Intellectual Property
Overview

Building and protecting your brand generates long-term business value. We can help with registering trademarks, design rights and domain names in the UK and globally. We can advise you on how to structure your application and the likelihood of success. We can also provide guidance on how to protect your existing rights and avoid infringing the rights of others.

Copyright is one of the most common and easily-created types of intellectual property. It helps prevent the unauthorised copying and use of a copyright owner’s work. We advise on all aspects of copyright law, helping copyright owners protect their valuable rights from being misused. Unfortunately, the wrongful use of copyright materials published online and via social media channels is now extremely common – we can help you minimise this risk and make sure you are compensated for the improper use of your work.

While we do not provide a specialist patent-drafting service, we can advise you on the legalities involved in the creation and maintenance of patents. Our IP lawyers can also discuss the pitfalls to avoid when considering patent protection with you. If this is something you are interested in obtaining, we can liaise with specialist patent agents on your behalf. We can also help with the assignment of existing patents to third parties – either on a standalone basis or as part of an overall business transaction.

Corporate transactions that relate to the sale, purchase or franchising of a business typically involve dealing with a company’s overall intellectual property rights. We can help identify and validate intellectual property, making sure due diligence is applied and that the relevant rights are properly assigned or licensed, as applicable. We can also conduct standalone intellectual property audits.

We act for software developers, distributors, mobile app developers, Software as a Service (Saas) providers and end users. We advise on contracts, including bespoke software development agreements, software licencing and maintenance arrangements, SaaS terms and Escrow arrangements. If things go wrong, we are here to help you tackle the issue as efficiently and cost effectively as possible.

Designers and innovators must be able to fully exploit their creative ideas and protect them from being exploited by others. Not only can we help you expand the distribution of your products/services, we can advise you on the licenses and franchises relating to your intellectual property and third parties. In turn, this enables you to generate income and retain ultimate control of your brand and ideas.

When a third party infringes or threatens to infringe your brand or other intellectual property, we can help you defend your rights. Our dispute resolution team, which includes qualified mediators and arbitrators, will strive to achieve an agreed resolution for you. Where necessary and appropriate,  we also pursue disputes through the courts.

Moral rights enable creators to be recognised when work has been copied or shared, and object to any derogatory treatment of their work by others. However, moral rights can be transferred to third parties – we can advise artistic work creators, as well as those who may seek to acquire use of the work, on the best options to achieving the desired outcome.