Media and intellectual property

Our intellectual property team at Kennedys offers a unified service with combined expertise.

This enables us to offer an extensive service covering:

• Trade mark
• Design and patent disputes
• Passing off disputes
• Intellectual property transactional work
• Intellectual property litigation
• Ownership and assignment of all types of copyright – contentious and non-contentious
• Copyright infringements
• Breach of licensed use.

The breadth of experience through the life cycle of an intellectual property right enables us to give comprehensive advice tailored to the individual dispute whether advising as to the prospects of enforcing a copyright right or defending an allegation of breach of another users copyright.

Recent cases

• Advice concerning whether producing a popular TV reality game show infringed copyright in the format of another similar show; then advising insurers whether production of the show could form the basis of a claim under the policy

• Advising whether clients' web site infringed copyright in that of a rival

• Defending a claim that the get-up of DVDs amounted to passing off

• Advising on selling goods on Ebay

• Advising whether designs for performance-enhancing modifications to a make of sports car could be protected by unregistered design rights

• Advising whether design of a replacement industrial sensor infringed copyright or design rights, or whether "must match/must fit" defences would prevail

• Defending claim concerning false attribution of published doctoral thesis

• Advising on copyright implications of copying materials available on the internet

• Advising on whether Data Protection principles have been breached in high profile child sex abuse cases

Media and cyber risks

Our media team has advised in relation to pre-publication and pre-broadcasting obligations and a wide range of defamation disputes in relation to the Print Media, TV, Radio and Film and TV productions for individuals, private and public companies and institutions.

The media team has advised in relation to:

• Advising on complaints to the PCC and other regulatory bodies
• Advising in respect of disputes relating to cyber squatting, cyber-jacking and publication of defamatory material on websites both in the UK and the US
• Allegations relating to defamation and libel content
• Allegations relating to breach of copyright and format rights
• Dealing with adverse media attention
• Preventing publication of material in breach of confidence and copyright
• Data protection issues.

Recent cases

• Advising a current affairs/sport radio station on broadcast issues
• Acting for a PR agency and their insurers in respect of allegedly defamatory statements made in respect of financial statements issued by a premiership football club. There were also allegations made against the Board regarding proper administration and management of the club
• Acting for an Arab daily newspaper in respect of defamation claims arising from the publication of articles relating to London based dissidents and asylum seekers alleging connections to terrorist organisations and involvement in terrorist funding
• Advising a charity and their insurers in respect of a disciplinary procedure where allegations were raised by its officers against a third party volunteer of 'grooming activity'
• Advising an NHS Trust in respect of a TV documentary which raised allegations regarding the Trust's performance in the prevention of MRSA within its wards
• Advising an individual in respect to pictures published without her consent in a tabloid magazine