• Business formation
• Employment
• Directors duties
• Doing business
  • Commercial contracts
  • Joint ventures
  • Mergers and acquisitions
  • Intellectual Property
  • Brand Protection
  • IT & Software
  • Business Reorganisations
• Raising funds
• Tax
• Business Crime and Regulatory
• Dispute resolution
• Real Estate

We work in the types of industries which rely on the creation, protection, development and exploitation of Intellectual Property rights – namely fashion, art, TV, design, theatre, publishing, music, new media, software, sport, leisure, retail, merchandising and sponsorship.  Clients have included Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Rex Harrison, Ralph Richardson, Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran, Topol and Bruce Forsyth.

We also advise on recording and music publishing agreement and licences and as well as more traditional areas.  We are now considering the impact of online and interactive music sites on our clients’ affairs.

Our advice ranges from registration of trademarks and brands, through to maximising their commercial value through sponsorship and licensing. Our litigators defend against misuse which can involve going to court. That said, we will always try to resolve disputes positively first, shown by the many successful mediations we have conducted.  Here, we are often appointed by IFTA (formerly the American Film Marketing Association), the President of the Law Society of England and Wales and the President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants.

We also consider the significant impact of the underlying IP on corporate transactions as part of our due diligence process.  This is an area which is sometimes overlooked in the drive to get a deal over the line.

Our recent experience includes advising:

• a leading PR agency on a worldwide advertising campaign for Aviva PLC where we advised on image rights and drafted agreements which allowed for wrapping iconic public buildings as part of the campaign and projecting images on those buildings
• a celebrity client on their role in a Pixar animated film and the associated merchandising
• Steam Motion & Sound on producing documentaries, particularly on defamation and libel issues on the documentaries’ content and copyright
• on High Court proceedings for a major jewellery designer and retailer in a dispute over infringing trade mark and passing off by the retailer’s former UK distributor
• Simon Carter Ltd on contentious and non-contentious matters, including negotiating licences with Marks and Spencer and overseas companies, and the successful defence of a passing off claim by Ben Sherman