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Category: Intellectual Property

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CJCH takes Welsh business East and West in October 

Cardiff based CJCH Solicitors provides a global consulting service specialising in software anti-piracy to multinational software companies. Since developing this bespoke solution in 2014, Senior Partners Stephen Clarke and Tim Hartland have grown the consulting division to over 60 staff members, speaking over 22 languages and providing analysis, research and compliance services to its clients across 60 countries worldwide.  

 

In October, the executive leadership team of CJCH ventures to Japan and the United States on two trips aimed at growing international business relations, sharing specialist knowledge, and bringing new business opportunities back to Wales.  

 

Luke Heydenrych, Group Chief of Staff, will travel to Austin, Texas with the Firm’s training manager and performance management strategist, to speak at an international software anti-piracy and licence compliance summit, hosted by SmartFlow Compliance Solutions.

 

Heydenrych is sharing his knowledge on the development of specialist skills that CJCH have developed here in Cardiff, in an address entitled “Next Generation Piracy Investigators: Immersive Techniques in Knowledge Transfer and Thought Leadership”. The focus on his presentation is on understanding a unique combination of skills needed to appropriately tackle the challenge of digital copyright theft and misuse of software products. Heydenrych will be sharing the stage with an elite collaboration of speakers including Technology and Privacy lawyers, Cyber Security Specialists, and law enforcement specialists from the FBI.  

 

At the same time, Stephen Clarke, Group Chairman, and Andy Clarkson, Managing Director of the CJCH Legal & Compliance Services division, are bound for Japan to meet with a leading Japanese intellectual property law firm to discuss a collaborative approach to supporting clients’ needs across Europe and Asia.

 

The focus of this trip is to build a strong bond between the two firms and the two regions to allow for cross-border compliance and enforcement activities to be better managed in the future.

 

Clarke has forged similar relationships with firms in other countries such as China, Israel, Brazil, and the UAE. Clarke envisions building a hub for global IP and Copyright protection here in Wales which brings international business and opportunity to our region.  

 

CJCH is no stranger to international business relations, and their team spend a great deal of time working with law firms, consultants, law enforcement and public services organisations across the globe in an effort to share their knowledge and assist in protecting the innovation and development investment made by software companies to produce the products which make modern life possible.

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From academics to the office – an inside look at Cardiff’s latest graduate scheme

“I don’t think any of us really knew what to expect when we started the graduate scheme.”

That was the admission made by Charlotte Bardet about joining the landmark new graduate scheme launched in Cardiff.

Charlotte, like many graduates, was keen to make the transition from university to professional life but was apprehensive about swapping academics for the office.

With thousands of graduates facing this prospect every year a professional scheme which bridged the gap between study and work seemed like the ideal solution.

With that in mind chief of staff, Luke Heydenrych, worked with the senior partners of CJCH Solicitors and Consultancy to design and launch its innovative Graduate Development Program in February 2018, which aimed to expose candidates to essential commercial and business skills at an early stage in their career.

Back L-R: Tim Hartland (Managing Partner), David Kirby, Myles Thomas, Sam Evans Front: L-R: Amy Palin, Charlotte Bardet, Daniel McNiell, Stephan Clarke (Senior Partner)

Charlotte, who joined the specialist law firm and consultancy in 2016 as an anti-piracy research paralegal, was one of six young candidates who joined the scheme’s first intake this February.

On her preconceptions about what the landmark scheme would involve, she said: “I knew I would learn a lot about business acumen and best practice and gain various skills related to crisis management and design thinking. However, I never anticipated the type of exposure it would offer me and the opportunities I would get so quickly.”

For Charlotte, her first few months in the bespoke program proved to be extremely surprising.

She said: “It was really encouraging to see the amount of trust senior management put in us. On joining the firm, you might worry that you’ll simply play a supporting role, but at CJCH this was not the case.

“They trusted us with massive projects for the firm and allowed us to run with them, which was unexpected, as you never know how much you’ll get to experience early on, but it was really humbling and exciting too.”

Charlotte, who previously interned with the United Nations, was assigned to a team developing an international course on illicit trade in collaboration with an international law enforcement training organisation.

This forms part of CJCH Legal & Compliance Services’s fight against international software piracy, which was highlighted when the firm recently hosted digital crime experts from around the world as part of the  IP Wales Cluster in Cardiff.

The graduates’ research will now form an integral part of the firm’s strategy to prevent the illegal usage and theft of intellectual property in the future.

She said: “To be working on a project that is so vital to the firm’s ongoing aims is really interesting.

“As part of the illicit trade project my team and I liaised with universities, worked alongside experts in the intellectual property and legal professions, and finally presented our findings to the firm’s senior partners. I have been far more involved than I could have anticipated.”

Thanks to her dedication to the project, Charlotte saw herself quickly promoted shortly after joining the graduate scheme, which offers a diverse approach to gaining both commercial and legal understanding of the profession.

She said: “I was delighted to be promoted to research supervisor so quickly, where I supervised a team of about 28 researchers. There was definitely a learning curve to the management side of the job, and the knowledge I acquired on the graduate program was extremely beneficial in settling into this new position.

“Knowing that the partners and managers in our department trusted that I could handle the job and manage such a big team, was such a great boost of confidence in my work and showed me that there was possibilities for future career progression.”

Following her promotion, she was quickly afforded even more exciting opportunities, which would see her use her skills on an international level.

“To my surprise I was invited to go to Boston for a business trip to meet with one of our partner firms for a few brainstorming meetings. I was extremely pleased and honoured to be involved in this. It was a great learning experience and made me feel very valued.”

After the whirlwind start to her Graduate Development Program, she has now taken on a larger workload as continues to thrive in her role.

She said: “My workload has obviously increased since I started, but it has all been really interesting.

“I slowly took on more and more responsibilities, from training to quality checking, offering expert analysis and feedback to our client. The whole experience has been so informative and rewarding.

“Before joining you really don’t know what to expect, but this has certainly exceeded any expectations I had. It’s been an invaluable experience so far and I would recommend it to any of my colleagues and anyone considering applying for a training contract.

“One of the best pieces of advice a colleague gave me early on was ‘if you want to see change happen, take the initiative to make it happen’, and I really feel I’ve been able to make things happen.”

CJCH Solicitors’ Graduate Development Program is a 12-month initiative, the first instance of  which concluded with the final training session this month. The Graduates now present to the executive board of CJCH to close off their training. The program offers graduates the opportunity to develop a wide-range of business and legal skills. The course sees candidates taught social entrepreneurship, innovation principles and practice, communication strategy, crisis management, leadership, and customer relationship management.

This unique approach aims to develop well-rounded and innovative team members who will work throughout the firm’s legal, and non-legal, departments with the aim of undertaking leadership roles in the future.

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Theft, Drugs and Pirates – Steve Rees the enforcer

by Alexandra Roach

 

From the South Wales Police Force and the National Crime Agency to managing the Anti-Piracy and Compliance division of CJCH Solicitors. Steve Rees shares with us the story of his career across 32 years in the Police force and his experience managing the now global AP&C department which has increased nearly 10-fold under his management since 2014.

 

As a child who played by the rules and was instinctively drawn to the unexpected, Steve Rees later found that joining the Police force felt like a natural fit. He began his career with the South Wales Police force, as all officers do, in uniform learning about the world of policing and how to deal with people from all walks of life. In time, his developing interests and his inquisitive nature lead him to pursue an investigative role as a divisional detective within the CID (Criminal Investigations Department). Over this period, he engaged in all levels of crime investigation – from thefts and assaults to armed robberies and murder.  Later, as a member of the Force Intelligence Department, operating in Cardiff, he dealt with large-scale investigations of career criminals responsible for serious offences being committed in the area.

Steve Rees’ work across the Force Intelligence Department led him to being seconded to the National Crime Squad (the forerunner of the now National Crime Agency). During this time, he would use state of the art technical equipment to target both national and international criminality, further developing his knowledge of technical and data-based systems of monitoring and regulation.  After his tenure with the NCS, surveilling and getting close-up and personal with professional criminals, Steve left the Police force and began work as the operations manager of a private investigation company where his skills were greatly welcomed.

When Steve later began his work with the Anti-piracy and Licence Compliance team at CJCH Solicitors (which at the time consisted of only 6 people) he soon found his investigative skills, knowledge of computer systems and ability to deal with all manner of people were real assets when applied to tracking down and engaging with the infringers who the team were actively pursuing. Understandably, Steve’s most current challenge has been the management of a dramatically increasing number of staff. Four years ago, the entire team comprised of Steven and five young graduates. Considering that the team now comprises of fifty-eight employees, the challenges faced as a result of such a vastly expanding department are understandable. Both Steve’s and the firm’s Senior Partner Stephen Clarke have taken great pride in watching the department flourish and celebrate its successes as it continues to expand and take on new countries and clients at an equally impressive rate.

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Software Piracy and Copyright infringement dealt a heavy blow – Pirates beware

In an article released just over a week ago on the China Daily – Europe online news site, a monumental win for French based software giant, Dassault Systemes (DS) was announced.

In an ongoing battle to tackle software piracy head-on, the organisation has partnered with law firms around the world to address the growing issue of  copyright infringement in terms of commercial software. Being a client of ours, we know all too well the dedication and commitment DS shows in the fight against Software Piracy and Licence Compliance, which is why we are delighted to share the news of their recent win in collaboration with our partner law firm in Shanghai, to the tune of $2.2m in compensation.

For too long companies such as DS have suffered at the hands of online deviant behavior which shows indifference to copyright law and Intellectual Property rights. Software pirates do not realise, or do not care about, the knock on effect their infringements have on innovation and development. The costs of research and development of new software can be astronomical, and when individuals take it upon themselves to illegally access and use this software without paying for it, it detracts from the creators ability to reinvest and expand their offering. Not to mention the extreme security risk the illegal software poses to the unauthorised users who open themselves up to threats such as unregulated software which is not monitored by the developers strict quality control processes. The use of illegal and cracked versions of software also potentially expose the user to embedded threats such as malware and viruses which are often inserted into fake versions.

Our partner law firm associated with this case, Han Yuan & Partners, will be joining us in Cardiff in September. We will host them to discuss our collective innovations in the field of Anti-Piracy and Licence Compliance and how the collaboration between China and our evolving technology innovation and IP Hub here in Wales can continue to service and support the Asian and European market and beyond. Discussions will include those with local IP communities, academia and the Welsh Government. 

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Your Idea or Copyright Theft?

by Ana Kocmut-Saunders & Gareth Thompson

Ana Kocmut-Saunders

“La propriété, c’est le vol!” (All Property is theft!).  So said French anarchist and capitalist Pierre-Joseph Proudhon in 1840.  Proudhon was not actually criticising individual entitlement to privately owned land. He was attacking landowners and capitalists whom he believed “stole” profits from labourers.

When modern day capitalists start up their own business they can quickly, easily and unwittingly ‘steal’ other peoples’ property.  How?  By using or adopting patented inventions or processes, trademarked logos or copyrighted material in their own business offerings or marketing.

Patents and Trademarks are easier to check out to avoid falling foul of them.  You can do that by a simple search of the online registry for each.

Beware and do your due diligence to check it out however.

Big brand retailers and service providers can be very aggressive indeed in their pursuit of anyone allegedly breaching their trademarks

Click here for the the latest reported instance and potential salutary tale.

What about copyright though? 

If material is not patented or trademarked, how do you know that your song, marketing concept, literary feature, clothing design or advertising pitch hasn’t already been created and protected by someone else?

Gareth Thompson

If you create something isn’t it yours?  So what if it’s not?  Does it really matter and should you worry?  Potentially yes if it steps hard enough on a business rivals’ copyright protected toes.

Uber was recently sued by Waymo (Google) for allegedly stealing technical information about itsLiDAR self-driving car system.  Ed Sheeran was recently sued for £16m for ‘stealing’ notes from ‘Amazing’ sung by Matt Cardle in his top 20 hit ‘Photograph’.  Marvin Gaye’s estate successfully sued Robin Thicke and  Pharrell Williams for $7.4m for ‘stealing’ from Gaye’s music to create ‘Blurred Lines.

In the fashion world the number of fashion shops claiming damages from rivals for copycat  designs has increased dramatically.  All Saints attacked River Island for copying items from its men’s and women’s collections.  Jimmy Choo pursued Marks and Spencers on the same basis.  Top Shop was forced to pay an undisclosed sum to French design house Chloe for copying a dungaree *

Original ideas invariably borrow from old ones. Even Voltaire admitted that “Originality is nothing but judicious imitation” **.  So how is a fledging entrepreneur supposed to know when their own inspiration becomes appropriation?  What’s the difference between being legitimately creative and original and illegally copying someone else’s work?  When does an idea become copyright protected material anyway?

Copyright arises automatically when material is first created.  However it has to be recorded not just remain an idea in someone’s head.  Once it is recorded though, any copying or adaptation of it can amount to an infringement.  An example would be lifting or adapting content ‘word for word’ from a business rival‘s promotional material or website to promote your own business.  However creating your own work based on someone else’s similar idea would not be an infringement of their copyright.

If recorded material is in the ‘public domain’ then it can be freely used.  Material published on the internet may be freely accessible to anyone. Perhaps surprisingly, that does not mean it is in the public domain.  Recorded material is only in the public domain if its copyright protection has expired.  How long does that last?  In the UK and for mere mortals, it currently lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years but not always. In the case of JM Barrie’s Peter Pan copyright protection has, (rather like Peter), an indefinite life span.  In JM Barrie’s case that was achieved by a statutory amendment made especially for that purpose in 1987 before it expired.

Different countries have different copyright expiry periods.  In the USA for ‘applied art’ material it can be as (comparatively) short as 25 years.  In Mexico, it is 100 years after the death of the author.  Once it has expired you can freely use, copy and adapt it.  However think twice before incorporating ‘Singing in the Rain’ into the marketing materials for the launch of your new retail umbrella outlet or ‘That’s Life’ for your positive thinking consultancy.  The copyright in the song or lyrics composition may have expired. However the copyright in the recording itself is separately protected. That could make it a highly successful but potentially very expensive launch party.

If there is any doubt about whether material you intend to use is copyrighted, whether anything came of it might ultimately and actually depend on how commercially successful you were.  How do you protect yourself against copyright infringement anyway?

In short create don’t copy or adapt someone else’s material.  Literally start with a ‘blank page’ and just what’s in your head.  Also go online and see what else has been created and recorded.  A simple ‘Google’ or ‘Bing Search’ will be highly informative.  It might be depressing to discover that your unique idea sadly isn’t but far better to be safe than sorry.  If in doubt always acknowledge the author’s contribution.  Apply otherwise to the author for a licence, grit your teeth and pay them a license fee.

If you’re otherwise sure that you’ve created your own original material don’t keep it to yourself.  Cast modesty to the winds and make sure you record and publish it.  Go ahead, be inspired and creative. Feel free to stand on the shoulders of others.  Just avoid picking their intellectual pockets in the process.

* Rachel Shields, Independent

** Daliah Saper, business.com

If in doubt and for safety always ‘look before you leap’ by getting specialist IP advice first.  Consult Ana Kocmut-Saunders, a member of the rapidly expanding IP team at CJCH solicitors.  Ana specialises in intellectual property protection.

CJCH Solicitors Corporate (including IP law) team is lead by Gareth Thompson, supported by Ana Kocmut-Saunders, and offers a obligation free consultation contact for new matters – 029 2048 3181 or e-mail on commercial@cjch.co.uk

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CJCH Solicitors to create 71 jobs in Cyber Security with backing from Welsh Government.

CJCH Solicitors have embarked on an ambitious journey to create a staggering 71 new jobs within the Anti-Piracy and Cyber Security speciality in Wales by year-end 2020.  We are proud to reiterate the announcement made by the Welsh Government, revealing their support of our new global IP Anti-Piracy Unit at our Cardiff head office.

CJCH has been at the heart of digital piracy and Intellectual Property compliance in Wales, with an international impact. In 2014, our Intellectual Property practice launched its internal Anti-Piracy and Compliance consultancy. Our team developed a customised solution for our international clients, to protect their work product and recover lost revenues from software infringements.

Ken Skates, Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure, said “IP piracy, which can range from copyright theft or infringement to counterfeit goods, is a growing global issue that can cause untold damage to businesses, to their protected and valued brands and the economy. ”

Infringements of this nature are a form of cyber crime which impacts business globally, depriving them of revenue and compromising their intellectual property rights. CJCH have tackled this issue head-on and cultivated a bespoke solution for companies suffering from this invasion.

The purpose of this partnership with the Welsh Government is to leverage our thought leadership and create a central hub for Anti-Piracy and Cyber Security in Wales. We intend to bring global best practice into Wales while developing local talent as well. Our 2020 goal, is to have established 71 new jobs in this field, as well as contribute to making the United Kingdom and global digital community a safer and more secure environment. We will be partnering with local businesses and academic institutions, such as Swansea University, to cultivate development and training programs to support this initiative, with specialist content aligned to business needs.

Stephen Clarke, the CJCH CEO, stated “The modern world of digital liberty and innovation offers greater access to information and narrows the global divide. Unfortunately, the digital economy brings with it a growing sophistication in criminal activity. Without proper defences, digital piracy exposes businesses to uncontrollable risk and vulnerability. Our solution enables us to partner with our clients to establish a proactive (protection) and reactive (recovery) governance model. Our goal is to share this experience with the community and grow the local capability in cyber security.”

As of 6 March 2017, CJCH Solicitors has been awarded a £432 000 grant from the Welsh Government to support our active project to establish this new entity. Our objective is to aggressively drive the development of Cyber Security and Anti-Piracy enforcement in collaboration with skills development and knowledge transfer. Making Wales, and the UK, a more secure and impenetrable digital landscape.

For more information and updates, email us at ip@cjch.co.uk or engage with us via Facebook, twitter or LinkedIn.

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Managing IP Infringements for small to medium enterprises

A word from Tony (Senior Compliance & Investigator Consultant)

At CJCH Solicitors we look to the future of commerce to tackle the questions facing international compliance and governance head-on. Through our ongoing efforts to combat software licencing infringements and anti-piracy on behalf of our clients we have identified potential gaps in the capabilities of small to medium enterprises (SME’s), in particular, in protecting their intellectual property (IP) rights. As a result of the sheer volume of web-based IP infringements it is impractical for many SME’s to identify, monitor and control incidents on their own. The skills and resources to combat the risks associated with this commercially damaging crime are simply not readily available to all SME’s or, in some instances, even larger organisations.

Over time we at CJCH have expanded our offering to address these pain points and support our clients where they need it most – a sturdier and more robust solution than that which they can provide for themselves.

Our services include an automated IT capability which can:

  • detect the scale at which your assets are being infringed
  • actively seek their de-listing from host sites
  • track that the delisting has actually taken place

Our process, including the intervention of our law enforcement trained investigators, is proven to achieve results swiftly and accurately, while being scalable to suit individual demand. With our ability to proactively monitor our clients IP assets and, if required, seamlessly transition the matter for legal action, CJCH are at the forefront of IP protective services.


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Compliance without borders

CJCH Solicitors is a law firm based in Cardiff, United Kingdom. The firm has grown substantially through a combination of a focused expansion strategy and key merger and acquisition projects. With collective legal experience spanning over 34 years, CJCH Solicitors is focused on dedicated solution development for both corporate and private clients.

The firm has developed a standalone Anti-Piracy and Compliance offering, which is coordinated by its team of experienced solicitors and compliance and research professionals. Compliance is no longer a tick-box function of corporate governance. Rather CJCH sees Anti-Piracy and Compliance as a dynamic element of the modern, digitally-aware organisation both in the UK and globally.

At CJCH we are committed to perfecting our compliance solutions to ensure that no client’s software or intellectual property is utilised without licence. We have grown our sphere of knowledge sharing and best practice development. Having recently hosted Attorneys from a leading American Law firm, our CEO and head of Anti-Piracy and Compliance embarked on a tour of partner firms in the Nordic and Baltic regions to share our compliance processes and learn from their local experiences.

The tour included visits with Njord Law in Copenhagen, a prominent Scandinavian law firm, as well as Sorainen in Latvia which was voted Baltic Law firm of the year for 2016.

(L to R) Stephen Clarke – CEO of CJCH Solicitors; Frederik Lindboe Refsgaard – Legal Assistant at Njord Law; Emma Whitehead – Dassault Systemes Lead Investigator, Baltic Region; Jeppe Brogaard Clausen – Partner at Njord Law.

(L to R) Steve Rees – CJCH Compliance and Enforcement Team Manager; Stephen Clarke – CEO of CJCH Solicitors; Agris Repass – Head of Intellectual Property of Sorainen in Latvia; Emma Whitehead – Dassault Systemes Lead Investigator, Baltic Region. Our objective in Latvia was to discuss our IP enforcement policies for the Baltics and in particular increased use of court procedures and raids on premises where businesses are using illegal software.

As illegal usage and piracy of our clients’ software continues to expand globally, so too does our focus on enforcing Anti-Piracy and Compliance on an international scale. The increased use of court authorised raids in particular has proved very helpful, playing a major part in increasing our recovery rate by over 50% in the recent year from €11.8 Million in 2015 to €18.6 Million in 2016.

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Announcements

CJCH Solicitors have become a limited company

As of Monday October 14th, 2024, CJCH Solicitors have become a limited company.

CJCH Solicitors is now the trading name of CJCH Legal Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales under company number 15452031. The registered office is Williams House, 11-15 Columbus Walk, Cardiff CF10 4BY.

CJCH Legal Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA Number 8009371). Please note there is no change to our bank account number and sort code.

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With a dedicated focus on service excellence, and a passion for innovation the CJCH team was the proud winner of the best Legal and Financial Business of the Year in Cardiff for 2019!

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Winner: Cardiff Business Awards 2018

CJCH Solicitors has experienced unprecedented growth and achieved important milestones over the last few years, all of which have culminated in the first half of 2018 being a prosperous year for us at the Firm and winning the Financial and Professional Services of the Year award.

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