Continuing to regularly act for universities and health boards, as well as increasingly active for media and retail companies, Blake Morgan LLP has strong public and private sector traction across a wide spectrum of intellectual property rights (IPR), including trade marks, copyright and patents. Although he also handles some advisory/commercial work (including advice on the management of large trade mark portfolios), team head Lee Fisher is best-known for his contentious work, including developing enforcement strategies and utilising injunctive relief, if necessary. Joanna Corbett-Simmons is also a formidable IP litigator who handles trade mark and design right infringements, and Sarah Whittle is particularly well-placed to advise health sector clients on IP issues, having herself spent a period on secondment at the Department of Health.

The ‘approachable and responsive’ team at Geldards LLP provides a ‘first-class service’ to private and public sector clients seeking holistic IP counselling, from the inception of an idea and taking that to market to commercialisation strategies and subsequent enforcement, if necessary. The ‘brilliant’ Chris Williams heads up the non-contentious offering and has vast experience advising clients from the healthcare, design and manufacturing sectors, in particular, on IP commercialisation, as well as providing due diligence assistance to the corporate team on M&A transactions involving IP-rich clients.

The ‘excellent’ team at Harrison Clark Rickerbys has deep knowledge across a range of IP subjects, and provides a strong fee-earning service, while also being appreciated for its advice on sector developments through ‘thought-provoking’ training sessions. It is also noted for its ‘cost-effective’ service, including through the firm’s innovative “HCR Flex” product which has proved particularly popular among smaller entities lacking their own in-house function. ‘Hardworking’ team head Nicola McNeely is an ‘expert in a number of fields’, including blockchain and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), where she is appreciated for her ability to ‘effortlessly explain the most technical of subjects and associated legal points in a straightforward and meaningful way’. Combining overarching commercial disputes expertise with broad substantive IP law knowledge, the ‘first-class’ Wayne Beynon excels at handling contentious IP matters and is appreciated for his ‘pragmatic and commercially-focused advice’. David Beynon became in-house counsel in March 2024 within the tech sector.

Overseen by commercial and technology head Declan Goodwin, the ‘knowledgeable, helpful, friendly and professional’ team at Acuity Law provides ‘commercial and clear advice’ to clients from a range of IP-rich industries, ranging from small start-ups through to established corporate entities. Much of the work centres on the commercialisation of IP, although the firm’s broader commercial litigation offering handles a growing volume of IP litigation. As well as providing traditional standalone instructions, clients also benefit from access to innovative products, including the firm’s Acuity Reputation Management online tool, which provides a cost-effective blended rate to clients seeking to exploit, protect and enforce their IPR.

While Eversheds Sutherland (International) LLP lacks the versatility of some of the other ranked firms, lacking as it does an IP litigation function, under the  leadership of the vastly experienced Matthew Gough it has an 'excellent commercial IP offering', and is an undoubted market leader for non-contentious work. The scope of this work is broad, from advising tech businesses on their IP strategies and acting on large-scale digitisation projects, through to advice on the IP issues associated with outsourcing agreements. In addition, the team regularly provides pivotal IP due diligence on financial services M&A handled by the firm's corporate team. Eve England regularly handles this work, as well as having a niche offering in consumer law matters and taking on an increasingly large amount of mandates relating to the protection of proprietary Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions.

Led by the 'knowledgeable and helpful' Aled Walters, Hugh James has 'an excellent understanding of legal issues relating to IP'. Formerly in-house at national broadcaster S4C, Welsh-speaker Walters has an excellent insight into IP issues within the media sector, and is also noted for his prowess within the gaming space, including for IP licensing agreements. IP litigation work is spearheaded by Tracey Singlehurst-Ward, who as well as handling copyright and trade mark disputes also has niche media law expertise and oversees a considerable amount of sports-related IP disputes work, including for governing bodies. The firm's merger in July 2023 with boutique law firm Loosemores Solicitors also enhances its credentials in the sports and media sectors, particularly in light of Mark Loosemore's expertise in the space.