Industry Expertise

Overview

Whatever your business, you can rely on us for the full scope of IP services. Collectively, we have an unrivalled depth of knowledge and expertise. Our attorneys advise clients worldwide in a whole range of industries with notable experience in sectors such as biotechnology, pharmaceutical, IT and software, chemical, electronics, mechanical and engineering, oil and gas, financial services, food, fashion and FMCG.

Clients recognise and value our expertise. This is highlighted in feedback received from a recent client survey carried out which included the following comments about our attorneys:

"Incredibly intelligent people who know their subject areas really well"

"They've got depth and they talk from experience"

Case studies

The best way to demonstrate our capabilities is through our work. Here are a few recent case studies which you may find interesting:

Large portfolio management

A leading UK blue chip company merged with a foreign competitor after several internal restructuring exercises over many years. Over 17,000 patents and trade marks worldwide needed to be assigned and recorded, including many where earlier transactions and changes of name and address had not been recorded by the clients. We undertook a complete programme of updating records and recording the chain of translations across nearly 100 jurisdictions, saving the client large sums in in-house staff costs and management time.

Drug life cycle

We have advised a major pharmaceutical client on every aspect of patenting a well-known drug with current sales of around $4bn. We have assisted and advised from the initial patent applications around the world, through to grant, litigation in many countries, patent life extension where possible, and we are now advising on follow-up protection afforded by secondary filings. We also acted to prevent pan-European launch of a rival drug. The litigation took about 4 years in eight countries, and the product was only launched in Germany. A royalty was in due course obtained for our client for those sales.

Fashion attack

Our small UK client found garments infringing its registered trade mark on several market stalls. There was little money to spend in litigation or collecting evidence and tracking goods. We prepared evidence and procured the cooperation of Trading Standards Officers in several cities to co-ordinate raids on the suspected importer, eventually seizing goods in a warehouse near Heathrow Airport, which were forfeited.

Wise after the event

A client had incurred over £600,000 costs in R&D on a new product and process. On being instructed to investigate it for potential patenting, we found a prior Japanese patent disclosing substantially the same the process and much know how associated with it, for a search cost of around £1,500. The client now instructs patent searches at the beginning of a new R&D project.

FMCG market defence

A client was threatened with exclusion from an entire sector of a FMCG market by a competitor's "carpet bombing" approach to filings. We devised a strategy for attacking the key cases and successfully challenged them, causing the competitor to withdraw its other cases to avoid further losses in costs.

attack in the UK and Germany

Our client, based in Australia, needed to co-ordinate infringement actions in the UK and Germany; time was of the essence. We handled the preparation of affidavits and presentation of evidence for use in both jurisdictions, ensuring consistency of argument, checking translations of essential documents and dealing with the problems caused by time zone differences and instructing counsel for trial in both countries. Wins in both countries isolated the infringing production and principal target markets for the product, setting the scene for the client's product to gain a dominant market share at home and abroad.

Buying IPR in a hurry

Our Far Eastern client came into a last minute bidding race for a portfolio of IPR of a well-known British consumer products company which had gone into receivership. We advised on last minute due diligence and negotiated the sale agreement from the receivers, completing the deal in under 48 hours. The client swiftly relaunched the product range with a new Far Eastern manufacturing facility and re-established the brand as a UK market leader.

Global rebranding

A leading blue chip client undertook a major global corporate rebranding exercise. We undertook searches in over 100 countries; pursued further investigations of possible difficulties, undertook a low profile filing campaign including some decoy filings, which escaped the notice of the press and enabled a high profile PR launch; and were successful in obtaining protection in all the key target markets. Challenges internationally were dealt with and freedom to trade assured.