“The team is very knowledgeable and that knowledge runs deep; it is not confined to the top tier of the pyramid. The team is very responsive, able to meet tight deadlines and to keep to promised delivery dates.”
“The team know our business inside out, and are always willing to assist. They often feel like an extension to our current legal team, which is how you want to feel about external providers.”
“They provide an excellent service to their clients and have expertise across the legal sectors.”
“I find Michelmores excellent to work with, the best compliment I can pay is that I see the team as an extension of my internal team.”
“Iain Connor is known for his deft handling of all manner of contentious matters relating to trade marks, designs, databases and ad words. He has longstanding relationships with consumer brands and pharmaceutical manufacturers seeking to prevent parallel imports.”
“Litigation specialist Iain Connor is a key contact in the team and is regularly in the courts as an expert on database rights, IP rights exhaustion, and online advertising work.”
Our team will give you the freedom to operate in your chosen markets from a position of strength based on your intellectual property (IP) rights. Whether you want to build a portfolio of rights, protect your existing business or launch a new product or service, we can devise an IPR strategy tailored for your needs, with skills to protect and enforce Patents, Trade marks, Design Rights, Copyright, Database Rights and Know‑how and confidential information both in the UK and internationally.
Enhancing your IP life cycle
IP intensive industries are generators of a significant percentage of UK employment and GDP. However, all companies own IP and can create and enhance their value by channelling their identity, reputation and growth in line with a strategy to manage their brand and intangible business assets.
Michelmores has developed an expert IP team to provide effective advice on all aspects of intellectual property law. We support our clients in identifying and protecting rights, through to the development of successful strategies to exploit and enforce those rights.
We recognise that there is no “one size fits all” approach to intellectual property advice. However, we recognise that every organisation has IP rights. These rights may be unregistered like the goodwill in a name and the rights in business know‑how or formally registered rights, like trade marks, patents and designs. The work we undertake covers the full range of rights from copyright and designs, through to trade marks and patents. The team also advises on confidentiality and trade secrets, including the protection of “know-how” and “show how”.
No matter the sector in which you operate, we have people who can help. We have clients which span the private, public and voluntary sectors, including manufacturing, retail, IT, telecommunications, media, clean technology, aero/aviation, food & drink, pharmaceuticals, and health.
From opportunity to offering – building a sustainable economy
It is essential to consider the whole life cycle of the product or service when launching a new venture to ensure that it becomes part of the sustainable economy. Considering intellectual property rights from the outset will enhance the success of any new venture.
Concept
We help assess the concept by conducting freedom to operate searches in the market to identify what protection might be available and where any competitor challenges may come from.
Design and execution
We look at the concept as a whole and consider not only the product or service but also its presentation to the market including packaging, product safety issues, and regulatory compliance.
Branding
We will clear the distinctive branding you want to use so that you can get the trade mark protection you need.
Manufacture and launch
We will advise on your manufacturing agreements and help you achieve UK CA conformity to satisfy all the health & safety and consumer protection legislation.
Advertising and promotion
We will clear all your advertising copy to ensure that it complies with the requirements of the Advertising Standard Authority and does not infringe any third party rights.
Sales and distribution
We will help you with your distribution and supply agreements, your sales and marketing agreements and any franchise or licence agreements.
End of life and recycling
At the outset of a venture, we advise on how to ensure that your venture is as sustainable as possible which means considering end of life issues and recycling from the very beginning. These are powerful messages which enhance the likelihood of success.
Enforcement and Protection
We have extensive experience of enforcing and defending IP rights both in the UK and overseas, including particular experience in Europe and the United States.
Recent experience
Supporting and advising numerous clients on a day-to-day basis in relation to their general commercial and intellectual property needs. We advise both public and private sector clients on this basis, including the Met Police, Thomson Reuters, Haynes Publishing, Landmark Information Group (part of Daily Mail and General Trust plc), Gro Group and The Met Office
Representing a leading player in the payment card industry in asserting coordinated patent infringement claims against leading competitors in the United Kingdom and the United States
Advising a well-known retail business, offering “end-to-end” retail solutions, on its relationship with Samsung UK
Assisting an international engineering firm to protect its confidential information by bringing an action against a departing employee who sought to misappropriate key technical knowledge to competitor firms in Asia
Regularly advising leading UK manufacturers of both domestic and commercial equipment regarding infringement and protection of their various intellectual property rights in the UK, as well as overseas
Advising a US/UK based oil and gas sector business on the creation and commercialisation of a jointly developed product range with a Scandinavian counterparty
Advising a publicly listed publishing house on the acquisition of on online technical data business, working with the firm’s corporate and competition teams
Advising UK/US based manufacturer in relation to the enforcement of its IP portfolio and defensive challenges against a Chinese competitor seeking to develop its own portfolio of registered IP rights
