Business Law Library & Tracker
IP & Brand Protection
Trade marks, copyright, designs, brand use and ownership of creative work.
Sources last reviewed 10 Aug 2026
Main law guides
122
Acts, regulations and codes worth reading first
Topics
60
Plain-English clusters
Published case explainers
143
Selected cases with a business lesson
Tracked updates
13
New, amended & reviewed
Plain-English explainers, not legal advice. Use the linked official source for section-level detail, and get advice for your situation.
Get legal helpMain laws
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
UKPGA 1988 c 48
Intellectual Property Act 2014
UKPGA 2014 c 18
Patents Act 1977
UKPGA 1977 c 37
Registered Designs Act 1949
UKPGA Geo6 12-13-14 c 88
Trade Marks Act 1994
UKPGA 1994 c 26
Trade Secrets (Enforcement, etc.) Regulations 2018
SI 2018/597
Cases
Iconix Luxembourg Holdings SARL v Dream Pairs Europe Inc
Brand clearance should consider how signs look in real use, not just side-by-side at design stage. Product shape, angle, context and post-sale visibility can all...
Lifestyle Equities CV v Amazon UK Services Ltd
Cross-border ecommerce teams should not assume that a foreign website stays legally foreign. Currency, delivery, checkout wording, search results and customer...
SkyKick UK Ltd v Sky Ltd
Trade mark applications should match a real commercial plan. Filing for everything can backfire if the specification has no proper rationale. Startups should seek...
Tillman v Egon Zehnder Ltd
Severance can rescue a restraint, but it is not a drafting strategy. Employers should tailor each restriction to the employee's role and the business interest being...