| 1 | Copyright: Case Tracker A table of key copyright cases that PLC Intellectual Property & Technology has reported on since December 2011. The table contains links to the cases and legal updates (and any In Dispute Practice Notes). Cases are sorted by topic, in reverse chronological order. | Practice note: overview | Maintained |
| 2 | Copyright: Overview This Note provides an overview of the main features of US copyright law. It outlines the legal framework under the Copyright Act of 1976. The Note discusses the types of works protected by copyright, requirements for a work to qualify for copyright protection, the bundle of exclusive rights provided by copyright, copyright duration, rules on ownership and transfers of copyright, registration and other procedural formalities and copyright infringement claims, defenses and remedies. | Practice note: overview | Maintained |
| 3 | Intellectual Property: Overview This Note provides an overview of the principal categories of intellectual property (IP) under US law and related practice considerations. It discusses copyright, patents, trade secrets, trademarks and mask works. For each of these categories of IP, the Note describes the legal authority governing protection, protected subject matter and the scope of protection, the acquisition and maintenance of rights and enforcement considerations. | Practice note: overview | Maintained |
| 4 | Overview of Copyright This note provides an overview of the main features of the UK law of copyright. It outlines the categories of work protected by copyright; the requirements for copyright protection; the duration of copyright; the rules regarding ownership of copyright; the main acts which constitute primary and secondary infringement of copyright; the main permitted acts; and the civil and criminal remedies available to a copyright owner. | Practice note: overview | Maintained |
| 5 | Overview of rights in databases An overview of how databases are protected by intellectual property rights. | Practice note: overview | Maintained |
| 6 | Advertising Injury Insurance Coverage for Patent, Copyright ... A Practice Note discussing potential insurance coverage for patent, trademark and copyright infringement claims as advertising injury claims under commercial general liability (CGL) policies. It addresses the framework for evaluating whether an insurer has a duty to defend or indemnify for a particular claim and common policy exclusions. It also discusses key cases assessing advertising injury coverage for intellectual property (IP) claims. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 7 | Are you looking for EU law content on this topic? A practice note explaining where to find EU law content from a topic page. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 8 | Character merchandising licences: IP rights and competition ... This note sets out the intellectual property rights relevant to a licence for character merchandising, in the sense of an image of a fictional character and related trade marks being reproduced on an article (such as a mug, lunch box or bed linen), and discusses the competition law issues that arise in relation to such licences. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 9 | Copyright Fair Use A Practice Note discussing the fair use doctrine under US copyright law. It provides an overview of the constitutional basis and policy rationales for the fair use doctrine and the Copyright Act's provisions governing fair use. It also outlines the practical and strategic issues counsel should consider in advising clients on and litigating fair use and discusses the intersection of fair use and new technologies. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 10 | Copyright Infringement Claims, Remedies and Defenses This Practice Note provides an overview of copyright infringement claims in the US, including discussion of the types of infringing acts, the elements of a copyright infringement claim, and related remedies and defenses. It also addresses certain procedural considerations, including jurisdiction, venue and pre-suit considerations. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 11 | Copyright licences in construction documents This note provides guidance on copyright licences in construction projects, particularly in the commercial property development sector. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 12 | Copyright Litigation: Injunctive Relief This Practice Note covers injunctive relief in copyright infringement litigation. Topics include the importance of injunctive relief as an infringement remedy, the traditional tests for injunctive relief in copyright actions, the Supreme Court's decision in eBay v. MercExchange, the application of eBay to copyright actions and key federal court decisions assessing irreparable harm post-eBay. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 13 | Creative Commons Licensing This note considers the Creative Commons licensing scheme, how it came into being and how the licences work. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 14 | Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA): Safe Harbors for ... This Note provides an overview of the safe harbor provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), also known as the Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act (OCILLA). Under certain circumstances, the DMCA's safe harbor provisions protect online service providers from copyright infringement liability based on the actions of their users. This Note discusses the four safe harbors created by the DMCA, eligibility requirements for each safe harbor, and the DMCA's notice, takedown and counter-notice framework. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 15 | In Dispute: Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. A discussion of the Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. litigation, in which the US Supreme Court held that the first sale doctrine applies to copies of copyrighted works lawfully made and purchased outside the US and then imported for resale in the US without the permission of the copyright owner. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 16 | Intangible property: tax The rules in Part 8 of the Corporation Tax Act 2009 apply to a company's intangible assets. This practice note considers those rules, and how they affect a company's liability to corporation tax. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 17 | Intellectual property issues relating to employees and ... This practice note considers how the UK intellectual property regime applies to employees and consultants. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 18 | Intellectual property rights in the fashion industry A note on the impact of intellectual property rights on the fashion industry including the application of copyright, design rights and trade marks to this sector; issues relevant to online fashion sales; and the enforcement of rights applicable to high-street fashion and the luxury goods arena. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 19 | Intellectual Property Rights: The Key Issues This Note discusses the main categories of intellectual property (IP) rights in the US and their management, including IP ownership, assignment and licensing. It also examines the issues that arise surrounding business transactions involving IP, including M&A and finance transactions as well as their basic tax treatment under federal law. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 20 | IP Licenses and Bankruptcy A Practice Note discussing key issues relevant to intellectual property (IP) licensors and licensees affected by bankruptcy. These include issues related to the automatic stay, determining whether an IP license is an executory contract, tests for assignment and assumption of IP licenses and risks and protections for non-debtor licensees of rejected IP licenses. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 21 | IP Licenses: Restrictions on Assignment and Change of ... This Note discusses US law relating to the transferability of agreements that contain intellectual property (IP) licenses. It includes guidance on evaluating assignability, dealing with non-assignable licenses in M&A transactions and drafting tips for assignment provisions in favor of a licensor or licensee. It also considers issues relating to the transferability of IP licenses in the context of bankruptcy and secured transactions and change-of-control provisions. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 22 | IP rights in the semiconductor industry This note explains the basic technical issues relating to the manufacture of semiconductor chips and describes the structure of the semiconductor chip manufacturing industry. This is followed by an analysis of how different intellectual property rights are used to protect various elements of a silicon chip manufacturing business. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 23 | Legal issues on assignment of intellectual property rights A practice note that discusses legal issues likely to arise on an assignment of intellectual property of any kind. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 24 | Legal protection of software This note considers the nature of computer software and the legal protection available for it under UK law. It focuses on the application of the law of copyright to software, but also briefly considers other intellectual property rights which might be relevant. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 25 | Management and exploitation of copyright This note summarises the main commercial and legal considerations relating to the protection, management and exploitation of a copyright portfolio in a general commercial context. These include the licensing and sale of copyright, confidentiality, the use of heads of agreement, local law issues, formalities, taxation, and the application of EU and UK competition law. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 26 | Management of copyright and multi-territorial licensing of ... A practice note charting developments relating to the European Commission proposal for a Directive on collective management of copyright and related rights and multi-territorial licensing of rights in musical works for online uses in the Internal Market. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 27 | Overlap between copyright and designs This note considers the degree of overlap between the laws of copyright, registered designs and design right in the protection of an article. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 28 | Professional appointments: copyright A note explaining the importance of copyright and giving guidance on negotiating copyright licences in professional appointments. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 29 | Security Interests: Intellectual Property An overview of special issues and considerations with respect to security interests in intellectual property, relevant to both corporate and finance transactions. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 30 | Taking security over intellectual property A note on taking security over intellectual property, including patents, trade marks, copyright and design rights. This note also contains links to a multi-jurisdictional guide to finance (which includes issues relating to taking security over intellectual property) and to a detailed note on taking security over intellectual property in the United States. | Practice notes | Maintained |