In practice, the 2006 Act will have limited implications for IP&IT. However, the following Parts of the 2006 Act do make some changes to the law which are of relevance to IP&IT practitioners:
· Execution of documents (Part 4, 2006 Act). Part 4 of the 2006 Act largely re-enacts those provisions of the 1985 Act which relate to execution of documents, but with some amendments. These are of interest to IP&IT practitioners insofar as they may be of relevance to executing agreements in IP&IT transactions.
· Company names (Part 5, 2006 Act). Part 5 of the 2006 Act makes a number of changes to the law regarding company names, the most significant of which is the creation of a new right for any person (not just a company) to object to a company names adjudicator if a company's name is the same as a name associated with the objector in which he has goodwill, or is sufficiently similar to such a name that it would be likely to mislead.
· Company secretaries (Part 12, 2006 Act). Section 270 of the 2006 Act removes the requirement that a private company has a company secretary, a change which is of some relevance insofar as it may have some limited impact on execution of documents by companies.
· Company charges (Part 25, 2006 Act). Part 25 of the 2006 Act makes a number of changes to the law relating to registration of charges created by companies, including a provision allowing the Secretary of State to order that a charge properly registered at one registry (the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO), for example) does not require a second registration at Companies House.
