Keltie

Firm overview:

Keltie “fully understands our business and historical aspects to our trademark issues”, says a client about the patent and trademark attorney firm. Viewed as a “valued and trusted advisor and business partner”, brands report a deep involvement from the firm through its internal education of intellectual property rights in addition to external brand protection. Keltie’s offering covers trademark prosecution and portfolio management through to disputes before the UK and EU Intellectual Property Offices. The team has assisted longstanding UK clients with expansion into the US, handling international registrations and preventing copycats.

Top name clients choosing Keltie for trademark matters include fashion brands Swarovski and Rick Owens, technology brand Sony, and Barbie maker Mattel. The firm has a strong specialty in the sports industry, advising the PGA European Tour, Ryder Cup, and Italian football club Juventus, as well as in the emerging technologies sector with clients in cryptocurrency, blockchain and NFTs. The firm also offers online brand protection to tackle domain name and social media infringers.

Team overview:

Keltie has three offices in the UK and two in Ireland, enabling the team to work on European matters. Alistair Gay, partner and co-head of the trademark practice, is based in the London office. A qualified trademark attorney in the UK and EU, Gay advises on clearance, prosecution and registration, and is a reliable individual for international trademark portfolio management and enforcement. Client-recommended Manuela Macchi founded the firm’s sport trademark practice, deepening the firm’s niche in the industry.

Macchi’s practice includes trademark prosecution, including oppositions, negotiations, domain name issues and online brand enforcement. Rosemary Cardas is a qualified trademark attorney and represents the firm’s top UK brands, protecting from infringement and passing off. Clients have “absolute confidence in her advice”, saying “she is highly professional.” Attorney Amelia Skelding, qualified in 2020, takes on UK, EU and international portfolios and coordinates trademark searches and filing strategies.

Key matters:

• Keltie’s Manuela Macchi advises Ryder Cup Europe on IP strategy, trademark filing and enforcement. The multimillion-pound golf tournament has a large trademark portfolio and notably, the Keltie team assisted on strategy and enforcement leading up to the September 2023 tournament in Europe.
• Alistair Gay, Amelia Skelding and David Yeomans advise Lotus Cars on its trademark portfolio. The client has worked with Keltie for three years on its patents, designs and trademarks spanning 26 countries. The team collaborates with overseas attorneys on Lotus’s portfolio including 200+ applications and registrations.
• Macchi and Emily Weal represent Swarovski in trademark and design enforcement in the UK. Swarovski is an Austrian high-value jewellery company, facing consistent risk of infringement of its products. In its work stopping infringers, Keltie tackles cases of ‘ingredient branding’ where companies wrongly claim to have Swarovski crystals in their products.

Clients:

Nissan, Juventus FC, Lotus Cars, PGA European Tour, Rick Owens, Ryder Cup Europe, Sony, Swarovski