Intellectual property doesn’t just concern big businesses. It touches your everyday life without even realising. With the rise of social media and online platforms, it’s more important than ever to understand your rights and it’s more lucrative than ever to protect your ideas. We’ll help you to manage, protect and make the best of your intellectual property. We have expertise across all fields, whether it’s to assist or support a business transaction or to protect or defend your interests by engaging with our litigation and dispute resolution team, we’ll ensure that you’re always well protected. We are up to speed with all modern forms of communication which has developed rapidly over the last few years, and ensure that you get the robust advice you need so that your intellectual property isn’t taken advantage of.
Copyright protection subsists automatically in the UK to protect your creative endeavours. However, it is important you know where you are protected, and what you can do to exploit it. We can ensure you have advice and support when you need it most, and to help you get the most from your rights when things are going well.
With the rise of the online platform comes the rise of copyright proceedings. If you are a photographer, musician, graphic designer or other creative entrepreneur who has been threatened with proceedings, we can help.
Similarly, we understand that the creative industry, small businesses and entrepreneurs create IP assets attracting copyright every day. Our team has the expertise to work with you and ensure you are making the most of these valuable assets, to maximise their value. Whether you need advice on whether your asset benefits from protection; to determine who the rightful owner is; or need help to protect against infringement, we can assist.
We understand that a brand is an important asset, acting as a badge of trade origin of goods or services from a particular supplier or person. This applies not only to big companies, but to the creative industry; the influx of social media influencers and reality personalities. The interchange of brands with business opportunities and the online platform continues to expand. The manner in which companies, musicians and other creative individuals market themselves to individuals is ever evolving. If you are considering working in this manner, either receiving or selling adverts for your brand on social media, you need our advice.
We understand that people buy into a brand, which is an inherently useful and commercially exploitable piece of property. You may have spent a lot of time and money in building your brand; it is important that you protect it. That’s why you need our help to advise, support and defend your brand. Whether you need advice on registrability, help with strategy of protection or someone to fight your corner, we have the expertise to manage your brand.
There are many benefits of registering a Trademark, especially if you are keen to protect your investment. At BTMK, we can help to protect and exploit this valuable asset. If you are forced to litigate, we can also steer you through the dispute process with straightforward, commercially practical advice.
If you want to make the most of your brand financially, we have the experts to help with drafting the licences and assignments necessary to do so.
Here at BTMK, we pride ourselves in Brand Management. We understand that not all individuals will protect their IP rights by registration. Even if you haven’t registered your brand, that doesn’t mean you are without cause of action if the worst happens and another attempts to steal your hard earned identity. Passing Off allows you to stop an infringer in their tracks and offers protection to your brand, even if you haven’t registered it.
Passing Off offers protection to public figures, small and large businesses, and creative individuals. As the way in which we communicate progresses, this area of law will become more important. Passing Off can help you protect your hard earned reputation, slogan or get up, whatever walk of life you are in. If someone is riding on the coat tails of your hard earned reputation, online or otherwise, we can help.
Passing Off is about stopping the infringer benefitting from making unfair use of your hard earned reputation. We recognise the importance of acting quickly in these circumstances and our dispute resolution experts can guide you through the process with clear, cost effective advice, without the jargon. We have a wealth of experience with alternative dispute resolution procedures, but should it come to it, we also have the expertise to steer you through the UK High Court or the UK Intellectual Property Enterprise Court.
The law will uphold a person’s obligation to keep a secret in certain circumstances. We know from experience that this can either be contractually agreed, or imparted by the law to give protection in its own right. We understand that brilliant ideas must be protected, and that’s why it is important to know you have the best support behind you at your time of need. Whether you require help drafting non disclosure agreements to protect your valuable assets from the offset, or the secret has been breached and you need help with injunctive relief, we have the expertise.
We understand that confidential information touches all sorts of work, not just in the strict sense of protecting your IP assets. You may be an ex-employee engaged in a dispute with your former employer about confidential information; or a brilliant individual seeking to sell your creative ingenuity for profit. Whatever the circumstances, our team of litigators have vast experience and are adept at working quickly to obtain or defend an injunction to protect your position. This means we can advise about potential dispute triggers at all stages, such as within employment contracts or non-disclosure agreements, as well as assisting in any contentious matters, large or small.
The UK offers protection for the creative efforts of way things look, the shape and appearance of manufactured goods via both registered and unregistered design rights. A basic form of unregistered design right can exist automatically to protect designers. However, an arguably stronger form of protection exists for designers to register and protect their designs. We know from experience that successful shapes and appearances of designs cost money and time to design, and are worth a great deal to their owner. The value of the design of manufactured goods is often intrinsically linked to the success of the product, for example: the coca cola bottle. However, this doesn’t just affect big businesses. You may be a graphic designer, artist or entrepreneur. The creations which you have made may benefit from design right without even realising. With design rights comes money. We can help you reap the benefits of selling, licensing and protecting your designs.
A registered design protects the appearance of your designs and can be used to prevent others from marketing products which produce the same overall impression on an informed user. Used properly, registered design rights can therefore be a very effective method of protecting your creative assets. However, we know that protection of a registered design is limited and so appreciate the limitations of registration. We at BTMK can advise you on the most suitable method of protection, and help you to successfully manage your brand.
Unregistered design rights protect the shape or configuration of your designs and can be used to prevent others from reproducing products of that design for commercial purposes. We have the expertise to advise you upon applicability of this protection and further, can guide you through the litigation process if your unregistered design rights have been infringed.
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Litigation & Dispute Resolution, Insolvency & Insolvency Litigation | BTMK Solicitors
