Posts under ‘commercial’

You may have heard of voucher websites such as vouchercodes.co.uk or other offer-based sites.  One such business that is causing a buzz is Groupon. What is Groupon? Groupon is a voucher website with a difference. It is entirely unique in its own concept of bargains. Instead of giving subscribers run-of the-mill discounts such as ‘241 [...]

Open source software (OSS) is defined by Wikipedia as: Computer software that is available in source code form for which the source code and certain other rights normally reserved for copyright holders are provided under a software license that permits users to study, change and improve the software Business Applications Most of the application software [...]

A Business’ IP is often the most valuable asset it generates.  So just neglecting to protect your IP in these recessionary times when budgets are tight can have adverse and long term implications—especially if there is a time limited window within which your IP may be registered. To avoid a large hole in your IP [...]

The IPKAT reported recently that the BBC is preparing to take the publishing company HarperCollins to court over a book that reveals the identity of the Stig from Top Gear. The Stig never removes his helmet on the show, concealing his identity. The identity of the Stig’s character has been kept a secret for the [...]

In previous posts I have commented both on the ‘End of Lawyers?’- a book by Richard Susskind and also on the Legal Services Act, which are two commonly discussed items by those interested in the UK law business landscape. In the ‘End of Lawyers? The Legal Hybrid is already here‘  my message was I already [...]

Along with the introduction of digital music purchases, came the rise of DRM restricting how it could be used.  With traditional media, music was generally freely playable and transferable, but over the past decade we have seen more and more restrictions imposed on consumers, controlling which portable device music is played on, how many computers [...]

In their article earlier this year, the Ipkat drew attention to the fact that there is a marked separation between the worlds of trade marks and branding. More often than not the two are not addressed collectively, but are rather dealt with by completely separate teams, or even distinct organisations.  A creative team might deal [...]

Since the release of the latest generation of consoles, the gaming industry has undergone considerable growth.  No longer seen as a niche, antisocial pastime, the marketing strategies and innovative approaches to game design employed by companies like Nintendo have brought Gaming into the mainstream.  Platforms such as the Wii, and the DS, have spawned a [...]

In view of the controversy surrounding not only its contents, but the way in which it was passed, we had written on the recent Digital Economy Act in an earlier post.  In this post I would like to focus not on the broader policy considerations that have been dominating discussion, but on some of the [...]

In business, as in life, we are constantly assessing and managing risks.  One of the most important risks to avoid is that of choosing your brand name without doing some very careful searches.  I know this from personal experience. When I started up my law firm I named it A1 Law, having done a brief [...]