1. Intellectual Property: Overview
Adrian Hocking
Chartered British Patent Attorney
European Patent Attorney
Partner, Albright IP Ltd
Director, Albright Product Design Ltd

2. Overview of Today’s Talk
Patents – 5 mins + Brief Q & A
Trademarks – 5 mins + Brief Q & A
Designs – 5 mins + Brief Q & A
Copyright & UDR – 5 mins + Brief Q & A
Patent Infringement – 20 mins
Final Q & A

3. What is IP?
Patents
Copyright/UDR
Trademarks
Registered Designs

4. What is IP? Register the new body shape Patent the engine improvements
Trademark the brand name: Audi A4 ‘Slickback’
Copyright marketing materials

5. Patents: Benefits? Protects an Innovation (engine improvement)
Legal right (monopoly)
Asset to the company
Deters competitors
Gives a number to put on materials
Qualifies company for possible tax relief (Patent Box)

6. Patents: First Thoughts
Record the design/development process
Sign, date and witness
BEFORE disclosure, take decision on protection
Before spending money, do your homework
Use Espacenet, Google Patents (see useful links at the end)
And internal knowledge base
Fill in Invention Disclosure Form and ask me for initial advice

7. Patents: General Time Line

8. Protecting Overseas Markets
Pat Pend in UK first
Most cost-effective
Worldwide search report – 4 mths in
8 mths left for commercial feedback and analysis
BEFORE first anniversary, overseas protection decision
International patent application
Specific countries

9. Patents: General Time Line
International patent application - deadline
Patents: General Time Line

10. Patents: Brief Q & A

11. Trademarks: Benefits?
Protects a Brand and Corporate identity (Audi A4 ‘Slickback’)
Legal right (monopoly)
Deters competitors, easier to enforce than unregistered TM
Asset to the company, brand value
Gives a number to put on materials

12. Trademarks: No Good These trademarks were rejected. Why?
SMART CHEMISTRY,
OUR SPECIALITY
Jesus Junkie – likely to cause religious offence
Smart Chemistry – descriptive of the company and what products they market
European Diamonds – Use of a flag or symbol of an International Organisation is not allowed.
Thunderbolt – In common usage

13. Trademarks: Very Good
These trademarks are very good. Why?

14. Trademarks: First Thoughts
BEFORE disclosure, take decision on protection
Before spending money, do your homework
Use Google and IPO database (see useful links at the end)
And internal knowledge base
Decide which goods/services

15. Trademarks: Brief Q & A

16. Registered Designs: Benefits?
‘Cheap and Cheerful’ backup to a patent
Prevents copying of exact (or very similar) appearance or shape of a product
Lines, contours, colours, shape, texture or materials
Monopolise a products design for up to 25 years
Useful for non-patentable products and overall brand recognition
Prevents importation of imitation products

17. Registered Designs : No Good
These registered designs are poor. Why?

18. Registered Designs : Very Good
These registered designs are good. Why?

19. Registered Designs: Brief Q & A

20. Copyright: Benefits?
Protects artistic, graphic, literary works (i.e. pictures, words, etc)
Expires 70 yrs from death of the author
Subsists automatically
BUT, you need to prove copying – keep records!

21. Copyright: Where? Website Brochures and all printed literature
Drawings
Proposals
Photographs
Use analytics to track ‘time on site’, ‘white on white’ text, and redundant code to identify copyists, watermark images

22. Unregistered Design Right: Benefits?
Stems from old copyright law
Protects shape and configuration of a three-dimensional article
Lasts 10 yrs in UK, 3 yrs in Europe
Subsists automatically
BUT, you need to prove copying – keep records!

23. Unregistered Design Right: Circumvention?
To avoid competitor’s UDR, independent design
Broad brief – not leading
Designer signs declaration
Selection of designs provided
If preferred design is identical to competitor’s design, no UDR infringement due to independent design

24. Copyright & UDR: Brief Q & A

25. Patents: Infringement

26. What is Required for Patent Infringement?
Infringer must use all features of the main claim
A person may not…
…a patented product, or a product obtained through a
patented process
The process need not have been carried out within the jurisdiction of the patent.
Make
Dispose
Offer to Dispose
Use
Import
Keep

27. What is Required for Patent Infringement?
Example:
A prosthesis assembly for replacement of an acetabulum, comprising:
a supply including a plurality of bearing elements;
an outer member having an external surface adapted for securement to bone and an internal engagement surface shaped to receive a bearing element selected from said supply of bearing elements;
each bearing element having an exterior engagement surface for engagement with said internal engagement surface of said outer member;
each bearing element having an interior surface shaped to engage a femoral head in a non-captive manner; and
each bearing element in the supply being configured to exhibit a geometrical relationship between its exterior and interior surfaces which is different from said relationship of another bearing element of the supply.

28. What is Required for Patent Infringement?
Example:
A prosthesis assembly for replacement of an acetabulum, comprising:
a supply including a plurality of bearing elements;
an outer member having an external surface adapted for securement to bone and an internal engagement surface shaped to receive a bearing element selected from said supply of bearing elements;
each bearing element having an exterior engagement surface for engagement with said internal engagement surface of said outer member;
each bearing element having an interior surface shaped to engage a femoral head in a non-captive manner; and
each bearing element in the supply being configured to exhibit a geometrical relationship between its exterior and interior surfaces which is different from said relationship of another bearing element of the supply.

29. Challenging an Infringer
Put infringer on notice of rights
Cease and desist letter
With or without undertakings
Litigation
Intellectual Property Enterprise Court
High Court

30. Take Away Record everything – sign, date witness
Make an internal knowledge base
Monitor what competitors are doing
Conduct patent searches
Create your own designs, do not copy
Protect your rights, use to deter

31. www.espacenet.com – Free Patents Database
Final Q & A
Useful Links:
– Free Patents Database
– Google Search for Patents
- Albright Walkthrough Article for Free Patent Searching (pt.1 of 2)

32. Many thanks for listening Contact: Adrian Hocking Personal LinkedIn : linkedin.com/AdrianHocking