Protecting your intellectual property is a priority for all businesses, regardless of sector, industry or specialism. IP is an essential part of safeguarding your company’s reputation and business interests - and the unauthorised use of IP can be detrimental to your brand, a design or a patent's novelty, and the asset’s confidentiality and commercial worth. The team of intellectual property litigators at Womble Bond Dickinson can assure the safety of your assets.
Recognised for our stellar reputation and long history of representing clients in a range of IP dispute matters, Womble Bond Dickinson’s team of IP litigators are here to help you make the most of your portfolio. From development and production, through to patenting and commercialisation, we will support you during every stage of your asset’s life to police against misuse. The team has considerable experience with all contentious matters, involving entitlement, validity and infringement issues.
Clients of our IP litigation law firm
The intellectual property dispute lawyers at WBD have helped a wide-spread range of clients, including companies from all backgrounds, to protect their portfolio rights. Some of our recent work in this arena includes:
Advising Hotel Cipriani in global trademark actions, including in High Court and Court of Appeal proceedings ([2010] EWCA Civ 110) resulting in the largest damages award ordered by a UK court in a trade mark infringement action
Representing Jemella in trademark infringement and parallel import claims, as well as acting as solicitor/advocate in patent entitlement proceedings before the UK Intellectual Property Office ([2014] BL/0/501/4).
Our IPlitigation services
We have experience managing registration disputes globally and have handled IP disputes at the UK and European Intellectual Property Offices. Our litigation cases often take us to the High Court and Intellectual Property Enterprise Court. We are also well-versed in domain name registry and Company Names Tribunal dispute procedures.
Our litigators have developed a reputation as skilled negotiators in the IP space, advising on traditional infringement cases, as well as alternative dispute resolution, including settlement and co-existence agreements, mediation, arbitration, and expert determination.
Whatever type of IP dispute you’re facing - get advice and support from our expert team of intellectual property litigators. To learn more about our IP disputes services, reach out to one of our key contacts below, or fill out our contact form and a member of our team will be in touch.
Protecting your intellectual property (IP) is vital to ensure your valuable intangible assets are kept safe. The competitive edge that IP provides can be lost if you don’t enforce your rights and, in some instances, it can even make your rights vulnerable to attack by third parties.
A strong IP portfolio is an essential part of safeguarding your company’s reputation, products, and business interests. But building a portfolio isn’t enough – your program for filing and maintenance needs to work together with an effective policing and enforcement strategy.
IP rights work because, in essence, they give you rights to stop others from benefiting from your investment – whether by preventing others from misusing your highly-reputed name, stopping competitors from copying your designs, stemming threatened leaks of confidential information, or ensuring that others cannot freely exploit your inventions.
Infringement and misuse of IP can have a significant impact on your business all too quickly, so having a trusted advisor on hand to prevent unauthorised use of your IP should be an easy decision to make.
Your team
Your IP disputes and litigation team
Our experienced team of IP lawyers have represented a wide range of clients from a variety of backgrounds in relation to their disputes. Our industry expertise includes amongst others: clothing, transport, manufacturing, entertainment, hospitality and leisure, banking and insurance, energy, real estate and technology. Recognised for our stellar reputation and long history of representing clients in a wide range of IP dispute matters, you can rely on us to assist you in navigating even the most contentious of matters.
From disputes arising at the point of application, through to challenges to registrations, and then to enforcement of registered and unregistered rights, we’re well placed to guide you smoothly through disputes at any stage of your asset’s life, providing insightful and commercially sound advice.
Our expertise includes managing registration disputes globally in respect of trade marks and designs. Our team has experience in the High Court, Intellectual Property Enterprise Court, Court of Appeal and Unified Patent Court, and we’re also well versed in domain name registry and Company Names Tribunal dispute procedures. Our litigators have built a formidable reputation when it comes to protecting our client’s rights. Our team also understands that litigation is resource-intensive, and can be incredibly disruptive and draining for those involved. That’s why alternative dispute resolution is a key part of any dispute and, as such, our practitioners are adept at settlement negotiations, drafting co-existence agreements, and can advise on exploring and navigating mediation, arbitration, and expert determination.
So whatever type of IP dispute you’re facing – we can help. Get in touch today to learn more about our services and how we can secure your most important assets.
In need of an IP disputes and litigation lawyer? Look no further.
At Womble Bond Dickinson we have an exceptional team of talented lawyers and business professionals who can offer guidance and find the solutions right for your business. We have both broad and niche expertise across all our UK and US offices.
Geofabrics Limited, a leading UK manufacturer of geotextiles and geocomposites, on a landmark and historic win fought across three trials up to the Court of Appeal. Geofabrics was awarded record-breaking compensation for an IP dispute (£13.4 million plus £900,000 for costs) and it is one of a small handful of cases to have reached an IP quantum trial this century.
Carafax, on the successful invalidation of UK registered design 6072387 (for a thermostatic shower bar valve) on the basis that it was similar to Carafax’s earlier designs.
Vetements, a Swiss luxury fashion house, in a number of trade mark opposition and invalidation actions, alongside a Company Names Tribunal dispute, against a UK entity with links to an unauthorised Chinese entity who attempted to register identical marks.
Testimonials
"They quickly allocate the right resources to frustrating cases."
Chambers and Partners 2025
"We are delighted with the court's decision, which vindicates the protection of our intellectual property and encourages innovation. It has been a pleasure working with the WBD team."
Gordon Donald, Managing Director at Geofabrics
“Lovely people to work with, great attention, good and strategic advice, a very good counsel.”
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