Intellectual

Property Law

Introduction

Justin Brunskell

170223
Intellectual Property – about the module

“To study and not think is a waste. To think and not study is
dangerous? ” – Confucius.

“I’m fully confident that copyright, for instance, will no

longer exist in 10 years, and authorship and intellectual
property is in for such a bashing.”

David Bowie, interview with The New Your Times June 2002.
Intellectual Property

Who are we:

Justin Brunskell – j.Brunskell@gre.a.c.uk QM223

Diana Filatova - d.filatova@greenwich.ac.uk

Set Text - Aplin 2022

Bently 2022

Highly Recommended –
Cornish 2020
Waelde/Brown 2019
Bainbridge 2018
Statute Book
Intellectual Property – about the module

JustinBrunskell, Room QM223

j.brunskell@gre.ac.uk

Read - Module Guide for

details of the assessment
Strategy and notes
Look – Moodle for updates
Look – IP Kat for discussion and news-IPKat
Assessment Schedule
Two essays
Part A, 1000 words, 31st March

Part B, 2500 words 21st April

 Feedback

·Can be:
·Written
·Oral
·In class
·As a group
·Individual
·A combination
Intellectual Property – History and
Technology.
Johannes Gutenberg- 15th Century and movable type.
- Statute of Ann 1710.

Photography 1850s
- Fine Arts Copyright Act 1862

Cassette tapes.
Videos.
Computers
Internet.
AI.
What is AI?
We have all seen AI before.

Search Engines – Google.

Computer Games – Chess.
Recommendation systems – Amazon.
Targeted advertising – Facebook.
Interactive hubs – Alexia.
Self driving Cars – Tesla.

Generative Tools – ChatGPT.

Intellectual Property – what is it?
• Products/processes which result from mental exertion to
which the law grants the author/creator legal protection
and therefore the ability to exploit.
• Covers a wide range of areas:- literary works, artistic
works, films, computer programs, inventions, designs,
brand names, the shape of packaging, etc.
• The purpose of IP law is to prevent others from copying
/taking advantage of another’s effort providing remedies if
this occurs.
Intellectual Property – what is it?
IP rights covered.
Copyright
Breach of Confidence
Passing off
Trade marks
Domain Names
Patents
Registered Designs and Design rights
Image Rights
Remedies.
Products can have more than one form
of IP…
• Copyright in software and
instructions
• Patents in hardware
• Trademark in logo
• Design rights in the shape
• Passing of in protection of ‘get
up’ and ‘look’
What we’ll be studying…
Copyright:
A property right which subsists (exists) in
various ‘works’, e.g. , literary works,
artistic works, musical works, sound
recordings, films and broadcasts.
Copyright gives the owner the right to do
certain things in relation to the work,
anyone else who does any of these things
without the owner’s permission infringes
copyright
What we’ll be studying…
Breach of Confidence:
Developed to protect confidential
information by preventing its use by
persons to whom it has been divulged in
confidence or the further disclosure of the
information by such persons.
Can be used to protect industrial/trade
secrets to details of a personal nature to
secrets about the government or defence of
the nation.
What we’ll be studying…
Passing off:
A common law means of protecting trade
marks, but is often more flexible than trade
mark law, as it can protect marks not
sufficiently distinctive for registration as a
trade mark or which are otherwise
unregistrable. Passing-off protects the
goodwill a trader has developed and which
is associated with his business.
What we’ll be studying…
Trade marks:
Trade marks are associated with
business image, goodwill and
reputation. Goods or services are
often requested by reference to a
trade mark and the public rely on
many marks as indicating quality,
value for money or origin of goods
or services.
What we’ll be studying…
Domain Names:
Domain names are the human-friendly forms
of Internet addresses, and are commonly used
to find web sites.
There is no one law protecting domain names,
they can be protected by trademark, copyright
and passing off.
A particular issue is ‘cybersquatting’ the
practice of registering Internet domain names
containing company names or trade mark
names by persons hoping to sell the names at
grossly inflated prices to the relevant
companies or trade mark proprietors.
What we’ll be studying…
Patent law:
A patent may be granted in
respect of a new invention
capable of industrial application
and gives a monopoly right.
This very strong form of
protection is reserved for
interventions that satisfy
rigorous standards.
What we’ll be studying…
Registered designs and design
right:
Two systems of design law in place
in the UK , one of which requires
registration, and applies to designs
that that can be described as
“aesthetic”.
The other system is called the design
right and applies to designs that can
be said to be functional in nature
What we’ll be studying…
Image rights:
The protection of a persons
image/personality. Often
protecting their right to
commercially exploit their image,
name or reputation.
What we’ll be studying…
Remedies and Enforcement.
• Injunction
• Award of costs
• Damages
• Account of profits
• Delivery up/destruction of infringing
items and items used to make them
• Tracing orders
• Criminal penalties
See you next week