18. Control of information, reputation, and intellectual property

This chapter considers the extent to which individuals can and should be able to prevent others referring to them and their activities and, conversely, the extent to which individuals and companies should be able to commercialise and control a reputation that they have built up. The discussions cover the evolving right to personal privacy (through the tort of misuse of private information) and its base in human rights, particularly in respect of photographs; obtaining and dealing with trade marks in respect of well-known personalities; the relationship between passing off and endorsement and merchandising; and the extent to which individuals and businesses can and do control the use of their image through endorsement and sponsorship. The chapter also considers data protection, as well as the balancing of privacy and freedom of expression.

7. Rights akin to copyright: database right and performers’ rights

This chapter considers two rights similar to copyright in many ways, in terms of both subject matter and the substantive contents of the rights: (1) the special or sui generis database right, which operates alongside the copyright in databases; and (2) performers’ rights. Both rights have been relatively recently introduced into the armoury of intellectual property law. The chapter gives an account of each of these rights, comparing them with copyright but also underlining the differences between the regimes, and the reasons behind these differences. The chapter considers relevant the relevant international and EU frameworks and also highlights the nature and importance of these rights.

3. Copyright 2: subject matter, first ownership, and term

This chapter first examines the subject matter in which copyright subsists and the criteria for copyright protection as set out in the Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA 1988). This centres on the concept of the ‘protected work’ and makes use of a distinction between what are sometimes known as ‘author works’ (literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and film works) and ‘media works’ (typographical arrangements, sound recordings, broadcasts, and adaptations). It then considers the identification of the first owner of copyright when it comes into existence. It discusses the concept of joint authorship and ownership of copyright works when created in the course of employment. The final section discusses the duration of copyright.

2. Copyright 1: history, rationale, and policy context

This chapter considers the evolution of modern copyright law against the background of its historical development in the UK and the international and European legal frameworks within which UK copyright law has been increasingly set since the nineteenth century. It examines the rationale and justifications for copyright and identifies the general policy context within which law and policy has developed in the UK and the EU. It also highlights the rapid development of new technologies which has brought copyright reform to the forefront in recent times, the difficulties which this new environment presents for the copyright framework, and how the framework has developed to such challenges.

21. IP enforcement and remedies

This chapter discusses intellectual property enforcement and remedies available to an IP right holder in the event of an infringement of a right. It considers the UK rules on liability for groundless threats of infringement, including recent UK legislative developments in this field. It goes on to consider a range of interim remedies (including interim injunctions) and final remedies (including injunctions, intermediary injunctions, publicity orders, damages, and accounts of profits), all in the context of the EU IP Enforcement Directive and recent Court of Justice and UK case law developments. It also reviews criminal IP enforcement and enforcement considerations arising at an international level under TRIPS.

11. Patentability

This chapter explores the criteria that are applied by an intellectual property office in examining a patent application. These applies to all forms for innovation and are novelty, inventive step, and industrial applicability. The chapter also explores additional requirements and barriers which apply in relation to biotechnological inventions, which has proved to be a particularly controversial issue in Europe, and the patentability of computer software and related inventions, such as business method patents. The chapter demonstrates the evolution in legal and policy thinking in these two fields, which provide a means to an understanding of developments in patent law in general.

5. Copyright 4: exceptions and limitations

This chapter discusses exceptions and limitations to the rights of the copyright owner. Copyright law establishes many such exceptions and limitations, listed in the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA 1988) as the ‘permitted acts’. These acts can be carried out in relation to the copyright work without the owner’s permission or, in some cases, can be performed subject to terms and conditions specified by the statute rather than by the copyright owner. The chapter discusses the influence of the international framework and EU Directives on exceptions and limitations. It analyses the ‘permitted acts’ and discusses the freedoms afforded through them to users of protected works in the UK, and also briefly considers how far they may be set aside by contractual provision.

13. Trade marks 1: key features, theoretical underpinnings, and the national, EU, and international regimes

This chapter introduces the key features of registered trade mark law, highlighting core aspects of registered trade mark protection and its differences to other IP rights. It discusses the theoretical underpinnings for registered trade mark protection and also the accompanying policy tensions, in the context of an increasingly visible place of brands in society. The chapter introduces the legal regime for the protection of trade marks from an international, EU, and national (UK) perspective. Reflecting relevant agreements and treaties, the chapter outlines various standards established for the protection of trade marks, along with the systems by virtue of which traders can register and protect marks in many countries throughout the world.

12. The power of a patent

This chapter deals with who is entitled to be a patentee, the rights that a patentee enjoys (which are some of the strongest within intellectual property law), the circumstances in which infringement actions might be brought, the defences that are available, and some points on exploitation practices. A key thread is the construction and interpretation of the patent and the inextricable link between the power conferred by the patent and questions of novelty and obviousness. This chapter also looks at sufficiency, the circumstances in which a patent may be revoked, and the risk of a claim for revocation of the patent.

10. Patent regimes and the application process

This chapter assesses the rationales and justifications commonly seen for and against patents, which inform all aspects of patent law. Against this backdrop, the chapter explains the architecture and procedures of contemporary patent systems as they operate in the UK, within the European patent system, and through international agreements, instruments, and procedures. The chapter considers the patent registration process in the UK. Unlike copyright—and like registered trade marks and registered designs—patent protection is a registered right, granted by an intellectual property office following an application and examination process. The chapter also reviews changes over time and areas of particular debate and possible future evolution.