Sign up now and join me, Brinsley Dresden, and my partner Oliver Fairhurst for our Campaigns in Crisis webinar at 4 p.m. (London time) on Wednesday 23rd October. As chair of the event, I am also delighted to welcome to the panel my old friend Richard Morley, a director at Sutton Winson, leading insurance brokers to the advertising industry. We've collaborated with Richard and his team many times over the years to help extract our mutual clients from tricky legal situations in both the UK and further afield.
What should you do if you receive a letter claiming that your advertising campaign infringes a third party's IP, demanding that you withdraw it immediately and pay damages? Getting it wrong can be expensive and damaging to both client relationships and agency reputations.
We'll cover everything you need to think about when you receive the dreaded cease-and-desist letter, including:
- Who do you need to notify if you receive a cease-and desist letter, and when?
- Who has the right and responsibility to deal with the claim?
- How do you assess whether the claim has any merit?
- How do deal with adverse publicity, particularly if the claimant goes to the press to damage the client/agency relationship?
- How do you make sure that you preserve your insurance cover?
- How should you approach trying to settle the claim to minimise your exposure?
- What lessons can you learn from real life examples – including from our successful defence of the claim about 'Edgar the Dragon' brought against adam&eve and John Lewis, which you can read more about here.
One lesson from the 'Edgar the Dragon' litigation is that if you respond successfully, you can emerge with your resources, your relationships and your reputation intact, as shown by the quote from Her Honour Judge Melissa Clarke. There's a lot to play for and you too can slay the dragon of litigation!
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
