Mewburn Ellis

Firm overview:

Mewburn Ellis delivers a seamless European service, with a growing office in Munich enabling a one-stop-shop for IP needs across the continent. The firm’s trademark attorneys are highly regarded around the globe by a wide range of clients, from startups to international brands. One client finds the firm’s services to be “outstanding”, praising the team for being “knowledgeable and experienced” with a thorough understanding of their needs. A seasoned team handles the full spectrum of brand protection legalities.

The firm’s litigation services cover court proceedings in the UK and Germany, revocation actions at the UK Intellectual Property Office, domain name disputes and international arbitration. Key matters have included representing a UK charity in relation to repeated infringement of its trademarks by a major supermarket chain, and representing a major US musician in trademark infringement proceedings in the UK High Court.

In 2024, Mewburn Ellis became the world’s first IP firm to be awarded a Platinum Medal from sustainability ratings provider EcoVadis.

Team overview:

Kate O’Rourke is particularly acknowledged for her registry work and handles all aspects of trademark matters, including searching, filing, prosecution, opposition, invalidity and cancellation proceedings. O’Rourke is a past president of the Chartered Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys and is entrusted with complex trademark matters by a range of clients, particularly in the restaurant and music industries.

Highly recommended Andy King leads the trademarks team and is “very professional, prompt in his advice and generally very nice to work with”, according to a peer. Accomplished across the full range of trademark matters, King has achieved favourable settlements on 89% of his clients’ contentious matters in the last five years.

Rebecca Anderson-Smith, based in Bristol, is particularly adept at managing large trademark portfolios, devising international filing and enforcement strategies, and negotiating settlements in trademark disputes.

In London, Claire Evans advises on all aspects of brand protection, with her practice benefitting from in-house experience as a trademark administrator at a large entertainment company.

Key matters:

Non-Contentious:

● Prosecution work for Sandvik

Mewburn Ellis has been successful with prosecuting a UK trademark application for a ‘series of two’ sound marks through to registration for client Sandvik, a Swedish multinational engineering company. This involved working with the UKIPO to determine how to file a series of two non-traditional marks and the firm believes the application may be the first ever series application for a sound mark filed at the office.

The team also provided Sandvik extensive advice regarding its corporate rebrand project, particularly pre-filing advice and opinions regarding the registrability of the sound mark.

Andy King was the key partner involved.

Clients:

Playseats, Sandvik, Wavescapes