Intellectual Property Law - Free Essay Example

Clients issue 1) Mr. Litt is currently having an issue with the Hartleyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s firm, based on intellectual property. The Hartleyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s firm is trying to reap off foxtons signage. A signage refers to the symbols, signs, or designs used in advertisement. From the images provided in the document, it is evident that Hartleyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s is trying to reap off foxtonsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ signage. Mr. Litt feels that the Hartleyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s firm is being biased, by trying to reap off their signage. To solve this issue, Mr. Litt chooses to apply intellectual laws with the hope of ceasing Hartleyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s biasness. Mr. Litt is not familiar with intellectual law. Therefore, to advise Mr. .Litt, the paper will focus on intellectual law, after which the paper will advice Mr. Litt on the relevant action to take. Overview on which law in place (Intellectual property) 2) Intellectual property (IP) may be defined as the creations and ideas of an individual. These ideas may include designs, images, or even symbols used in commerce. There have been various statutes in the UK that relate to IP. These statutes tend to emphasize the IP rights. These rig hts include, the patent, copy right, design, trademarks, among others. These statutes stipulate legal measures that tend to control intellectual issues, such as Mr.Littà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s issue with the Hartleyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s firm. These statutes will be discussed in the next chapter. To elaborate more on these statutes, the discussion will also include previous cases, which relate to the statutes [1] Substandard of law (Passing off) 3)PassingÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ offisacommonlawactionratherthanastatutorycauseofactionandisusedtopreventonepartyfromusingthegoodwillassociatedwithanotherpartyfortheirownbenefit.PassingÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ offdoesnotprovidetheownerofthegoodwillwithamonopolyinthemark,ratheritprotectsthetradersbusinessagainstwhatcanessentiallybedescribedasunfaircompetition Thelawofpassingoffiswideandalsocoversgoodwillassociatedinslogans,visualimages,domainnamesandotherdescriptivematerial.TherearethreebasicrequirementstoestablishpassingÃÆ'à ‚ ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ off.The claimantmustestablish:ÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  1. that goodwill exists in his or her goods orservices, in the area where infringement hastakenplace; 2. misrepresentationbytheinfringertothepublicsuch that the public believe or are likely tobelievethatthegoodsorservicesofferedbytheinfringerarethoseoftheclaimant; 3. thathe/shehassuffereddamage,orthereisalikelihood of damage occurring, due to theinfringerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢smisrepresentation. Damages available for passing off 4 ) In the case of passing off the following remedies are available: Damages or an account of the defendants profits An order for the delivery up or the destruction of the infringing articles or products An injunction An enquiry to establish loss Cases and statutes in support for client 5 ) A famous case that involved copy right infringement in the UK was the case involving George Harrison v the B right Tune[2]. George Harrison was accused of plagiarizing a song. George was found guilty and as a result, George paid a total sum of 587.000.00. The case was later dismissed in 1981 . 6) The case that involved Google and apple is a famous case that revolved around the patent rights. The two companies had an issue over phone patent rights. Apple felt that Google was trying to reap off their new eject technology, To this effect. Apple took a legal action on grounds off patent theft. 7) A good example of a case that was based on trademarks infringement was that involving. Gucci and Guess. Gucci a famous designer label accused Guess of reaping off its trademark. Gucci won the case against Guess and as a result Guess paid 54.7 mi Ilion to compensate Gucci for the damages resulting from the trademarks infringement The rele vant actions that Mr. Litt should take in relevance to the IP laws 8 ) Mr. Litt and other senior persons at Foxtons could opt to take certain actions that will help them to solve the problem with the Hartleyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s firm. These actions will be identified and elaborated in next chapter. Registering the foxton signage as stipulated in the trademarkà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s act (1995) 9 ) To start off, Mr. Litt could think of applying the trademarkà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s act (1995). The act stipulates that all trademarks ought to be registered under the organizationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s name. Mr. Litt should consider registering the firmà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s trademark. By registering the trade mark, the foxtonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s firm shall have legal rights to the trade mark. This will prevent the Hartleyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s firm from using the same trade mark. This move will offer a permanent solution to the issue between the two firms [3] Arbitrary action 10 ) Mr. Litt cou ld also consider holding an arbitrary meeting with the superiors at the Hartleyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s firm, in the presence of an arbitrator (preferably a legal expert in IP law). During the meeting, Mr. Litt could bring up the issue and try to solve the issue amicably. Mr. Litt should confront the current situation and request the superiors at Hartleyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s to cease using foxtonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s signage. If the superiors at Hartleyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s refuse to comply with Mr. Littà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s demands, Mr. Litt should consider taking necessary legal action against the Hartleyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s firm [4] Legal action (litigation) in IP courts on grounds of patent and copyright theft 11) Mr. Litt could also choose to sue the Hartleyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s firm on the grounds of patent, copyright and trade markà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s acts that were discussed previously. These acts tend to protect the property of an individual, ensuring that the property is not subject to copy right and patent theft. The Hartleyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s firm has reaped off foxtonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s signage. By doing this, the firm has done contrary to what is stipulated in the three acts. Therefore, Mr. Litt should sue the Hartleyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s firm on grounds of copy right and patent theft [5] Conclusion 12) Intellectual property is a wide department that is broken down to three laws, the copy right laws, trademarks law and the patent law. From the discussion, it is evident that the three laws govern the field of Intellectual property. Over the years cases involving copy right, patent and trade markà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s infringement have been quite common. To curb the reoccurrence of these cases, governments should put more emphasis on Intellectual property laws. Mr. Litt should consider implementing actions proposed in the discussion above. With the immediate implementation of the actions proposed, Mr. Litt will find it easier to curb further damage. Of the f ive actions, Litigation is more recommendable. Litigation is considered more recommendable in the sense that it is efficient and effective. With the enactment of the proposed actions (meditation, litigation, arbitration, registration, and benevolent notice) Mr. Litt is guaranteed of a permanent solution to the issue with Hartleyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s firm. References 1)Chaudhry, P. E., Walsh, M. G. (1995). Intellectual property rights: Changing levels of protection under GATT NAFTA and the EU. The Columbia Journal of World Business, 30(2), 80-92. 2)Cornish, W. R., Llewelyn, D., Aplin, T. F. (2003). Intellectual property: patents, copyright, trademarks and allied rights (pp. 332-34). London: Sweet Maxwell. 3)Drahos, P. (1996). A philosophy of intellectual property (Vol. 223). Aldershot: Dartmouth. 4)Helpman, E. (1992). Innovation, imitation, and intellectual property rights (No. w4081). National Bureau of Economic Research. 5) Xu, G. G. (2004). Information for corpo rate IP management. World Patent Information, 26(2), 149-156. 6)edwards ,C,C. (2010) ,who owns your thoughts ? (intelectual property), Engineering and technology , 66-69 [1] (Cornish, 2003, p. 78). [2] George Harrison v the B right Tune [3] (Xu, 2004, p. 89). [4] (Helpman, 1992, p.67). [5] (Xu, 2004, p. 89).