Intellectual Property Law

Acting both as an introduction to the field and as a useful day-to-day companion, this book provides an easily comprehensible and practitioner-oriented overview of key areas of intellectual property law. The work is divided into four main parts: * Trade secrets - coverage includes actions for breach of confidence; employment and consultancy agreements and cases where there is a public interest in disclosure * Patents - an examination of what is patentable; the protection of industrial inventions (with special consideration of employee inventions) and the procedure for applying for patent protection * Copyright and designs - consideration of copyright law including guidance on the protection afforded by the Copyright Act * Trade marks - practical guidance on trade mark law following the Trade Marks Act 1994 and coverage of issues such as: what is a registered trade mark; how to register a trade mark; infringement of a registered trade mark and passing off Practical, day-to-day examples and illustrations make the diverse often complex issues involved readily understandable, whilst full coverage of all relevant legislation ensures that practitioners have a complete picture of the law and practice concerning this area. * Provides practical illustrations throughout the text * Both a useful introduction and a desktop guide to the core areas of intellectual property law * Fully covers all relevant UK and EC legislation to ensure that practitioners get a complete picture of the law as it currently stand