Updated 11:05am 19 May 2013

Powered by Google

Matthew Rippon

Matthew Rippon

Brown could look at the Eurovision ...

TALENTED people laid to waste. Fortunes in “safe” investments rendered worthless overnight. Will we never see the end of these catastrophes?Read

AdWords move sparks anger, fury, ire

Matthew Rippon writes a regular blog on nebusiness.co.ukRead

Matthew Rippon

Five years ago I found myself involved in a conflict with what was then the world's biggest media business, AOL Time Warner.Read

Gowers report puts intellectual property on the agenda

Wednesday, December 6 was a big day for news. Yes, there was the release of the report of James Baker's Iraq policy review group in Washington. And there was the Chancellor's autumn statement - is December now regarded as autumn? But by far the most important thing - for us IP lawyers at least - was the release of the Gowers Review of Intellectual Property.Read

Storm brews up on Star Wars helmets

Our monthly foray into the wilder side of intellectual property law reveals the plight of Andrew Ainsworth, an engineer and designer from Twickenham contracted by George Lucas to create a number of characters for Star Wars, which was, according to Channel 4's poll, the greatest film of all time.Read

Headache of online market places

Intellectual property rights and online market places. Let's face it - it's a recipe for disaster. It doesn't matter whether you are a rights holder, an ISP or a merchant, the enforcement of rights online, particularly on eBay and the like, gives everyone a headache.Read

Apple code of conduct proves a real asset

The popular idea that life at companies like Apple Computer, Google and Yahoo! is one long stream of beanbag board meetings and company barbecues was shattered at the weekend with the Sunday newspaper exposé on conditions at Foxconn, Apple's Taiwanese manufacturer of the iPod Nano.Read

Next TV format dispute just around the corner

In August, to mark the end of X-Factor-free Saturday night television for another year, we reported on the various pieces of litigation Simon Cowell was leaving in his wake.Read

Gimme royalties, plead litigants

This year has certainly been an interesting year for copyright stories. Regular readers of this page will be familiar with the dispute over George Harrison's 1960s back catalogue and the claim by ex-members of the Boomtown Rats against Bob Geldof for lost royalties, not to mention the announcement of Geraldine McCraughrean as the author commissioned to write the sequel to Peter Pan and thereby secure enduring benefits to the Great Ormond Street Hospital.Read

Doc Martens puts boot in

We reported some time ago on a case relating to the design of a new Doc Martens logo for the brand owner, R Griggs Group.Read

Terminator director facing Judgment Day

James Cameron, director of Terminator 2: Judgment Day, finds himself facing legal action 14 years after the release of the film. The action centres on the shape-shifting T-1000, played memorably by Robert Patrick in the film.Read

Cowell could make a million dollar mistake

Thousands of people wander through life never seeking publicity or fame. Then there's Simon Cowell. His ego (according to one commentator) is the only man-made object viewable from space.Read

Getting rid of zombies is a serious business

Film ratings are big business. The big Hollywood studios go to great lengths to make sure that their summer blockbusters are viewable by as wide an audience as possible.Read

Invisible enemy needs action

Cyber crime is causing havoc throughout the UK. Even though most companies have anti-virus software in place, 83pc of large businesses received infected e-mails or files over the year, which led to lost time and disrupted schedules.Read

Know all the rules when you want to copy music

You might think that you are permitted to make copies of music you purchased on vinyl to play in the car, or to convert CDs you have bought into MP3s to play on the bus to work. That's only fair.Read

We can't always rely on our favourite superstar

The news that Lucozade is to drop its long-running association with Lara Croft, star of the Tomb Raider game and movie dynasty, highlights the risks inherent in tying a product to a celebrity.Read

The route back from a DoS attack can be long and hard

Did you ever have one of those days? Network administrators have been suffering from a succession of them recently.Read

The right image is so lucrative for soccer

A month ago, the football economy was paralysed. Player valuations tumbled as clubs found cash hard to come by. Players were laid off to trim wage bills. But the purchase of Chelsea FC by Roman Abramovich has wrested football temporarily from its freefall.Read

Why one man's outraged gasp is another's yawn

Sex sells - the kind of truism upon which entire industries are based. In this case, an industry largely involving provocative photography and suggestive innuendo.Read

Author Profile

Matthew Rippon is an intellectual property and technology law solicitor covering both disputes and deals in a litigation or a commercial environment. Matthewýs specialist area of expertise is IP, which covers trade marks, patents, designs, copyright and confidential information (including privacy). He advises on the identification and protection of IP, its exploitation and the enforcement of IP rights. Matthew also deals with data protection and away from IP, he also conducts general contract litigation concerning technology issues. Matthew undertakes generals commercial work such as the preparation of terms and conditions, distribution agreements and general website documentation. In particular, Matthew is often instructed by Education sector clients to advise on outsourcing deals, usually in relation to IT infrastructure.

nebusiness.co.uk - business news and financial news from across the UK. Updates on local businesses in Newcastle, Middlesbrough and the North East, farming, technology news and sector reports. For our complaints procedure, click here.