Intellectual Property

We know that for many of our clients, including those in the fashion, retail and automobile sectors, maintaining exclusivity over their designs is fundamental. Fieldfisher's experts have extensive experience of design law, acting on numerous design validity actions before the European Union Intellectual Property Office - both defending our clients' own designs and successfully invalidating the designs of others.

Why choose our Design Rights lawyers?

We advise on design protection strategy at a regional and global level as well as bring enforcement actions against infringers, and co-ordinate actions by Customs and Trading Standards. Our specialists understand the value and fragility of design rights and that secure rights are key for many businesses.

Acting for numerous businesses with strong design right interests, our work ranges from representing businesses bringing new designs to market in the face of third party challenges, and advising on the strategic interface between design rights and three-dimensional trademarks, to simple portfolio management.

Our clients are guaranteed practical, commercial advice. With design right protection limited to exclude features solely dictated by function, our lawyers have degrees and experience in science and engineering disciplines that can be deployed when assessing functional features.

Launching a new branded business, or rebranding an existing one, requires a huge investment. We understand the commercial commitment involved and provide IP support throughout the process, helping clients balance the risk and cost of bringing a brand to market.

In the early stage of a brand's lifecycle our work focuses on clearance, often regional clearance across the European Union or globally, then on planning cost-effective trade mark portfolios, and rolling out filing programmes so that the key brand identifiers can be secured across the most important markets as the brand launches.

Why choose our Trade Marks and Brands Lawyers?

With our experience co-ordinating litigation and opposition strategies around the world, we have the expertise to help design and manage an effective global or regional strategy. While on the ground, our specialists are experts at handling enforcement matters with minimum fuss, aiming for predictable outcomes and avoiding exposure to additional risk.

We know that the task of managing protection and enforcement for a valuable, globe-spanning brand can be hugely complex and time-consuming for businesses - our goal is to reduce that burden and protect our clients' assets.