What do you do if ... you need to seek a court order against a former employee who has set up in competition with you, having first helped themselves to your customer database? ... Or if you are deluged with complainants who have bought products they thought were yours, but turn out to have been made from inferior materials and without your knowledge or consent? ... Or if you receive a solicitor's letter complaining that a product you are about to launch infringes their client's trade mark or registered design? Jane Lambert's concise and practical guide gives you the knowledge that you need to make crucial decisions to protect your intellectual assets before it is too late. It should be kept close at hand for use in emergencies, just like a first aid manual. Its purpose is to alert you to problems so that you can take the right steps to manage them, in consultation with your professional advisors, before they develop into crises. And, if the worst does happen and you need to go to law, the guide provides you with the information you need to understand the process, the risks and how to prepare effectively. If you are planning an enforcement strategy, looking for the optimum patent or registered trade mark or design protection and to secure the appropriate insurance to make sure you have a fund available to enforce these, then this book is for you. If you're already in hot water, someone with an intellectual property problem who needs to make fast decisions in very little time, then this book is for you too. It could help you avoid the most expensive mistake of your life.
The development of a global 'knowledge economy' has encouraged organizations of all types to focus on the opportunities for, and the threats to, the intellectual property that they hold. The variety of intellectual assets (designs, databases, patents, brands and trade marks), the growth of new technology capable of exploiting and protecting these assets, and the nature of the law mean that intellectual property enforcement is a hugely complex area. Jane Lambert's Enforcing Intellectual Property Rights explains the threats and the remedies (criminal and civil, as well as alternatives to litigation), and provides a readable guide to the processes and the systems available. This is a must-have guide for all managers responsible for acquiring, managing and protecting intellectual assets and for students working in the area.
