Bird & Bird
Bird & Bird is an international commercial law firm. The site’s News Centre, within News & Events, has newsletters and articles on a range of commercial law topics.
British Library: Patents
The British Library is the UK’s national patent library. As well as information about the British Library’s holdings, publications and services relating to patents, the site includes general information about patents and other types of intellectual property, including a guide to finding early British patents. The section “Protecting your ideas” has articles about patents, trade marks, copyright and registered designs.
Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys
The Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA) is the professional and examining body for patent attorneys (also known as patent agents) in the UK. Its site includes a searchable register of patent agents; an overview of the law of patents, trademarks, industrial designs and copyright; and briefing papers (aimed at IP professionals) on matters of current interest.
Chartered Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys
The Chartered Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys (CITMA) is the professional body for trade mark attorneys and trade mark and design litigators in the UK. Freely accessible content (there is also a members only section) includes CITMA’s Royal Charter and bye-laws, recent annual reports, the Institute’s journal CITMA Review (formerly ITMA Review) 2010 onwards, a News section, and a search tool for finding chartered trade mark attorneys.
Company Names Tribunal
The Company Names Tribunal adjudicates on disputes about opportunistic company name and limited liability partnership name registrations. It was created 1 October 2008 and is administered by the UK Intellectual Property Office. Information provided in this section of the GOV.UK web site includes the Company Names Tribunal practice direction, forms and decisions.
Copyright Tribunal
The Copyright Tribunal (CT), established under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, settles various types of copyright dispute in the United Kingdom, mainly in the field of collective copyright licensing. Decisions 2013 onwards are available to download from this section of the GOV.UK web site. Earlier decisions including those of the CT’s predecessor, the Performing Right Tribunal, back to 1958 are accessible via a link to the National Archives site. Other content includes procedural rules and an unofficial consolidated version of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
European Patent Office
Content on the European Patent Office (EPO) site includes the text of the European Patent Convention (EPC); an online version of the book Case Law of the Boards of Appeal (9th edition, 2019); a complete searchable database of decisions of the EPO’s Boards of Appeal from 1979 onwards; and information on the development of the Unitary Patent system and the Unified Patent Court. All of this may be found under “Law & practice.”
European Union Intellectual Property Office
The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), formerly known as the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM), is responsible for managing the registration of the EU trade mark and the registered Community design. Content in the “Law & Practice” section includes the regulations that govern the EU trade mark system as well as the EU directive approximating the laws of the EU Member States relating to trade marks; international treaties; EUIPO’s Official Journal, and decisions and communications of the Executive Director. There is also a search facility for EUIPO decisions and judgments of the General Court, Court of Justice and national courts. This is found on the home page under eSearch Case Law.
FreePatentsOnline
Searchable database primarily of United States patents and patent applications, together with European and other foreign content.
Institute for Information Law
The Institute, part of the Faculty of Law of the University of Amsterdam, is a major research centre in the field of information law. Publications on the site include articles on information law and related areas, including intellectual property, media law and consumer law.
Intellectual Property Enterprise Court
The Intellectual Property Enterprise Court is a specialist court, part of the Business and Property Courts of the High Court of Justice, which deals with intellectual property disputes about registered designs, patents, registered trade marks, copyright and other rights. Content here on the GOV.UK site includes the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court Guide, a guide to small claims in the court, forms, procedure rules, practice directions, and Chancery Division daily cause lists.
Intellectual Property Office
The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) is the government body responsible for intellectual property rights in the UK. Content here on the GOV.UK site includes an extensive Law and Practice section, with many links to legislation, in addition to sections on specific areas: copyright, designs, patents and trade marks.
Intellectual Property Regulation Board
The Intellectual Property Regulation Board (IPReg) regulates the patent attorney and trade mark attorney professions on behalf of both the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA) and the Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys (ITMA), which are Approved Regulators under the Legal Services Act 2007. Site content includes the single Code of Conduct which applies to all members of both professions, and separate registers of the two professions in the form of PDF documents.
International Federation of Reproduction Rights Organisations
The International Federation of Reproduction Rights Organisations (IFRRO), based in Brussels, works to foster the international copyright principles embodied in the Berne and Universal Copyright Conventions. Its site includes a membership directory; IFRRO’s Statutes and Guidelines; newsletters 2015 onwards; recent press releases; and links to the full text of IFRRO’s Booklets and position papers.
IPKat
The IPKat is a blog, begun in 2003, which covers copyright, patent, trade mark, information technology and privacy/confidentiality issues from a mainly UK and European perspective. It is produced by a team which includes both academic and practising lawyers.
Lawdit Solicitors
Lawdit Solicitors is a Southampton-based law firm specialising in trademarks, designs, patents and copyright law. The “Reading Room” section of its web site has a large article archive based on the various specialist areas including copyright, designs, information technology and trade marks.
Maucher Jenkins
Maucher Jenkins is a London-based international firm of patent and trade mark attorneys and certified patent, trade mark and design litigators. The site’s “Resources” section includes articles and newsletters. There is also an extensive news section.
Mewburn Ellis
Mewburn Ellis LLP is a specialist firm, founded in London in 1867, of patent attorneys, European patent attorneys, European trade mark attorneys and European design attorneys. The “Knowledge Hub” has a “Law & Practice Library” and a “News & Insights” section.
NIPC Law
NIPC Law is a blog produced by Jane Lambert, a barrister specialising in intellectual property, technology, media, entertainment and competition law. It features articles, case notes and other information on these areas, with links, including to the full texts of legislation and cases.
Nominet
Nominet UK is a not for profit company which maintains the register of .uk internet names. Its web site provides extensive information on all aspects of its activities, which include operating a Dispute Resolution Service for domain name disputes. The site’s “Domains” section has details of the Dispute Resolution Service, with a database of decisions.
Patents Court
The Patents Court, part of the Business and Property Courts of the High Court of Justice, deals with intellectual property disputes about patents, registered designs and plant varieties. Content here on the GOV.UK web site includes the Patents Court Guide, forms, procedure rules, practice directions, details of forthcoming hearings, and information on the Patents Court judges. There is a link to decisions 1996 onwards on the BAILII site.
Unified Patent Court
The Unified Patent Court is an international court, set up to deal with the infringement and validity of European patents and European patents with unitary effect (EPUE), and open for participation of all EU member states. It was set up in 2013 by the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court, and will come into existence when that Agreement enters into force through the ratification process. Information on its web site includes details of progress towards ratification.
World Intellectual Property Organization
WIPO is a specialised agency of the United Nations which was created in 1967 to promote the protection of intellectual property worldwide. “WIPO Lex” is a one-stop search facility for national laws and treaties on intellectual property of WIPO, WTO and UN Members. It also features related information which elaborates, analyzes and interprets these laws and treaties. It can be found under the “Legal Resources” tab.
