Intellectual Property
In the highly competitive business world, ideas, innovation and branding provide significant opportunities to set one company apart from another.

Our specialist team helps clients protect, manage and commercialise this vital intellectual property (IP).

From semi-conductors to historical novels, drinks branding to confidential formulae, our clients constantly present us with original ideas and interesting problems. Our tailored response can begin at trade mark registration or design right protection. It can encompass IP strategy, from early-stage research and development through to licensing and defence. We can help maintain the IP assets and deal with any potential infringement. We can also assist clients on any IP purchase or in-licensing opportunities and, when the time is right, advise on the sale or out-licensing of their IP to third parties.

Our team has wide-ranging experience of advising businesses on intellectual property issues relating to fund-raising, mergers and acquisitions, IPOs and technology transfers.

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Paul Carlyle

Partner

Partner

Philip Sewell

Partner

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Related articles and insights: Intellectual Property

23 May 2025

Key intellectual property case updates for the food and drink sector

Contributor: Carly Duckett

Our summary of five key intellectual property cases from the food and drink industry reported over the last 18 months, which distils the facts and outcomes from each case into helpful take aways and tips for businesses and individuals operating in the sector.

25 April 2025

Inaccurate personal data – what approach do the courts take and how do the principles of defamation law help?

Contributor: Ruairidh Leishman

In Pacini v Dow Jones & Co Inc, the court applied principles from defamation law to a data protection claim, to determine the meaning of allegedly incorrect personal data contained within two news articles. The case was the first to consider the single meaning of a statement as a preliminary issue in a claim solely based on data protection and the alleged inaccuracy of personal data.

17 February 2025

The cloudy world of “lookalike” products: Thatchers succeed in appeal against Aldi

Contributor: Ruairidh Leishman

In Thatchers Cider Company Limited v Aldi Stores Limited, Thatchers were successful in their appeal, finding that Aldi’s product had infringed Thatchers’ trade mark. This decision may alter the legal landscape for future challenges to “lookalike” products.

15 November 2024

“Copycat” brands – how close is too close?

Contributor: John MacKenzie

What is a "copycat" brand, and how can you avoid trade mark infringement and passing off?

11 September 2024

AI in the food and drink sector – opportunities and challenges

Contributors:
Joseph Fitzgibbon, Ruairidh Leishman

The use of AI is becoming more prevalent in the food and drink sector, presenting both innovative opportunities and questions around unintended consequences. To keep pace with these developments, businesses should consider whether they have the knowledge and resources to lawfully implement AI.

6 June 2024

Taylor’s Version – Why is Taylor Swift re-recording all of her old albums?

Contributor: Carly Duckett

Following her departure from Big Machine Records in 2018, Taylor Swift wanted to buy back the copyright in the master recordings of her albums. Ultimately, Swift instead re-recorded “Taylor’s Version” of those albums. Carly Duckett explains why, and how, Swift did it.

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