Sara Ashby > Wiggin LLP > London, England > Lawyer Profile
Wiggin LLP Offices
9TH FLOOR, MET BUILDING
22 PERCY STREET
LONDON
W1T 2BU
England
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Sara Ashby
Work Department
Intellectual property
Position
Sara is a partner in the intellectual property team, with over 20 years’ litigation experience.
Sara has a broad intellectual property litigation practice across all IP rights, with a significant patent practice across a wide range of technical fields, alongside her designs, trade marks and copyright disputes work. She has particular experience and interest in designs law and parallel import matters and, having started life as a general commercial litigator, is particularly adept at dealing with contractual matters and non-standard IP disputes.
Sara litigates in the High Court, including under the pilot Shorter Trial Scheme, the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court (IPEC), the registries (the UK IPO and the EUIPO) and the Court of Appeal, and has taken cases to Europe’s highest court, the Court of Justice of the European Union (the ECJ or CJEU), as well as coordinating with parallel litigation in other jurisdictions.
Career
Prior to joining Wiggin, Sara was at Redd, where she was one of the founding partners, having originally trained at Gouldens.
Memberships
Sara is Honorary Secretary of AIPPI UK and involved in the international work of AIPPI as secretary of AIPPI’s designs committee. She is also Honorary Secretary of the British Group of UNION-IP, and on INTA’s Parallel Imports Committee
Leisure
Pre-conquest insular palaeography; fishing; walking the Cotswolds. Member of Cymdeithas Yr Iaith Gymraeg (Welsh Language Society), Vincent’s Oxford and Campaign for Real Ale.
Lawyer Rankings
London > TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Intellectual property: patents (contentious and non-contentious)
(Leading individuals)Wiggin LLP’s ‘friendly and engaging’ team is renowned for its technology and media sector expertise and is also capable of acting across a diverse range of other sectors, from film and music to pharma and gaming. Leading the practice is Sara Ashby, who advises on patent enforcement and strategy with extensive experience in the litigation sphere. Key contact Calum Smyth’s range of expertise encompasses software patentability, technology transactions, brand protection, M&A and structuring issues, whilst Michael Browne’s broad experience extends from patent entitlement disputes and various other proceedings, to drafting and negotiating joint development, licensing and franchise agreements. Associates Georgina Hart and Sinclaire Marber Schäfer are other names to note in the practice, the latter joining from Kirkland & Ellis International LLP in May 2022.
London > TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Intellectual property: trade marks, copyright and design
Experts in the digital world, Wiggin LLP is particularly known for its online enforcement and intermediary liability work, acting for content and brand owners, as well as clients in the film, publishing and luxury goods industries. One key area of expertise includes copyright infringement, and its brand strategy and portfolio management practice is also expanding. The team is capable of working across a broad spread of sectors, from film and music to pharma and technology, and is recommended for its ‘commercial and pragmatic’ approach. Sara Ashby spearheads the practice, covering the full gamut of IP rights, while Rachel Alexander’s expertise includes online enforcement and copyright infringement matters. John Colbourn’s broad practice advises on international brand strategy and portfolio management, as well as considerable litigation experience. Michael Browne’s practice covers contentious and non-contentious remits, such as trade secrets and copyright litigation. Joanne Gibbs, Calum Smyth and Peter Dawson are also recommended.
Lawyer Rankings
- Leading individuals London > TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Intellectual property: patents (contentious and non-contentious)
- Intellectual property: trade marks, copyright and design London > TMT (technology, media and telecoms)
- Intellectual property: patents (contentious and non-contentious) London > TMT (technology, media and telecoms)
Top Tier Firm Rankings
- Crime, fraud and licensing > Gaming and betting
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Media: Film & TV
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Media: Media finance
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Media: Theatre, publishing and other media
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Media: Video games
Firm Rankings
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Intellectual property: trade marks, copyright and design
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > IT and telecoms
- Corporate and commercial > M&A: Smaller Deals, £10m-£100m
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Media: Music
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Reputation management
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Intellectual property: patents (contentious and non-contentious)
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Media: Advertising & marketing
- Risk advisory > Data protection, privacy and cybersecurity
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Sport
- Dispute resolution > Commercial litigation: mid-market
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Fintech
- Corporate and commercial > Venture capital