Intellectual property—enforcement and dispute resolution

We work with entrepreneurs, SMEs, corporate and charitable clients as well as individual employees. We help clients enforce their intellectual property rights, resolve disputes relating to those rights and advise on the mitigation of litigation risks.

We act for clients in county and high court litigation, in addition to acting in matters being heard in the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court. We also assist clients in exploring mediation, negotiation and other forms of alternative dispute resolution (ADR).

We assist clients with:

• copyright disputes
• trademark disputes
• counterfeit goods disputes
• regulatory matters arising from the infringement of intellectual property rights
• passing-off
• enforcing intellectual property rights generally
• domain-name disputes
• company name disputes
• private prosecutions arising from the infringement of intellectual property rights

Examples of our work include:

• trademarks – we act for clients in respect of UKIPO and EUIPO cancellation and invalidity proceedings. We prepare ‘cease and desist’ letters of claims for clients and assist with the preparation of responses. We also assist clients with the negotiation of co-existence agreements
• copyright – we act for clients enforcing their copyright in a range of products and materials, including live broadcasts, software, website designs, promotional materials and sporting events
• counterfeit goods – we advise clients on civil and criminal actions in response to counterfeit goods and assist with the development of a suitable enforcement strategy
• domain-names – we assist clients with the resolution of disputes relating to the registration and use of website domain-names. This includes assisting clients in navigating ICANN’s Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy
• company names – we act for clients in Company Names Tribunal proceedings
• litigation and ADR – we pursue formal litigation and obtain injunctive relief for clients if necessary, and assist clients with responding to any actions commenced against them. We also act for clients in respect of mediations, arbitrations and other forms of alternative dispute resolution