●    The law of copyright is governed by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act (CDPA) 1988 that protects original materials including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic works, and typographical arrangements.

●    Design rights protect the appearance/shapes of a product (such as the Coca-Cola bottle) and the design must be fixed and original (not commonplace).

●    Unregistered design rights exist for a shorter period than registered designs and the owner has to demonstrate that the transgressor deliberately copied the design (which can be difficult).

●    The Trade Marks Act 1994 protects the owner of any sign capable of being represented graphically and which is capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one undertaking from those of another.

●    Registration of a patent prevents others from making, using, or selling the same product without permission. The protection lasts for five-year periods (to a maximum of 20 years).

●    From 1 October 2014 the Intellectual Property Act 2014 (IPA) commenced, which alters aspects of intellectual property (IP) law such as design law by introducing criminal liability for infringement. The European Union (EU) has also attempted to make protection and enforcement of IP easier through a proposed Unitary Patent and Unified Patent Court.

●    From 2018 businesses have obligations to protect the data of individuals. The General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018 regulate activities in this area.