In a visit to Nottingham recently the Minister for Intellectual Property, Baroness Wilcox, revealed figures demonstrating that intellectual property rights including registered trade marks are worth an estimated £65 billion a year to UK businesses.

Two reports commissioned by the Intellectual Property Office (the body responsible for the UK regime of copyright, design, trade mark and patent rights), ‘The Role of Intellectual Property Rights in the UK Market Sector’ and ‘Film, Television & Radio, Books, Music and Art: UK Investment in Artistic Originals’ highlight that more than ever is being invested in goods and services capable of protection through one or more of trade marks, copyrights, patents and designs. The reports revealed that since 1990 business investment in intellectual property has more than doubled. The IPO intends to begin publishing figures on an annual basis as growth is expected to continue in coming years.

The Minister was in the city to discover how the University of Nottingham and a local low carbon business had benefited from protecting and licensing their intellectual property for commercial development. Speaking at the University’s Technology Demonstrator Wilcox said:

“Businesses who decide not to protect their intellectual assets are taking a huge financial risk because they may lose any rights to their creative ideas. (more…)

Samuel Smith Old Brewery (Tadcaster) v Lee (t/a Cropton Brewery)

[2011] EWHC 1879 (Ch)

This was a trademark infringement case in which a brewery held a registered trade mark in a stylised white rose which it used on its bottled beer and alleged infringement by another brewery releasing bottled beer with a label containing a white rose.

The two beers in issue produced by the defendant were Yorkshire Bitter and Yorkshire Warrior. Yorskhire Bitter was supplied to a supermarket. The supermarket took responsibility for the label which contained a white rose. The claimant sent a letter to the supermarket alleging trade mark infringement and passing off. The supermarket and the claimant concluded a settlement agreement and the supermarket commissioned a new label.

The label for Yorkshire Warrior was designed by the defendant and replicated the badge of the Yorkshire regiment. The MOD had declined to license the use of the regiment badge for this purpose because of the claimant’s trademark registration. Despite this the defendant continued to use the badge on his label. (more…)