually last 15
years.
The owner of the unregistered design right will have the exclusive right
to reproduce the design for commercial purposes. Usually the designer will
own the unregistered design unless it was specifically commissioned by another
party, or the designer was an employee acting in the course of his employment.
Certain designs cannot give rise to unregistered design rights.
Service
Information on unregistered status. Information on protecting design rights.
Registered design rights
Registered design rights are governed by the Registered Design Act 1949. Designs capable of registration involve features of shape, configuration, pattern or ornament applied to any article by any industrial process, being features which in the finished article "appeal to the eye". New designs may be registered for up to 25 years.
Service
Information on how to register design rights. Information on design rights.
Alert you to your rights against anyone infringing your registered or unregistered
design rights.
Intellectual Property Audits
A comprehensive review and report on an organisation’s Intellectual Property portfolio by a combination of desk research and physical audit. This is particularly valuable when buying another company or merging, or where you need to make a register from scratch.
Service
An investigation of the intellectual property rights that an organisation
has or may have.
Information on the extent to which existing rights are adequately protected.
Information on action to be taken to enhance protection of existing or future
rights.
Suggestions for exploitation of the rights.
How is the Audit conducted?
Our Intellectual Property Specialists will research and investigate:
Copyright Issues, UK and overseas trade marks, Industrial Designs, UK and overseas patents.
How do organisations benefit from an IP Audit?
Their intellectual property assets can be valued for accounting purposes.
Loss of key patents or trademarks can be avoided.
Potential infringements can be identified and acted upon.
The unique identifying marks and processes of the business can be safeguarded.
Using a number of sources we provide Intellectual property abstracts from legal texts, digests of case-law, Law reports, commentaries and official documents, relating issues raised to what is happening in the practical world of IP rights. In this function we are supported by our other legal business services and Creative Notes (link) our practical fact sheets.
Legal Compliance
This service is able to provide you with up to date legal information on all areas of intellectual property.. As librarians and information specialists we are able to draw upon the best evaluated sources but are unable to give legal advice. What we can do is ensure you have the facts and guidance on how to apply the law. To feel confident of compliance, go into any legal situation armed with the facts; you will be better able to deal with lawyers and decide if you have a worthwhile case.
Legal Documentation
Creative Insight is able to offer a range of legal documentation on intellectual property, from a variety of confidentiality agreements to patent registrations to contracts. These can be supplied by e-mail for a small fee. We also have books for use on site, offering such resources as over 100 music contracts.
Special rights for performers and those entitled to make recordings of performances.
Performers Rights
Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1998 protects the right of performers.
No one can record or broadcast a performance without the performers consent.
Illicit recordings or broadcasts are actionable.
In certain circumstances the Copyright Tribunal can give consent on behalf
of a performer who is unreasonably withholding consent.
Recording Rights
Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 protects the rights of persons who
have an entitlement to record or broadcast a performance.
Recordings or broadcasts that infringe the entitlement are actionable.
The Copyright Tribunal can give consent to recordings and broadcasts where
the owner of the recording right is unreasonably withholding consent.
Service
Inform performers, recorders and broadcasters on their rights, Licensing rules, IP Information service.
In business you need to have a unique name for a range of activities to
fully exploit your potential in the marketplace, be it your company name,
product or service name, trademark for goods, domain name, etc. Finding
a name that has not already been used is difficult and it is up to you to
ensure that you are not breaching anyone else’s legal rights or you
could face expensive prosecution. We are able to provide comprehensive name
checks on an international basis for all these areas.
This keeps you within the law and helps you hone your name so that it is
truly unique.
Service
Check of all UK and international company databases for similar names.
Check on URL services for registered domain names. Check on Trademarks and
Design databases for names. Check on product names world-wide. Information
service on choosing a name.
85% of the technical information held in Patents is unobtainable anywhere
else, yet this is an information source neglected to their cost by businesses
and individuals.
Have you hit a snag with part of your invention? Do you need to improve
part of your manufacturing process or equipment? Had an idea but not sure
if it’s worth the cost of developing?
Use the patent source available to see if others have solved the problem,
or tried a solution that has failed, or made the adjustment you need. Learn
from the work and mistakes of others, at minimal cost to you ,as well as
ensuring that you are not breaching others patent rights.
Service
Patent search by topic, with copies.
