PART A
ANSWER ONE QUESTION FROM PART A
1. Silki is an award-winning painter whose work explores sensitive and controversial themes.
Her new exhibition comprises a series of photographic images depicting cruel acts being committed against animals. It is being held at Provocative Art (PA), a leading art gallery in the centre of London. The exhibition has attracted much interest from animal rights activists, and a series of protests have been held outside PA. At one such impromptu gathering, Kyle, an influential activist, delivers a powerful 30-minute speech regarding the responsibility of the state and corporations to withhold financial support for certain kinds of ‘immoral’ art.
A social commentator, Lenora, is in the crowd when the speech is given. Lacking a recording device, she makes a near-perfect record of his speech using shorthand. Later that night Lenora posts her record of Kyle’s speech on her blog with a hyperlink to the webpage of PA, which features a copy of Silki’s most controversial photograph.
Mihail, a lover of modern art, reads Lenora’s blog and decides to include Lenora’s record of Kyle’s speech in an anthology he is compiling of modern art controversies. On his personal webpage he publishes a notice about his forthcoming book, which includes a hyperlink to Lenora’s blog entry.
Advise the parties of their rights and liabilities under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
2. John has owned a pizza delivery service in Leicester for over five years called “PIZZAS2YOU”.
Keen to differentiate his business from a local rival, ME2UPIZZAS, John has created several features which, he believes, gives his business an edge over other pizza delivery firms in Leicester. His pizzas are not round but star-shaped and are supplied in a box which is covered with orange, green and white stripes. This colour scheme is repeated on all his delivery vans. His pizzas are also made with a special herb topping which gives a distinctive smell when the lid of the box is opened. Finally, his delivery vans have each been fitted with a special horn which plays the opening few notes of Rossini’s “William Tell” Overture so that the driver can alert customers that a delivery is about to be made.
John has contacted you seeking advice on obtaining registered trade mark protection.
Identify any relevant marks and advise John of his chances of success in registering them under the Trade Marks Act 1994. Your answer should be supported by legislation, case law and appropriate legal reasoning
3. The list of ‘non-inventions‘ in section 1(2) of the Patents Act 1977, and ‘exceptions to patentability’ in sections 1(3), 4A, and Schedule A2 seek to prevent the patenting of
unsuitable subject matter.
Critically evaluate the scope and effectiveness of one of the ‘non-invention’ exclusions listed below in section a) AND one of the ‘exceptions to patentability’ in section b):
a) Non-Inventions:
Patents Act 1977, s1(2)(a) – ‘discoveries’
OR
Patents Act 1977, s1(2)(c) – ‘programs for computer’
b) Exceptions to patentability:
Patents Act 1977, s1(3) – inventions ‘contrary to public policy or morality’
OR
Patents Act 1977, s4A – ‘methods of treatment or diagnosis’
PART B
ANSWER ONE QUESTION FROM PART B
4. RotaMota Ltd is a UK based company that specialises in the design and manufacture of vehicle wheel rims. On 14 March 2021, RotaMota applied to the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO) to register the design of a car wheel rim (see figure 1). A UK Registered Design Right was granted on 20 September 2
