Advisory and Transactional
The Group advises on a wide range of intellectual property matters to a broad range of clients, including individual investors, publicly listed companies, “start up” technology companies, high tech ventures and universities and other academic institutions, including in relation to:
Copyright
- Protection of copyright works, including databases and computer software
- Copyright assignment and licensing arrangements
- Exploitation of copyright material in relation to the entertainment industry, including film, games, multimedia and music
- Litigation involving copyright enforcement and infringement
- Open Source Software
Trade Marks
- Advice on obtaining and maintaining trade marks portfolios both nationally and internationally, in relation to which the Group liaises with a panel of trade mark agents
- Licensing, assigning and securities over trade marks
- Trade marks and passing-off/unfair competition litigation
- Advising on patent licensing and exploitation in relation to biotechnology; software; electronic devices and medical devices, pharmaceuticals, etc
- Litigation and litigation strategies involving patent enforcement and patent infringement, including ex parte and interlocutory orders and trial preparation and attendance
Confidentiality
- Advising and drafting employment and consulting agreements ensuring confidentiality, particularly in the software and internet industries
- Implementing effective non-disclosure agreements particularly in the context of product development
Contentious
Within the Technology and Life Sciences Groups, we have a growing practice in the area of resolution of contentious intellectual property matters and we work closely with our colleagues in Litigation and Dispute Resolution assisting clients in the resolution of such disputes.
The Practice
Arthur Cox has one of Northern Ireland's foremost intellectual property practices. The practice is an integral part of the firm, and draws on the expertise of lawyers in the fields of technology, media and entertainment, communications and broadcasting, privacy and data protection and e-commerce.
We act for many of Northern Ireland, Great Britain and Ireland's emerging and established technology companies in addition to major US and European companies operating in Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom.
Expertise
The Intellectual Property Group advise on all aspects of intellectual property law:
Intellectual Property Rights
All of the practitioners in our Intellectual Property Group routinely advise on the management, enforcement, and commercialisation of intellectual property rights. Our advisory work includes:
- protecting online content, including software, graphics and databases
- trade marks and domain names - registration, transfers and disputes
This is coupled with the experience of our colleagues in the Litigation & Dispute Resolution Group, who are there to assist on contentious matters.
Intellectual Property
Arthur Cox's intellectual property practice in Belfast consists of lawyers (and registered trade mark agents) practicing in patent, trademark, copyright, industrial designs, confidentiality and related intellectual property matters. The firm provides a full range of intellectual property services including representation in litigation, business and licensing transactions. Professor Robert Clark, who works as a consultant to the firm and is the head lecturer in Intellectual Property in University College Dublin, augments the expertise of our lawyers.
In addition, Alan Taylor has an unrivalled reputation throughout Northern Ireland and Great Britain for advising universities and other academic and research institutions, including their commercial ventures, on the protection and exploitation of their inventions, designs and other creations.
Patents
The group represents Northern Ireland, Great Britain, Irish and foreign clients, including individual investors, publicly listed companies, "start up" technology companies, high tech ventures and universities and other academic institutions in the patent area. We advise on:
- Biotechnology
- Software
- Electronic devices and medical devices
- Litigation and litigation strategies involving patent enforcement and patent infringement including ex parte and interlocutory orders and trial preparation and attendance
- Pharmaceuticals
The group's work ranges from advising on patentability of inventions to transactions affecting granted patents, due diligence and litigation.
Trademarks, Service Marks and Trade Names
The group advises and represents multinational and national clients on a wide range of trademark related issues including:
- Advice on obtaining and maintaining the registration of trademarks portfolios nationally and internationally the Group liaises with a panel of trademark agents
- Licensing, assigning and securities over of trade and service marks
- Due diligence
- Litigation involving trademarks and service marks
Copyright
The group advises on a wide range of copyright issues including:
- Protection of copyright works, including books, screen plays, databases and computer software
- Copyright assignment and licensing arrangements
- Exploitation of copyright material in relation to the entertainment industry, including film, computer games, multimedia products and music
- Litigation involving copyright enforcement and infringement
Confidentiality
The group advises clients on issues of confidentiality including:
- Advising and drafting employment and consulting agreements ensuring confidentiality particularly in the software and film and television industries
- Implementing effective non-disclosure agreements particularly in the context of product development
- acquisition and disposal of businesses and assets
Industrial Designs
The Group advises both digital and non-digital companies in relation to the registration of designs, and the enforcement of design rights.
Technology Transfer and Licensing Transactions
The group assists clients in relation to drafting and negotiating of domestic and international technology transfer and licensing arrangements in conjunction with our EC and Competition Group.
Litigation
Our Litigation and Dispute Resolution services include initial advice on liability and pre-action correspondence, ex-parte orders including Anton Piller, Norwich Pharmacal, "search and seize" orders and interlocutory orders; pleadings and discovery; liaison with Counsel and witnesses and trial preparation and attendance. Our litigators also have extensive experience in the negotiation of settlements outside of Court.
Experience
Our experience stems from acting for a wide range of clients in the technology sector including start-ups, multinationals, financiers, regulators and Government Departments and Agencies.
- Queen’s University: Acting for the University in relation to the capture and exploitation of investment in intellectual property and research including copyright; joint venture development and research agreements and relevant policies and procedures; licensing intellectual property to third party commercial organisations; internal policies in relation to capture of intellectual property.
- Dublin City University: Advising the university in relation to all matters relating to data protection and intellectual property including the licensing, creation and ownership of Intellectual Property Rights.
- University College Dublin: Principal advisers in respect of all data protection and intellectual property and licensing issues. We also sponsor and are a shareholder in NovaUCD, the University College Dublin-based campus company incubation programme.
- Trinity College, Dublin: Advising in relation to data protection and intellectual property issues including licensing.
- Waterford Institute of Technology: Principal advisers in respect of all data protection and intellectual property and licensing issues.
- Athlone Institute of Technology: Principal advisers in respect of all data protection and Intellectual property and licensing issues.
- Dublin Institute of Technology: Principal advisers in respect of all data protection and Intellectual property and licensing issues.
- Tralee Institute of Technology: Principal advisers in respect of all data protection and intellectual property and licensing issues.
- Tallaght Institute of Technology: Principal advisers in respect of all data protection and intellectual property and licensing issues.
- Letterkenny Institute of Technology: Principal advisers in respect of all data protection and intellectual property and licensing issues.
- Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design & Technology: Advisers in relation to various data protection, intellectual property and licensing issues.
- Monaghan Vocational Education Committee: Advice in relation to data protection.
- Northern Ireland Screen: Advising Northern Ireland Screen on the copyright and moral rights issues relating to the transposition of archive footage into a digital format in connection with the exploitation of the national digital film archive.
- InvestNI: Advising on non-disclosure agreements and the execution of confidentiality agreements in relation to intellectual property matters.
- Diabetica Limited: Advised on copyright, confidential information and know how and the licensing of patent applications in connection with the conclusion of agreements with Amylin Pharmaceuticals.
- Titan Environmental: Advising in relation to licences for US sourced product development.
- Television production companies: Advising several television and film production companies on the legal and commercial issues relating to the licensing and exploitation of their IP (copyright, trade marks, rental and lending rights, performing rights).
- Private individual: Advising on copyright together with the enforceability of ideas for new games, toys, books and television formats when the law does not always provide protection, and how to minimise the risk of infringement.
- UK graphic design company: Advising a graphic design company in connection with a claim that it was infringing the copyright and image rights of various individuals by editing and reproducing existing photographs.
- TV production company: Advising a production company on the licensing issues, merits and details of protecting a trade mark in the UK, EU and elsewhere.
- Website company: Advising a website content provider on copyright as well as the legal aspects of editing and republishing user-generated content and the subsequent indemnity issues raised with the host of the website.
- Television production company: Advising a UK television production company on the legal aspects of sub-contracting web design, construction and hosting services as well as advising on copyright and other legal issues in connection with user-generated content and licensing of archive television footage.
- Animation company: Advising a production company on legal issues relating to licensing of copyright and taking security over digitally animated characters and the technical aspects of enforcing such security.
People
Alan Taylor