Media, entertainment & sports law - Intellectual property

Intellectual property can be defined as the legal right to stop others from exploiting the property in question. It can be divided in two broad kinds of right: those which entitle the person who has the right to stop others from copying; and those which confer on such a person a monopoly right. The work of chambers is principally concerned with the former kind of right, with particular emphasis on claims and issues relating to copyright in the context of the film and music industries and in the printed and broadcast media.

In that area in particular, members of chambers provide advice and representation to individuals, companies, local and central government departments, and the representative bodies of rights owners (such as the British Phonographic Industry and the Mechanical Copyright Protection Society) and their members. They also appear in the High Court, the Court of Appeal and House of Lords, and the Copyright Tribunal. As is also the case with regard to defamation, confidentiality and privacy, members of chambers have acted in a number of the leading reported cases concerning the law of copyright in recent years.