Intellectual Property - making it, owning it, trading it

In the current climate, many organisations are seeking to leverage value from intellectual property rights. However, calculating how much value may be derived from intellectual property relies on being able to identify what that property is, who owns it and who may have the right to exploit it. This is of particular importance in large organisations where intellectual property is likely to have passed through many hands.

Community trade marks

There is good news for Community Trade Mark (CTM) applicants this month, as OHIM announce that all CTM applications filed after 1 May 2009 will enjoy a 40% reduction in official fees.

Sun Microsystems - change of control provisions in IT contracts

Oracle’s recent takeover of Sun Microsystems is widely thought to herald a consolidation in the IT sector which is likely to continue over coming years. In the IT services sector, it is widely anticipated that many of the big Indian outsourcing companies will start buying up mid level systems integrators. Computer Weekly has recently cited one commentator who suggested that Steria, Cap Gemini and Atos will all be subject to takeover in the next two years.

UK copyright - changes on the horizon?

A recent Consumer Focus report claimed that copyright law in the UK is biased towards rights holders. The report placed the UK bottom in a list of sixteen countries and graded it with an embarrassing ‘F’ for its abject failure to observe consumer interests.

Cloud computing - keeping your feet on terra firma

Cloud computing is not a particularly novel idea, deriving as it does from previous ASP and SAAS models, but it has recently been touted as the low cost solution for many small to medium size enterprises and even some larger ones.

Sending data abroad - guidance on restrictions of overseas data transfers

In today’s global world, it is inevitable that personal data will at some point be transferred outside the UK - whether as part of an outsourcing arrangement, consolidating central functions following mergers or acquisitions or simply off-shoring data-back ups for security and business continuity.

Case law review

An update on recent judgements including liability and exclusions, contractual and common law rights and annual maintenance fees.

In the spotlight...Matthew Bolsover

Matthew is an intellectual property lawyer based in our Oxford office. He is a head of our trade marks expertise, and a senior member of the firm’s specialist brand protection team.