J A Kemp

Firm overview:

European patent and trademark attorney firm J A Kemp is “outstanding, efficient and timely” according to referral international counsel. With practitioners focusing almost exclusively on trademarks, the practice has a strong reputation amongst other attorney firms, and has recently taken on lateral hires from high-ranking rivals. J A Kemp advises on trademark protection and strategy, building international portfolios, and rises to the occasion for trademark application disputes. Clients comment that J A Kemp “provides excellent advice on the likelihood of applications being accepted and helps coordinate international lawyers/attorneys when we need them”. J A Kemp advises an extensive and diverse group of clients such as JK Rowling’s agent The Blair Partnership and Aston Martin Lagonda. The team is familiar with registering non-traditional trademarks and is known to act quickly on urgent and high-risk trademark issues.

Team overview:

J A Kemp has practitioners in London, Oxford, Cambridge, Paris and Munich. The UK practice has five partners described as “all excellent” by referral lawyers. James Fish, partner and head of the practice, is strong in trademark protection, including unusual marks and assisting on litigation and handling anti-dilution campaigns. Fish is recommended by peers and also leads the firm’s Paris trademark operation. “Expert in her field” Charlotte Stirling is “responsive, commercially sound and generally excellent”. A client favourite, Stirling advises on portfolio management, registry disputes and domain name issues.

Tom Albertini and Ben Mooneapillay are key partners at J A Kemp. Albertini is qualified as a litigator, with rights up to the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court, High Court and appeals up to the Supreme Court. Mooneapillay oversees the trademark function in the growing Oxford office. His work includes litigation for the Royal British Legion in relation to its trademarks ‘Poppy’ and ‘Poppy Appeal’ and the widely recognised poppy logo.

Key matters:

• Led by Ben Mooneapillay and Scott Gardiner, J A Kemp has taken over the entire trademarks portfolio for the Imperial War Museums (IWM) and is assisting with updating the portfolio in the UK, China and US. IWM is a collection of five museums showcasing conflicts from World War I to the present day. The museums operate a significant commercial programme, including major partnerships with the Royal Mail and Royal Mint and licensing arrangements with toy and model manufacturers. IWM also has a family of brands for each of its sites and experiences and develops logos for specific campaigns such as the First World War Centenary. The relationship was referred to J A Kemp by global law firm Reed Smith.
• Ben Mooneapillay and Charlotte Stirling advise Mips, a Swedish helmet safety company. Working with the client since 2014, J A Kemp advises on registration of non-traditional trademarks, including the use of the colour yellow inside the helmets and registering the use of a yellow dot placed behind the ear as a ‘positional mark’. The latter is protected in numerous territories. J A Kemp manages Mips’ intellectual property portfolio, home to more than 100 marks and nearly 250 granted patents.

Clients:

Aston Martin Lagonda, AstraZeneca, Imperial War Museums, JK Rowling (c/o The Blair Partnership), The Hershey Company, The Royal British Legion