Intellectual Property and Information Technology
Intellectual property is an increasingly important component of every business.
Your business may have at least one trademark that clients associate with a level of quality and brand values. These marks which distinguish your business from your competitors can accumulate significant value and the best way to protect this is to register them. Depending on your needs Stones can advise and assist in the registration of:
- UK trademarks at the UK Intellectual Property Office;
- Community Trademarks (CTM) at OHIM, the European trademarks and designs office;
- International trademarks at WIPO, the World Intellectual Property Organisation.
Our team can also assist in registering trademarks in other jurisdictions around the world through our network of industry professionals.
If you want to register a trademark or are concerned that someone may be using a similar mark in conjunction with goods or services similar to those of your business, please contact a member of our team.
A trademark licence can be the best way to derive value from your trademarks. Licensing produces a revenue stream while retaining control over the use of the mark. Issues on which our team will advise in the drafting of a licence include:
- whether the licence is to be exclusive or non-exclusive;
- the territories in which the licence is valid;
- the extent of goods to which the trademark can be attached;
- the structuring of royalty payments for the use of the trademark;
- control of the quality of the goods to which your mark is to be attached.
Our team also offers advice on a range of other IP issues such as design rights and patents.
Information Technology
IT contracts require an in-depth understanding of the sector and of the workings of the systems involved. Our team has a wide range of experience in dealing with all aspects of IT related contracts including:
- IT outsourcing and managed service agreements;
- Software licences and terms and conditions;
- IT procurement;
- Escrow agreements;
Commonly faced issues include:
- restrictions on the use of licensed software;
- restrictions on the use of third party support and maintenance;
- remedies for failure in software or hardware and maintenance failures;
- correct drafting of liability clauses in accordance with the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977;
- access rights to the source code of licensed software and any third party code, for example in the context of a developer’s licence.
Most businesses run a website as part of their marketing and sales strategy. Our team can advise on the legal requirements that must be met by your website. For example:
- Information that must be disclosed under the Companies Act 2006, such as the registered office, registered number and full name of the company that owns the website;
- website terms and conditions of use;
- distance selling regulations for internet sales;
- data protection and privacy policies;
- domain name registration;
- copyright protection;
- limitation of liability, for example in the context of websites providing advice and information.
Our team will provide pragmatic and cost effective advice to ensure that your IT/IP arrangements satisfy the legal and commercial needs of your business.