A small vineyard outside Canterbury with a label it has never registered, a graduate of the city's arts university whose illustration has turned up on a tourist mug, a software start-up spun out of the University of Kent with no agreement about who owns the code: intellectual property in Canterbury is mostly small-scale, mostly unprotected, and mostly fixable if a solicitor is asked in time.
Food and drink lead the way. Kent's orchards, hop gardens and vineyards have produced a wave of ciders, wines, beers and juices sold under names that need registering as trade marks at the UK Intellectual Property Office before a competitor registers something similar. Geographical words such as "Kentish" cannot be monopolised, so a distinctive brand matters all the more, and label and packaging designs can be protected as registered designs. The tourism trade lives on heritage that belongs to everyone, Chaucer, the cathedral, the pilgrims, so the value is in the particular name, logo and artwork a business builds around it.
The universities are the other source. Research agreements, spin-out companies, staff and student inventions and the ownership of teaching materials all raise IP questions, and the creative graduates who stay in the city as designers, photographers and makers need to understand that the copyright in commissioned work stays with them unless a contract says otherwise. Licensing and assignment agreements settle that, and non-disclosure agreements protect an idea before it is pitched.
Infringement is usually dealt with by a letter and a negotiated licence. If not, the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court in London takes smaller claims with capped costs and a damages ceiling of £500,000. Patents are handled with a patent attorney.
Fixed fees cover most registrations and standard agreements; disputes are charged by the hour.
The IP firms serving Canterbury are listed below, verified firms first. The intellectual property law explainer gives the background, the general IP solicitors page covers the field, and company and contract questions belong with business law solicitors in Canterbury.
