Blake Morgan LLP provides a comprehensive non-contentious and contentious IP offering to public and private sector clients, including those in the media and retail sectors, seeking to protect and enforce their intellectual property rights. As well as advising on ad-hoc copyright and trade mark disputes, team head Lee Fisher also handles portfolio management work for major global brands. Joanna Corbett-Simmons also regularly handles IP disputes as part of her commercial litigation practice, including in the context of copyright and trade mark infringement matters.

Harrison Clark Rickerbys‘ ‘knowledgeable and commercially astute’ team head Nicola McNeely is particularly skilled at fintech matters, specifically with regard to cryptocurrency and NFTs. Her expertise in the space sees her not only active on UK-wide matters but also regularly on work spanning multiple jurisdictions. Combining overarching commercial litigation expertise with deep IP knowledge, Wayne Beynon is ‘highly skilled and knowledgeable’ at handling copyright and trade mark infringement claims, including within the sports sector. Kerry Beynon is also a key contact and has a focus on cyber security and data protection matters.

Declan Goodwin heads up Acuity Law‘s commercial and technology team that handles a notable volume of non-contentious IP work for clients from a range of sectors, including the technology, sports and creative industries. The practice has a broad scope of work, running the gamut from providing assistance to early-stage tech companies looking to commercialise their IP rights, through to advice on copyright-based issues involving software, technology, e-commerce and the internet.

Eversheds Sutherland (International) LLP provides ‘pragmatic advice’ across a broad spectrum of non-contentious IP matters, ranging from advice to tech businesses on their IP strategies and acting on large-scale digitisation projects, through to guidance on the IP issues associated with outsourcing agreements. Team head Matthew Gough also has niche expertise in relation to consumer law, including issues relating to AI solutions. The practice also regularly works alongside the firm’s corporate team to provide IP due diligence in relation to financial services M&A. Eve England is the key contact for this work, and is also noted for her IP expertise within the digital space.

Under the leadership of Aled Walters, Hugh James handles a considerable volume of non-contentious IP work for large institutional clients. Walters is a go-to name for gaming clients, regularly advising operators in the sector on IP licensing work. Leveraging her broad commercial litigation skills, which also includes niche defamation expertise, Tracey Singlehurst-Ward regularly handles IP-related disputes for clients within the sports and media sectors, including in the context of copyright and breach of confidence claims.

Morgan LaRoche is increasingly handling IP matters from within the overarching business services team, which is led by William Barletta. Much of the day-to-day IP-related work is handled by Rhys Ap Gwent, who is particularly skilled at advising on commercialisation strategies for companies wishing to monetise their IP rights. He is also adept at handling contentious IP work, including defending and opposing trade mark applications.