Intellectual Property (IP), like other tangible properties, may be used without the owner's consent. In such cases of infringement, you may wish to enforce your IP rights.  

What Can You Do When Your Rights Are Infringed?

• seeking relief in the form of an injunction to stop the infringing action
  
  
• demanding profits gained by the infringing party at his expense
  
  
• seeking damages for loss suffered

• The infringing party will have certain civil and/or criminal liabilities when infringement of your IP is proved.

When Your Patent Is Infringed...

• Infringement occurs when an invention of a patented product or process is used without the consent of the patent owner while the patent is in force.

• The patent owner can take civil legal action.

• If you do not have a patent or have not applied for one, you should not claim that you have one.

• It is a criminal offence to make such false claims regarding your patent or patent rights.

When Your Trade Mark Is Infringed...

• There is infringement when there is a use of registered trade mark in the course of trade without the consent of the trade mark owner.

• Once infringement is established, the owner can enforce his rights as conferred by the Trade Mark Act.

• When the infringement involves the use of a counterfeit trade mark in relation to goods and services, the owner of the registered trade mark has an additional alternative remedy of statutory damages.

False Claims

• It is a criminal offence to falsely represent a trade mark as registered when it is not registered or if it is pending registration.

• It is also a criminal offence to make a false representation as to the goods and services for which a trade mark is registered.

When Your Registered Design Is Infringed...

• Infringement occurs when there is a clear use of a registered design without the consent of its registered owner.

• Once a registered owner discovers that his design has been infringed (e.g. when he sees unauthorised reproductions of his design on the shelves), he can enforce his rights as conferred by the Registered Designs Act.

False Claims

• It is a criminal offence to falsely represent a design as registered when it is not registered or if it is pending registration.

When Your Copyright Is Infringed...

• Infringement occurs when one does something that only the copyright owner has the exclusive right to do or when one engages in an unauthorised use.

• For example, you photocopy a book (copyrighted material) without prior permission of the copyright owner.

• Infringement can give rise to both civil and criminal liabi