TMT (technology, media and telecoms)
Fully immersed in the entertainment, media, retail and tech sectors, DMH Stallard LLP continues to impress before the High Court and IPEC as well as on the transactional side, handling a complex plethora of patent, trade mark, copyright and design matters. The practice is jointly led by Brighton’s veteran practitioner Tim Ashdown and Gatwick’s John Yates; the former is highly experienced in the management of commercial, IP and tech disputes, and the latter is particularly geared to handle a significant array of IP-heavy projects and contractual matters. Other key names to note in Brighton include Debbie Venn, who handles the full gamut of commercial law matters; and Rebecca Leeves, who excels on the data protection side. Beatrice Bass is also recommended for IP disputes.
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Profile
Work Department
Dispute Resolution TMT
Position
Partner
Career
Partner specialising in commercial litigation, intellectual property and technology related disputes.
Tim is the firms' Senior Litigation Partner. He is a commercial litigator with over 30 years' experience in handling corporate and commercial disputes. He is an expert in all aspects of intellectual property including trade marks, patents, designs, misuse of confidential information (by employees and/or competitors), copyright and database rights. Tim also advises on technology-related disputes and leads on many of our largest commercial and corporate disputes, with extensive experience in the High Court and Court of Appeal. He is also experienced at resolving disputes through arbitration and adjudication.
Many of his matters and clients are international and Tim is the Chairman of our global network of law firms, LEInternational, which covers 27 different jurisdictions.
Tim is recognised as a Leading Individual in both Legal 500 UK and Chambers & Partners UK directories.
Work highlights
Tim successfully represented a Respondent to an unfair prejudice petition in which the Petitioner sought a multi-million pound award against our client. The claim against Tim's client, which involved complex issues relating to confidential information, was discontinued during the 15-day High Court trial.
European Real Estate Debt Fund (Cayman) Ltd v. Treon, Arundel Group Ltd and Srinivas (2021). Tim represents the First Defendant against whom the Claimant seeks circa. £15m for alleged fraudulent misrepresentation in relation to the issue of loan notes.
Cavadore Ltd and Magenta Black Trading Ltd v. Jawa and Modern Food Company Ltd (2021). Acting for the Claimants in a multi-million pound claim against Saudi Defendants for breach of a franchise agreement and trade mark infringement in relation to a well-known Japanese restaurant brand.
Copyright relating to the Harry Potter books. Paul Gregory Allen (acting as trustee of Adrian Jacobs (deceased)) v.(1) Bloomsbury Publishing plc (2) Joanne Kathleen Murray (professionally known as JK Rowling) [2010].
Representing Alpargatas S.A (owners of the famous HAVAIANAS flip-flop brand) in trade mark enforcement actions in the UK.
Acting for a shareholder petitioner in an unfair prejudice petition which involved the misuse of confidential information, copyright and trade marks.
British Sky Broadcasting Group plc and others v Sky Home Services Ltd and others. Acting for British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC in proceedings against TVCatchUp Limited for copyright and trade mark infringement arising out of the retransmission of Sky’s free-to-air broadcasts.
Mordchai Ganz v (1) Petronz FZE (2) Abraham Goren [2024] EWHC 635. Tim led the team which acted for the Claimant in this arbitration claim. The Judgment of Moulder J received much attention from legal pundits. DMH Stallard was supported by the legal team of Altshuler Law in Israel which is a collaboration enabled through their membership of our international law firm network.. LEInternational. The challenge was to an [2020]LCIA arbitration award in a dispute between two Israeli individuals and a company based in the Dubai Free Zone, in which DMH Stallard had also acted. The decision included two primary issues of interest: the severability of arbitration agreements and the publication of the judgment.
Languages
English
Memberships
Intellectual Property Lawyers Association
The Chartered Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys
International Trade Mark Association
Federation Against Software Theft
Content supplied by DMH Stallard LLP
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘A consistently fast response, clear advice and a collaborative approach makes the team easy to work with.’
‘John Yates (partner) is an excellent lawyer who I have complete confidence in. He is extremely knowledgeable, collaborative and very efficient. He is always available if I need him urgently.'
- 'Tim Ashdown (partner) is also excellent on contentious IP issues. He is quick to get to the heart of an issue, provides clear advice on the strength of a claim and a way forward.’
- 'Young enthusiastic team , pleasant to deal with.'
- 'Patrick Murray and Beatrice Bass - work very well as a team and are reactive and proactive.'
Key clients
- Raymond Briggs Estate
- Vermtek Ltd
- Shenzhen SKE Technology Co Ltd
- Diva Europe Ltd
- FBFX Limited
- I Can Compose Ltd
- Anything is Possible Ltd
- Motoring and Leisure Services Ltd, t/a Boundless
- Aspen Pumps Ltd
- Haute Caussine
Work highlights
Provided commercial advice to the estate of Raymond Briggs, in relation to the management of his intellectual property portfolio, existing contracts and royalty arrangements with publishers, producers/film makers and merchandising arrangements.
Advised Anything is Possible Ltd on the protection of its brands, including sub-brands for its services.
Worked with Aspen Pumps for nearly 20 years in relation to all of its commercial contract and IP needs.