The Legal 500 > United Kingdom - Solicitors > East Anglia > Intellectual property

Mills & Reeve LLP has a large roster of regional, national and international clients in the technology, life sciences, automotive, food and agriculture, education and sport sectors. Its work includes corporate support, IP protection and commercialisation, R&D and collaboration contracts, branding, technology transfer, licensing and contentious matters. The practice is led from Leeds but the firm's Cambridge office houses key lawyers in consultant and patent attorney Alasdair Poore, IP and life sciences partner James Fry and principal associate Nicola Hanglin who is a Registered Trade Mark Attorney and leads the firm’s trade mark filing and prosecution practice.

Stobbs IP is a specialist IP boutique based in Cambridge that, with 64 fee earners, has by far the largest practice in the region. Among these are both solicitor and trade mark attorneys, all of whom are focused on brand management, which includes a growing caseload of contentious matters. The firm has a huge roster of clients that grew still further in 2018, and among its new clients are Liverpool FC, Raspberry Pi, Marks & Spencer, AB InBev, FIFA and Mars Wrigley. The breadth of the firm's service offering sees it compete with both specialist Trade Mark Attorney firms and large international IP law firms.

The Cambridge office of Taylor Wessing LLP houses specialists in technology and life sciences, many of whom have in-house experience at leading pharmaceuticals companies. The transactional team led by Malcolm Bates and Tim Worden frequently handles complex global licensing and collaboration deals, as well as disputes. Its strong venture capital practice often advises on the IP aspects of venture capital financings, joint ventures, M&A deals and IPOs.

'They understand our business, tailor their advice and weigh up the commercial risks', says a client of Birketts LLP, which provides 'a readily available, efficient service'. Legal director Nellie Jackson in Ipswich leads the practice and has nearly 20 years' experience in trade mark and brand protection matters. Senior associate Maria-Christina Peyman in Cambridge takes the lead on contentious IP matters and has particular expertise is in civil disputes at the IPEC and the High Court involving copyright, trade marks and passing off, as well as trade mark registry disputes and Company Name Tribunal applications.

Eversheds Sutherland (International) LLP's Cambridge office is home to a substantial part of the firm's national IP practice, which comprises six partners. Simon Crossley is the key partner in Cambridge and he has more than 20 years' experience in areas such as open source software and open innovation, establishing licence models for app stores, and the use of technology in healthcare. Adrian Toutoungi has extensive experience in all aspects of intellectual property but has a particular focus on complex patent litigation.

Hewitsons acts for clients ranging from small businesses to multinational corporations, including well-known brands and Cambridge colleges, in IP licensing, development contracts and contentious matters. Clients praise 'the breadth of IP knowledge from accessible partners at keen rates'. Practice head Andrew Priest handles IT, outsourcing, technology transfer and general commercial contracts, while key partner Mark Elmslie's work for national and international clients includes research and development arrangements and technology licensing contracts.

Penningtons Manches Cooper LLP joins the ranking thanks to the growing workload of senior associate Rachel Bradley in the IP, IT and commercial practice. She has more than 13 years' experience in the publishing and life sciences sectors, and handles a range of non-contentious IP matters including trade mark, patent, know-how and copyright licences for the publishing industry, as well as software licences. Her clients range from small biotech and technology companies to large pharmaceutical companies, NHS Trusts, charities and academic institutions.

The intellectual property practice at Greenwoods GRM is led by corporate partner David Woods and is best known for its in-depth knowledge of the media sector. It frequently advises magazine and online publishers on IP matters. The firm also has growing expertise in the technology sector. Litigation associate Jamie McConnell has a strong track record in contentious matters, which recently included successfully protecting the infringement of the trading name of ta large online sports supplement store, and defending a multimillion-pound design right infringement claim.