McDaniels Law > Tyne & Wear, England > Firm Profile

McDaniels Law Offices

McDaniels Law
Suite 1.01, Northern Design Centre
Abbott’s Hill
Baltic Business Quarter, Gateshead
NE8 3DF
England
Visit website 0191 281 4000

McDaniels Law > The Legal 500 Rankings

TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Intellectual property Tier 1

Boutique intellectual property firm McDaniels Law, based in Gateshead and Carlisle, handles the full spectrum of IP matters, regularly advising clients on the creation and ownership of IP rights, securing patents, trademarks and registered designs with particular strength in the furniture, textile, fashion and jewellery industries. The experienced team is adept in handling a myriad of multijurisdictional contentious and non-contentious matters. IP experts Niall Head-Rapson and Kelly Hudson jointly head up the group which also advises on registrability, oppositions, cancellation proceedings in the IPO, EUIPO and other IP offices. Carlisle-based director Adam Turley oversees mainly handles contentious matters before a range of courts.

Practice head(s):

Niall Head-Rapson; Kelly Hudson

Other key lawyers:

Adam Turley

Key clients

Damian Evans Design Limited

Equipment Supplies and Consultancy Services Limited

Hairjamm PTY

Fairfax & Favor Limited

Noble Corp Limited

Teemo Designs Limited

Backyard Furniture/Stdio PTY

Transmit Start-Ups Limited

Photobooth Props Limited

Meridian Upholstery Limited

Work highlights

  • Representing Damian Evans Design Limited in ongoing complex multijurisdictional negotiations related to a High Court claim concerning the interpretation of a contract, letter of understanding, and deed of variation which govern the licensing arrangement.
  • Representing Hairjamm in an appeal of an EUIPO decision in an invalidity action relating to an EU trademark.
  • Representing Equipment Supplies Limited in its claim against its former solicitor, Irwin Mitchell. The claim concerns professional negligence in Irwin Mitchell’s conduct of an intellectual property infringement claim it conducted against our client’s former partner.

McDaniels Law > Firm Profile

McDaniels Law is a niche intellectual property practice with a head office at the Northern Design Centre in Gateshead and an office in Carlisle. Founded in 2005, the firm is led by Niall Head-Rapson. The firm assists organisations in the public and private sectors that have a significant interest in the identification, protection, exploitation and commercialisation of intellectual property. The entirety of the firm’s clients have either a significant interest in intellectual property or more pertinently intellectual property is a core asset and revenue generator of their business.

The firm is nationally renowned, having worked on a number of high profile reported cases, and acts for organisations worldwide, counting various household names as clients, particularly in the furniture and homewares sectors. Niall and fellow Director Kelly Hudson have had their contributions to the furniture industry recognised, having both been appointed Liverymen of the Worshipful Company of Furniture Makers, one of the historic London Guilds. The firm acts as a coordinator for raising the Furniture Makers’ profile in the North East of England.  The firm is also a long-serving affiliate law firm of ACID (Anti Copying in Design). It advises ACID members nationwide on all aspects of intellectual property and attends ACID accredited trade fairs, giving relevant advice and conducting on the spot mediations where necessary.

Types of work undertaken:  McDaniels Law offers an advisory, transactional, and contentious capability to organisations and individuals who have intellectual property as a key component of their business.

Disputes: Advising on all types of disputes in all major IP forums including the Business and Property Courts and the Court of Appeal, the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court, the UK Intellectual Property Office and the European Union Intellectual Property Office. The firm also assists with disputes in foreign jurisdictions through its network of agent firms.

Registrations: Advising and prosecuting all types of intellectual property filings including trade marks, designs and patents.

Portfolio management: Acting on a number of worldwide trade mark portfolios, coordinating brand strategy, filings, monitoring, oppositions, cancellation proceedings and enforcement.

Agreements: Drafting all types of commercial agreements, including; terms and conditions; distribution; supplier; heads of terms; confidentiality; assignments; licenses and manufacturer agreements.

Fund raising: Advising on all aspects of fundraising, acquisitions and disposals.

Employment: Specific expertise particularly in respect of employee ownership and misuse of confidential information and business secrets.

Main Contacts

Department Name Email Telephone
Director Kelly Hudson kh@mcdanielslaw.com 0191 281 4000
Consultant Niall Head-Rapson nhr@mcdanielslaw.com 0191 281 4000
Director Adam Turley atu@mcdanielslaw.com 0191 281 4000

Lawyer Profiles

Photo Name Position Profile
Niall Head-Rapson photo Mr Niall Head-Rapson Niall is a consultant at McDaniels Law advising on all aspects of… View Profile
Kelly Hudson photo Kelly Hudson Kelly is a Director, Solicitor and Chartered Trade Mark Attorney at McDaniels… View Profile

Staff Figures

Number of UK partners : 2
Number of other UK fee-earners : 5

Client Testimonials


CLIENT: Felix Favor Parker
COMPANY/FIRM: Fairfax & Favor Ltd
TESTIMONIAL: We have worked with McDaniels Law and Kelly Hudson for around 6 years. Throughout all our dealings with McDaniels Law we have been consistently well looked after by a team who are incredibly knowledgeable but also understand how to communicate with customers who are not totally au fait with all the legal jargon. We have had to successfully defend one of our designs in court and could not have asked for a better firm to represent us.