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    Intellectual Property Law

Intellectual Property Law

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Overview

When it comes to protecting your brands, your creations and your inventions, you need a trusted intellectual property law firm that will help you to maximise your assets and protect what makes them unique. Your business has invested precious time and resources in their development and they should remain yours to commercialise to their full potential.

Our global intellectual property (IP) practice spans offices worldwide and works across key jurisdictions to provide exceptional IP advice across the full life cycle of your IP rights including advertising and marketing, entertainment and sports, regulatory, patents, trademarks, copyright, design rights and related litigation and transactional work.

Delivering a complete range of IP services, our strength lies in technical excellence and international reach delivered with a collaborative approach. We offer an outstanding team of intellectual property lawyers who will support you wherever you operate around the globe. As your business grows and expands, there is often a desire to venture beyond a country's borders; our international experience allows us to advise businesses operating from locations around the world including the United States, Europe and Asia on the growth of their intangible assets.

We help IP owners overcome complex obstacles and optimise new opportunities. Every step on the path to market presents different challenges for you and your business. Our IP lawyers will work with you to overcome those challenges by delivering practical, cost-effective legal advice focused on growing and protecting your business.

Our IP practice works as part of a full-service international law firm, allowing us to provide a comprehensive offering that seamlessly combines your IP interests with other facets of your organisation, developing a more holistic picture of your business objectives to ensure your success.

Whether it is a multi-million pound dispute, a billion pound deal or cost-capped litigation for SMEs, we start out by looking at what you want to achieve and then set out a strategy to find the best solution. Whatever the challenge or opportunity, our team is at the cutting edge of IP law providing experienced advice with a commercial approach.

When it comes to protecting your brands, your creations and your inventions, you need a trusted intellectual property law firm that will help you to maximise your assets and protect what makes them unique. Your business has invested precious time and resources in their development and they should remain yours to commercialise to their full potential.

Our global intellectual property (IP) practice spans offices worldwide and works across key jurisdictions to provide exceptional IP advice across the full life cycle of your IP rights including advertising and marketing, entertainment and sports, regulatory, patents, trademarks, copyright, design rights and related litigation and transactional work.

Delivering a complete range of IP services, our strength lies in technical excellence and international reach delivered with a collaborative approach. We offer an outstanding team of intellectual property lawyers who will support you wherever you operate around the globe. As your business grows and expands, there is often a desire to venture beyond a country's borders; our international experience allows us to advise businesses operating from locations around the world including the United States, Europe and Asia on the growth of their intangible assets.

We help IP owners overcome complex obstacles and optimise new opportunities. Every step on the path to market presents different challenges for you and your business. Our IP lawyers will work with you to overcome those challenges by delivering practical, cost-effective legal advice focused on growing and protecting your business.

Our IP practice works as part of a full-service international law firm, allowing us to provide a comprehensive offering that seamlessly combines your IP interests with other facets of your organisation, developing a more holistic picture of your business objectives to ensure your success.

Whether it is a multi-million pound dispute, a billion pound deal or cost-capped litigation for SMEs, we start out by looking at what you want to achieve and then set out a strategy to find the best solution. Whatever the challenge or opportunity, our team is at the cutting edge of IP law providing experienced advice with a commercial approach.

Services offered

From starting up to building your UK business and growing your brand internationally, it is essential that you get the right legal advice to protect your IP assets and maximise their value.


Our outstanding intellectual property lawyers will support you wherever you operate around the globe; including the most challenging of jurisdictions. Contact us for practical legal advice on protecting and enforcing your IP assets.


Advertising and Product Regulatory

Some of the world's largest companies trust us to facilitate their advertising campaigns and product launches. Let our industry-savvy professionals apply their hands-on experience and flexible, creative approach to help you navigate complex regulatory environments and effectively advertise your goods and services. From advertising, marketing and product regulation, to comparative advertising litigation and managing digital and social media issues, we are well equipped to help you across the full spectrum of advertising and product regulatory issues in a range of areas including entertainment, digital media, sports, pharmaceuticals, and food and drink.
Find out more about Advertising & Product Regulatory

Advertising and Product Regulatory

Some of the world's largest companies trust us to facilitate their advertising campaigns and product launches. Let our industry-savvy professionals apply their hands-on experience and flexible, creative approach to help you navigate complex regulatory environments and effectively advertise your goods and services. From advertising, marketing and product regulation, to comparative advertising litigation and managing digital and social media issues, we are well equipped to help you across the full spectrum of advertising and product regulatory issues in a range of areas including entertainment, digital media, sports, pharmaceuticals, and food and drink.
Find out more about Advertising & Product Regulatory

Brand Protection

Brand Protection

We assist clients in tackling counterfeits offline and online, wherever they may operate. We have broad experience establishing customs recordal programs and other border patrols, blocking sales in physical and electronic markets, reclaiming misappropriated domain names, stopping online copyright and trademark infringement, shutting down online vendors and managing complex litigation.
Find out more about Brand Protection

IP Transactions

IP Transactions

Our 12-strong intellectual property (IP) transactions team understands the investment that goes into developing the brands, products, technology and creative works that make a business tick. So it knows how important it is to keep this IP protected and exploited to its full potential.
Find out more about IP Transactions

Intellectual Property Litigation and Strategy

Intellectual Property Litigation and Strategy

When your IP is threatened, you need the support of a top-ranked IP law firm with the international strength to pursue claims around the world.

Our award-winning lawyers in Canada, UK, Germany and France have successfully represented clients in all levels of court on cases involving trademark, patent and copyright infringement and validity, the misappropriation of confidential information and theft of trade secrets, defamation, and IP licensing disputes.

Find out more about IP Litigation and Strategy

Patents

Patents

We have one of the largest patent drafting and prosecution practices in the world. Our team provides direct patent filing in Canada, China, Singapore and the UAE. In those jurisdictions, as well as the UK and Europe, the Middle East and ASEAN regions we also help you to maximise and enforce your patents through strategy, enforcement and commercialisation.

We routinely and efficiently handle large global patent portfolios for many of our clients, some of whom innovate all over the world.

Find out more about Patents

Trade Secrets

Trade Secrets

Developing a trade secrets strategy is essential for effective protection of your sensitive business information. And it provides the necessary ground for enforcement, if the need arises. Our international cross-disciplinary team offers comprehensive law advice across legal services – from audit to creating and implementing of trade secret policies to enforcing it globally.

Find out more about Trade Secrets

Trademarks, Brands & Designs

Trademarks, Brands & Designs

Our professionals develop clearance and protection strategies that will work wherever you need them - from a homegrown strategy for your local market, to a global approach that is efficient and effective. Our "one stop shop" service can offer a single point of contact globally, advising startups and major multi-nationals alike on all facets of branding, with a commercial approach to trademarks, designs, copyright, domain names, licensing and enforcement. We are experienced in managing global portfolios, conducting major clearance exercises and leading cross-border multijurisdictional enforcement programs.
Find out more about Trademarks, Brands & Designs

Client work

Find out more about some of our past our projects.

240125-client-work-zodiac-seats-2

Zodiac Seats

Zodiac Seats

Overturning over 100 years of patent law and avoiding a substantial pay out for Zodiac Seats. The six-year battle went all the way to the Supreme Court.
240124-client-work-b2022

Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games

Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games

Advising the Organising Committee for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games on all aspects of brand licensing, enforcement and sponsorship.
240130-client-work-fibre-optic-cables

Hexatronic Group

Hexatronic Group

Defending Hexatronic Group against a competitor in a patent infringement claim relating to the design of the thermoplastic outer sheath coatings of fibre optic cables.
240125-client-work-weetabix

Weetabix

Weetabix

Advising on all aspects of Weetabix’s global brand portfolio including brand strategy, clearance and advising on trademark, copyright and design right infringement issues.
240125-client-work-zodiac-seats-2

Zodiac Seats

Zodiac Seats

Overturning over 100 years of patent law and avoiding a substantial pay out for Zodiac Seats. The six-year battle went all the way to the Supreme Court.
240124-client-work-b2022

Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games

Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games

Advising the Organising Committee for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games on all aspects of brand licensing, enforcement and sponsorship.
240130-client-work-fibre-optic-cables

Hexatronic Group

Hexatronic Group

Defending Hexatronic Group against a competitor in a patent infringement claim relating to the design of the thermoplastic outer sheath coatings of fibre optic cables.
240125-client-work-weetabix

Weetabix

Weetabix

Advising on all aspects of Weetabix’s global brand portfolio including brand strategy, clearance and advising on trademark, copyright and design right infringement issues.
240125-client-work-zodiac-seats-2

Zodiac Seats

Zodiac Seats

Overturning over 100 years of patent law and avoiding a substantial pay out for Zodiac Seats. The six-year battle went all the way to the Supreme Court.
240124-client-work-b2022

Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games

Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games

Advising the Organising Committee for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games on all aspects of brand licensing, enforcement and sponsorship.
240130-client-work-fibre-optic-cables

Hexatronic Group

Hexatronic Group

Defending Hexatronic Group against a competitor in a patent infringement claim relating to the design of the thermoplastic outer sheath coatings of fibre optic cables.
240125-client-work-weetabix

Weetabix

Weetabix

Advising on all aspects of Weetabix’s global brand portfolio including brand strategy, clearance and advising on trademark, copyright and design right infringement issues.
240125-client-work-zodiac-seats-2

Zodiac Seats

Zodiac Seats

Overturning over 100 years of patent law and avoiding a substantial pay out for Zodiac Seats. The six-year battle went all the way to the Supreme Court.

Awards & recognition

"Gowling WLG has a very strong team with deep knowledge of many high-tech industries and wide experience of intellectual property issues."

The Legal 500

Year after year, our IP lawyers are recognised by some of the world's most respected legal publications and directories.

Our team has a reputation for being "an IP powerhouse" (The Legal 500 2021) and "absolutely capable of handling the most complex issues" (Chambers UK 2021). Our UK practice is top ranked in both these legal directories for IP in the Midlands and has been recognised with numerous awards – including "Designs Firm of the Year (UK)" and "Impact Case of the Year" at the MIP EMEA Awards.

Key contacts

Kate Swaine

Kate Swaine

Partner

Co-Head of Intellectual Property, Global

Birmingham
Shelagh Carnegie

Shelagh Carnegie

Partner

Co-head - Intellectual Property, Global

Toronto
View our team
Intellectual property - Category Page - In-page

Related services

Advertising & Product RegulatoryBrand ProtectionIntellectual Property TransactionsIP Litigation & StrategyPatentsTrademarks, Brands & Designs

Related sectors

AutomotiveFood & BeverageLife SciencesRetail & LeisureTech

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Gowling WLG is an international law firm comprising the members of Gowling WLG International Limited, an English Company Limited by Guarantee, and their respective affiliates. Each member and affiliate is an autonomous and independent entity. Gowling WLG International Limited promotes, facilitates and co-ordinates the activities of its members but does not itself provide services to clients. Our structure is explained in more detail on our Legal Information page.

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