Advising, illustration

Intellectual Property

Your intellectual property is what sets your business apart from your competition.

If you’re innovative or have a strong brand, intellectual property (IP) can generate significant income, and increase how much your business is worth.

But it can be hard to know where to start – particularly if you’re a start-up or SME. Understanding what IP is – and how it’s valuable to you – is really important, and it all starts with getting the basics right. Whatever your size, seeking the right legal advice on your IP is essential.

Our team advises on all areas of intellectual property law – from brand strategy and protection, to IP exploitation and dispute resolution.

Put simply, we’ll ensure you protect what’s yours and help you exploit its true value.

Expertise

Intellectual property strategy and brand management

  • Audit your IP
  • Licensing and assignment of IP
  • International IP rights
  • IP exploitation strategies and policies
  • Monitoring and policing IP infringement

Intellectual property disputes

  • Trademark infringement and passing off
  • Copyright infringement
  • Design right infringement
  • Patent infringement
  • Domain name disputes
  • Theft of confidential information/trade secrets

Transactional intellectual property

  • IP aspects of corporate transactions
  • Sale and purchase of IP and licensing agreements
  • Ownership of IP portfolio

Conducting intellectual property audits

  • Identifying your current IP portfolio (registered and unregistered rights)
  • Reviewing your IP clauses in your commercial and employment contracts
  • Assessing what potential you have to register your IP
  • Recommending how to maximise your portfolio’s value
  • Advising on any infringement risk
  • We’ll also discuss our recommendations with you after the audit – free of charge – in a one-hour meeting

Experience

  • Giving intellectual property advice to The Royal Mint (including on new coins, medals, and innovative products like the Bullion app) as well as continuously providing them with a trainee secondment
  • Acting as Pixsy Inc.’s preferred legal adviser in the UK, pursuing claims on behalf of its members against infringing parties
  • Acting for an international film company in a dispute with Channel 4 over the scope of broadcasting rights granted under a copyright license agreement
  • Helping Virtual Ward Technologies Limited to protect the IP ownership and licencing of a ventilator prototype to be used in response to the pandemic
  • Acting for Smart Green Shipping, on their innovative new green shipping project – advising on their IP strategy, IP roadmap for investors, IP licences and assignments, and working with patent attorneys to register designs
  • Completing an IP Audit for Sero Energy through the IPO and Welsh Government IP Audit Plus Scheme to identify opportunities for exploitation of IP, registration of IP rights, and strategy for protection of future rights in upcoming projects

They take a pragmatic approach, they are always quick to respond and their advice is spot-on.

Chambers & Partners
2021