IP Disputes.

IP Dispute Resolution.

Intellectual Property, or IP, is intangible by nature, but can hold significant value for a business. So when IP Disputes arise, it is important to take robust legal action both to protect that value, and to defend ownership of the Intellectual Property concerned.

As well as protecting the IP involved, there are commercial advantages to resolving disputes quickly and, if possible, amicably. This can reduce litigation costs, avoid spending valuable time in court, and reduce reputational risks due to disputes becoming public knowledge.

Lanyon Bowdler have offices across North Wales, Herefordshire and Shropshire, and we work closely with commercial clients of all sizes, including high-value cases and commercially sensitive disputes. Our clients are located throughout England and Wales, especially in North Wales, the West Midlands and the Marches.

We are consistently recommended by the Legal 500 and Chambers UK for corporate and commercial services, and Lexcel Accredited for our commitment to the highest standards of compliance, client care and practice management.

Our commercial dispute solicitors work closely with you, in order to integrate as seamlessly as a member of your own in-house team would. When you need legal advice on an IP Dispute or any aspect of business law, Lanyon Bowdler is your place to turn.

Key Contact

Andrew Pegg heads our Dispute Resolution Team, he acts for a wide range of clients from individuals to national and multi-national companies advising on a wide variety of disputed matters including contracts, negligence, nuisance, insolvency, land and judicial review. Particular sectors include manufacturing, construction and agriculture as well as professional negligence. Recent instructions include a multi-million pound dispute regarding manufacturing machinery and a complex contractual dispute regarding a long and ambiguous supply chain.

Meet the team

Andrew Pegg

Partner

Commercial Dispute Resolution | Disputes & Court Claims

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Common Types of Intellectual Property

There are some common types of Intellectual Property that account for the vast majority of IP Disputes, and it can be beneficial for businesses to be aware of these in order to determine whether a grievance constitutes an IP Dispute or something else.

IP can take several common forms, including any of the following:

Branding (wording, imagery, colours and designs)
Confidential and sensitive data (including data breaches)
Copyrighted material (including Moral Rights for authored works)
Creative content (text, audio, static images, video etc)
Design (including, but not limited to, brand identity)
Patents (on proprietary products, inventions and innovations)
Trademarks (on names, logos and other identifying items)

In general, if an incident involves any kind of proprietary information which is intangible in nature, but of value to your company, there is a strong likelihood that your case can be viewed as an IP Dispute.

This can include third parties outside your organisation who deliberately or unknowingly infringe your copyright, patents or trademarks. However, cases can also arise internally, due to an employee grievance or a disagreement with a partner or director over the ownership of a particular item of IP.

Copyright Disputes

We specialise in Copyright Disputes, infringements and enforcement, including breaches of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 and subsequent amendments, and Moral Rights Disputes including false attribution, derogatory treatment and authors’ right to identification.

Our Intellectual Property lawyers can issue Cease and Desist instructions to infringing parties, to prevent further abuse of your copyright, as well as recover any losses and appropriate license fees for the unauthorised use of your trademarks.

Passing Off

‘Passing Off’ is a deliberate or unintentional act in which another party supplies goods or services sufficiently similar to your own, that a customer might reasonably believe they are buying your product.

This raises multiple risks for your brand. There may be direct financial losses, for example due to the lost opportunity to sell to the customer yourself, but there can also be reputational risks and damage to goodwill if the supplied product is of poor quality.

Intellectual Property Licences

Intellectual Property Licences can be complicated but are an important way to set out the terms and restrictions that apply to authorised third-party use of your IP. Lanyon Bowdler have extensive experience in this area, including copyright and trademark licences, as well as software licence agreements.

We can draw up comprehensive, legally enforceable IP Licensing Agreements on your behalf, including sole licences, exclusive licences and non-exclusive licences as appropriate. Having an IP Licence in place is a valuable tool in the event of a later IP Dispute.

Our IP Dispute Expertise

If you are in a dispute over intellectual property, our IP Dispute Solicitors are here to help.

Why Choose Lanyon Bowdler?

We provide the very best legal advice on Copyright Disputes, IP Theft, Trademark Infringement and other incidences of IP Disputes. Our legal expertise is based on years of experience, including local knowledge in the regions and cities where we work.

Our tight-knit legal team works closely together to give you the benefit of our shared capabilities. At the same time, we aim to integrate seamlessly into your organisation to become names and faces that you will recognise and value as much as your own employees.

This commitment to customer service is reflected in our consistent recognition by Chambers UK and the Legal 500, and in our high regard and reputation among clients across the Marches, North Wales and West Midlands, as well as England and Wales as a whole.

Putting Your Business First

IP Disputes can jeopardise the worth of your Intellectual Property, your income from licensing agreements, and the reputation and goodwill of your brand. At Lanyon Bowdler we work tirelessly to recoup losses and to preserve the ongoing value of your organisation and your IP.

This commercially driven approach is underpinned by transparent costs and a clear, understandable fee structure. When we pursue a case on your behalf, we will make sure you know the likely costs involved and, where possible, we will seek a costs order to recover our fees from the other party.

Whether your case is settled in court or via Alternative Dispute Resolution, we will aim to impose limits that prevent any further costly action by the opposing party, without prejudice to yourself or your business.

Proving Ownership of IP

If you are the owner of the disputed Intellectual Property, it is important to be able to prove ownership and that the opposing party does not have the right to use your material, design or trademark.

We can take care of this as one of the first steps in mounting your case, to create a firm foundation. This is also a valuable step towards demonstrating the financial or reputational impact of the infringement, or to prove a claim of Passing Off.

Enforcing IP Licences

In some IP Disputes, you may not be the owner of the Intellectual Property, but may believe you have a licence to use the property for commercial purposes. Where this is the case, we can examine any IP Licensing Agreements you have previously signed and advise on how best to enforce your rights under such contracts.

Again, we may advise the use of Commercial Mediation and Alternative Dispute Resolution in such instances, as this can often restore an amicable working relationship with the IP owner following a dispute, so that you can continue to use their property and benefit commercially under the terms of your IP Licensing Agreement.

Your IP Dispute questions answered

How does Lanyon Bowdler handle IP disputes

In general, it is better to resolve IP Disputes as quickly and amicably as possible, without litigation or time in court, and in a way that prevents any future action. For all of these reasons, your team at Lanyon Bowdler will prioritise methods of Alternative Dispute Resolution.

ADR can include techniques like commercial mediation, to identify the source of the grievance and encourage all parties to find a mutually acceptable solution. In cases of copyright infringement, for example, this might involve paying an appropriate fee and/or ceasing use of the copyrighted material.

If we believe litigation is the appropriate way to proceed, we will gather the evidence to support your case and provide you with an experienced legal team, who can go to court on your behalf. ADR does not prevent you from escalating your case to court action, but can often resolve disputes faster, at lower cost, and with the potential to salvage valuable business relationships.

Testimonials

What our clients say.

From the first contact, the team at Lanyon Bowdler gave a fast & efficient service. They were very friendly & gave me the confidence that I had found the right solicitors. The advice given & the fast responses were beyond my expectations. The matter was resolved in no time at all.

Martyn

via ReviewSolicitors

Since dealing with Lanyon Bowdler they have been diligent, efficient and at all times very helpful along with being structured in dealing with matters, fees and clarity on all levels. Thank you.

Michael

via ReviewSolicitors

I was clearly informed of progress step by step. The service you provided was very good.

Peter Weston

Shrewsbury

All work carried out effectively and efficiently.

Hubert Jones

via ReviewSolicitors

An excellent service with solicitors that you can talk to and who give you a clear understanding of all necessary legal implications and interpretations.

Eric

via ReviewSolicitors

From start to finish we had excellent service. Friendly, approachable and professional.

Carl Gittins

via ReviewSolicitors

Very clear, concise advice and guidance, easy to understand.

Ian Jamieson

Telford

Good service provided throughout with clear communication throughout with all options explored.

Lee

I can thoroughly recommend the highly professional and supportive service received over the last few months.

Heather

via ReviewSolicitors

Responsive, supportive, approachable, clear and empathetic.

Lisa Thacker

Professional and prompt communication. Supportive and client focused.

Lisa Thacker

Jennifer M Whittall Ltd

Whenever I have had need to contact Lanyon Bowdler I have always received a fast, concise and friendly response.

Lee Mortimer

UK Case Management

Definitely would use Lanyon Bowdler again if I need the use of a solicitor.

Mark Bowkett

via ReviewSolicitors

Smooth and efficient service from very professional firm.

Tim

via ReviewSolicitors

We were particularly impressed with the quality of work, the speed and excellent communication.

Allenby Douglas Ltd

Oswestry

Very friendly and approachable. Very good advice

Ivor Brown

via ReviewSolicitors

Great Service; Lanyon Bowdler were excellent from the outset. Straightforward and easy process. I just sat back and waited.

Paul Rowe

via ReviewSolicitors

Everything has been professional, efficient and courteous throughout and we are very pleased, both with the service and with the eventual outcome of our case. Everything was first class and exceeded our expectations. Thank you again for providing such splendid service. It is really appreciated.

Mr N J & Dr S J Browne

Llanfyllin

Contact Lanyon Bowdler’s Intellectual Property Lawyers

Whatever the nature of the Intellectual Property Dispute you are facing, our team IP Dispute Solicitors is here to help.

Our IP lawyers will listen to the unique aspects of your case and give you an honest opinion, based on a firm background of Intellectual Property law in England and Wales. All enquiries are welcome – no case is too big, and we have worked on many high-value Copyright Disputes and Trademark Infringements for household brands in the past.

You may know us by reputation across the West Midlands, North Wales and the Marches, where our offices are located. But we can accept cases from anywhere in England and Wales, and will always aim to provide the same unbeatable standard of local knowledge and general Copyright Law expertise. We have offices in Shrewsbury, Bromyard, Conwy, Hereford, Ludlow, Oswestry, and Telford, so we are able to act for clients throughout Shropshire, Herefordshire, Mid and North Wales. Our track-record makes us one of the leading choices for IP Dispute Lawyers in Birmingham, Wolverhampton, and Worcester.

All enquiries are handled in total confidence, whether or not you choose to proceed with ADR or litigation. You can trust us with commercially sensitive information and with cases that must not become public knowledge.

To ask us about your IP Dispute or any enquiry relating to Commercial Dispute Resolution, just give us a call or complete our online contact form. We will respond as soon as possible to let you know the information we need to proceed, or to give you our opinion of the next appropriate steps in order to protect your Intellectual Property and recover any losses.

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