Copyright and Moral Rights

A strong intellectual property (IP) system is key to encouraging innovation and delivering continued economic growth. The methods of enforcing IP rights (whether copyright, designs, patents or trade marks) are of great practical importance as rights that cannot be enforced are ultimately worthless. The importance of litigation in the IP field should not be underestimated. There is a range of court orders, statutory, common law and equitable remedies that are available to an IP rights owner to enforce their rights. These have developed over time on a piecemeal basis; however, the Enforcement Directive ( Directive 2004/48/EC ) has produced a degree of standardisation. A solid knowledge of these legal remedies is important for answering problem questions that require the student to advise a party as to their ‘rights and remedies’.