Threats: Global Flood Defence Systems Ltd v Van Den Noort Innovations BV
Lord Esher MR: the judge in Ungar v Sugg Photo Wikipedia One of the peculiarities of our intellectual property law is the threats actio n. It arises from provisions of the Patents Act 1977 , Registered Designs Act 1949 , Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 , Trade Marks Act 1994 , The Community Designs Regulations 2005 and The Community Trade Mark Regulations 2006 that enable persons aggrieved by threats of infringement proceedings whether express or implied to sue the person making such threats (and his lawyer or trade mark attorney) if those threats prove to be unjustified. There are no similar provisions in other areas of our law and except for a few Commonwealth countries and the Irish Republic no similar provisions in other countries' intellectual property laws. These provisions ensnare foreign intellectual property owners and even experienced English commercial litigators. This legislation has been criticized many times. In Intellectual Property 'G...