ABSTRACT
This chapter looks in detail at copyright and considers two construction related case studies. It also looks more briefly at the other forms of intellectual property rights: design rights, patents, trademarks and confidential information. The concept of partnering in the context of intellectual property rights needs to be balanced with the fact that the rights created in any project are a form of property and need to be dealt with accordingly. However, in common with many intellectual property rights, the employer may be the owner of the patent if the invention was made during the course of the inventor’s employment. Rights in confidential information are fragile and will only be upheld where the confidentiality of the information has been maintained. However, where intellectual property rights are created jointly, the law is far from clear as to how those rights can be exploited by each of the parties.
