Lawyer Monthly - November 2021 Edition

58 WWW.LAWYER-MONTHLY.COM | NOV 2021 INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY - IP DISPUTES IN A PR-LED WORLD access to the ultimate publishing resource that is the internet, and the ability to share content so easily. The advice used to be that you should never write in correspondence something you would not want a judge reading some time later in caustic terms; now the question is whether you would want the entire internet poring over your words with only a half-correct appreciation of the law and a skewed background story from the recipient of the cease and desist letter. Remember the days when you just sued someone, safe in the knowledge that it would be respectful, and you would win if you had the better case? Those days seem long gone, and now there is a difficult tightrope in deciding who, how and why to sue. Get it wrong and the public – particularly the internet – will feast. The use of public relations and public opinion to put pressure on a person or a business is not new – the difference is the ready Examples of individuals and companies getting it wrong in a PR world must go back long before the Barbara Streisand case, but that casemarked a real change: Ms Streisand brought a case for breach of privacy, but the ensuing publicity meant that a significant number of people who would never have been aware of her address or what her house looked like suddenly became aware of it through reporting. Alongside that we saw the rise of the narrative of the evil business: the global behemoth became less the benevolent paternal provider and more the wicked stepmother casting aside redundant staff, avoiding taxes and generally crushing all that is good in the world. The legal department became the obvious zenith, less a leather brogue and more a thick-soled boot to squash the inherently sweet but ill-advised member of the public. Intellectual property is a particularly rich target for attack by the public: although it is ultimately quite difficult to understand (trademarks being often described as complex law applying to easy facts whilst patent law is easy law applied to complex facts), the fact that trademarks are around us all and are “easy” facts often means that we all think we can express a view on what the law should be. Often being that the big nasty company should be not so big and nasty and should let the newcomer or individual keep doing the questionable behaviour. So, what is the solution? The first step many firms take can be to adopt a formal, legal IP DISPUTES IN A PR-LED WORLD The use of public relations and public opinion to put pressure on a person or a business is not new – the difference is the ready access to the ultimate publishing resource that is the internet, and the ability to share content so easily In an ever more interconnected world, the “court of public opinion” is growing increasingly literal. Aaron Wood, trademark attorney at Blaser Mills, speaks with us about notable IP disputes that have turned into PR disasters and offers his advice to companies looking to protect their brand image amid litigation.