The creation of brands and the development of
innovative products and solutions are key to a business's value and
the protection and management of the intellectual property in these
assets is therefore critical. Our experience in this area
comes from advising many companies in different sectors, from
software developers and e-commerce companies to household name
international financial services companies and retailers. We
view the protection and management of intellectual property as a
strategic matter that is integral to how an organisation
operates.
Our nine partner-strong intellectual property
group advises on the protection, enforcement and exploitation of
all aspects of IP
- copyright
- database rights
- trade marks
- designs
- patents
- know-how
- trade secrets
We advise on the development of a business's
IP strategy and all aspects of its implementation, from
registration and protection through to exploitation and
enforcement.
We regularly advise on international licensing
and collaboration agreements. Working closely with colleagues
in our tax and competition teams enables us to find practical
solutions to the often complex IP issues involved. We also
regularly advise on the IP aspects of due diligence on
acquisitions, disposals and joint ventures and litigate to enforce
IP rights and defend infringement claims, using alternative dispute
resolution processes such as mediation where appropriate.
We offer a complete trade mark and portfolio management service run
by our in-house Trade Mark Attorneys.
We supported the companies below in relation
to the protection of their brands and ideas. To find out how
we might support you, please contact Kim Walker.
The following are examples of our client
projects:
- Advising Siemens in a patent
infringement dispute against Thorn Security concerning the coatings
of printed circuit boards (PCBs) for smoke detectors.
- Advising Royal Bank of
Scotland in the filing and defence of a number of
trade mark opposition and invalidity actions across the globe,
including Community Trade Mark Oppositions on behalf of Direct Line
Insurance plc, Coutts Bank plc and other companies within the RBS
Group.
- Advising the Central Science
Laboratory, an executive agency of Defra, in the spin out
of a plant health diagnostics business.
- Advising Haells Modul-System
AB, one of Europe's leading manufacturers of vehicle
racking systems for service vans, in complex and commercially
important trade mark, design right, copyright infringement and
passing off proceedings against their former UK distributor
(H-Modul Limited).