Many of today’s business successes stand testament to the importance of quality legal advice at the birth of a company. This is probably nowhere more important than with IP. We are sensitive to the cash constraints on start-ups and are skilled in identifying those steps that must be taken early and those that can safely or with less risk be deferred until greater resources are available. Our experience in advising and negotiating options, licences and other agreements with third parties can often release resources early, whilst preserving the proper long-term rewards for the entrepreneur.

Much of our work is with established companies, making stepwise but commercially significant innovations. We understand the role that intellectual property can play in a successful business and are committed to achieving the best possible results from an IP budget. We try hard to express ourselves clearly and in a commercial context, without hiding behind legal jargon. We take on the challenge of communicating effectively at all levels, whether technology specialist, senior management, or Board.

The advice we give must always be appropriate in the context of our client’s business. It is not enough for the course of action we are suggesting to be legally correct; it must also be the right course of action for our client. This requires us to make an effort to understand our client’s business and the commercial context of its portfolio of intellectual property.

We are very fortunate to have worked over many years with some of the world’s greatest companies. Through this work and the direct corporate experience of many of our own attorneys, we can justifiably claim to understand the place of IP within large companies and the particular requirements of internal patent and trade mark departments. We are skilled in tailoring our services to suit individual requirements and are pleased to shoulder some, if not all, of the administrative burden in IP portfolio management.

A successful intellectual portfolio is rarely confined to a specific form of IP. Where there are patents, there is usually protectable know-how. Design rights will often be important, together with (in appropriate circumstances) copyright, topographical rights and database rights. Within brand management, the rights in trade mark registration and at common law will often be buttressed through design rights in packaging and getup. Success is best achieved through a strategy that balances the advantages and disadvantages in each particular form of intellectual property, to create an integrated and cost-effective portfolio.