News

CIPIL was represented in the March 2026 Oxford Intellectual Property Mooting Competition by two undergraduates, Ben Madden and Jun Xiang Wong, and the LLM student Mohammad Sabeeh Ahmed. They were coached by another LLM student, Vasupriya.One of the mooters, Ben Madden (Lucy Cavendish) wrote: “This March, I had the opportunity to participate on the …

Oxford University Press has published Copyright as Personal Property by Dr Poorna Mysoor. Copyright statutes in many jurisdictions clearly state that copyright is a property right. However, it's not always clear exactly how. Some see it as no more than a statutory right, while others think of it as a chose in action, like debts or shares. Copyright…

The edited collection Research Handbook on the History of Trademark Law edited by Lionel Bently and Robert G. Bone (G. Rollie White Chair Emeritus in Law, The University of Texas School of Law) and published in October has been named 'Best book on Trade Mark Law' by popular IP blog IPKat. IPKat awards their Book of the Year Awards annually, based o…

Throughout 2024-25, the Centre for Intellectual Property and Information Law (CIPIL) is marking twenty years of activity. In essence, CIPIL is a community of scholars - academics, post-docs, and research students - who work in all of the principal areas of intellectual property and information law.  Directed until 2016 by Lionel Bently, the Herchel…

Edward Elgar Publishing has published the Research Handbook on the History of Trademark Law edited by Lionel Bently and Robert G. Bone (G. Rollie White Chair Emeritus in Law, The University of Texas School of Law). Presenting a variety of historiographical approaches, this Research Handbook explores the historical development of trademarks and the …

CIPIL's Spring Conference 2024 on Data Protection Reform   As with a number of other Research Centres in Cambridge’s Faculty of Law, the Centre for Intellectual Property and Information Law (CIPIL) is well known for the individual scholarship of its academics, their and its support of excellent research students and research visitors and the organ…

Cambridge's Centre for Intellectual Property and Information Law (CIPIL) is particularly well known for the scholarship of its individual members, for its annual conference and for its year-round seminars. It also has a significant track-record in developing online resources which are designed to facilitate research and investigation of information…

Last week saw a superb achievement for the Cambridge student team, who were winners of the European round of the University of Oxford’s Price Media Law Moot Competition, which was held at the University of Paris from 31 January to 2 February. Run by the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights, the Price Media Law Moot Court Programme aims to foster and …

CIPIL is extremely proud to report that its Deputy Director, Professor Lionel Bently KC (hon) has been selected from a long list of nominations received from the global IP community to be inducted in the IP Hall of Fame. In making its selection, the IP Hall of Fame Academy chooses the nominees "it considers to have made the most outstanding contrib…

CIPIL is extremely proud and delighted to spread the exciting news that Professor Lionel Bently (former long-standing CIPIL Director) has been appointed as a King’s Counsel honoris causa. The names of this year’s new honorary and practising KCs were announced by the Ministry of Justice on 23 December 2022. Lionel Bently is Professor of Intellectual…

Professor Lionel Bently (Emmanuel College) has been appointed as a King’s Counsel honoris causa. The names of this year’s new honorary and practising KCs were announced by the Ministry of Justice on 23 December 2022. Lionel Bently is Professor of Intellectual Property Law and Deputy Director of the Centre for Intellectual Property and Information L…

We are sorry to announce the death of Gaenor Moore. Gaenor had served as Senior Secretary and Administrator at CIPIL from March 2007-May 2009 (when she was also the Editorial Assistant of The Cambridge Law Journal) and from August 2011-August 2014 (when she also was Examinations Administrator for the Faculty of Law). As CIPIL administrator, Gaenor …

Oxford University Press has published the sixth edition of Intellectual Property Law by Lionel Bently, Brad Sherman, Dev Gangjee, and Phillip Johnson. Intellectual Property Law is the definitive textbook on this subject - an all-embracing and detailed guide to intellectual property law. It clearly sets out the law in relation to copyright, patents,…

In the new, more "virtually-focussed" world ushered in by the pandemic, employers face a new challenge in how they vet future employees, says Trinity Hall Fellow Dr David Erdos. Employers have "always" snooped on their employees but social media gives them an even greater ability to see inside the personal lives of their staff and judge them accord…

It is with great sadness that we have to announce that Bill Cornish, Professor Emeritus and inaugural holder of the Herchel Smith Chair in Intellectual Property here at Cambridge, has passed away. We remember Bill for his pioneering work in intellectual property law and his outstanding contributions to law in its social context, his intellectual ri…