Hampshire law firm offers essential copyright and trademark advice

The recent copyright and trademark battle between a Hollywood production company and a Southampton pub may sound like the plot for a film movie but one Hampshire lawyer who specialises in this area says that all companies need to be aware of how easy it is to contravene these laws.

“We don’t expect to see too many cases creating as many headlines as The Hobbit pub in Southampton but it has highlighted the issue that all companies could face,’’ said Moore Blatch senior solicitor Dorothy Agnew.

“While few actions come from a large American firm, companies could risk committing copyright or trademark infringement if they do not check whether there are any protected rights to a name, brand, design or image before embarking on a campaign or business idea which uses such features.”

A company can find themselves committing copyright infringement if they use an image which has been created by someone else or they copy a substantial part of a work created by someone else. It is important to note that an image does not need to be registered for copyright to exist; and to legally copy an image owned by someone else you must seek the permission of the copyright owner.

“It is often the case that a logo or artwork is commissioned, and though the client will pay for this to be done on their behalf, if there is no contract transferring the copyright, the copyright will remain owned by the original artist,’’ added Dorothy.

A company can commit trademark infringement by using a mark or logo that is either the same or very similar to an existing registered trademark. Dorothy Agnew notes that Asda experienced this when its use of the strap line “Spec saving at ASDA” and a logo used by Asda for its opticians services was held by the Court of Appeal earlier this year to be too similar to some of Specsaver’s registered trade marks and Asda was found to have infringed some of Specsavers’ trade marks.

Dorothy Agnew said: “Copyright, trademark and other intellectual property infringements can be avoided, and we deal with a number of these types of cases, so we have experience in finding practical solutions which range from an audit on a company image, logo or branding or to prepare contracts with third parties to safeguard against any future actions.’’

She said the key thing was for companies to be aware of the pitfalls and to safeguard against avoidable legal proceedings which could distract them from the core business.