I head up Bates Wells’ in-house team of specialist trade mark lawyers.
Brand is key for non-profits and responsible businesses alike. My team and I aim to help you look after these precious assets in the best way that you can.
My work encompasses checking new names and brands are available to use, and protecting new brands via trade mark registration. We also specialise in dispute resolution – if someone treads on your toes, we’ll do all we can to fix things without incurring the cost, and possible adverse publicity, of formal legal action.
I help businesses and charities of all kinds, from start-ups to world-famous institutions. We’ve a super-specialisation in working with INGOs to secure control of their brand in their ‘field’ territories, and work with networks of local contacts throughout Africa, China and the Indian sub-continent. I’ve been at Bates Wells for over fifteen years and know the non-profit world – and the challenges you face – inside-out.
I also handle other IP-related legal work including licensing and copyright matters, and frequently advise on name registration matters before the Charity Commission.
My current and past clients include organizations as diverse as the organizing committees of various Olympic and Paralympic Games, Unilever, Sightsavers, Nokia, Shelter, Adidas, GlaxoSmithKline, Samaritans, the Children’s Society, the charitable organizations of members of the Royal Family, and many others.
I love talking about my work and am always happy to have free initial conversation with new people.
- I advised a household name youth-focused UK charity on branding, IP, television licensing agreements, production, broadcast and loyalties.
- I advised a global environmental organisation in connection with standards to be used in the marketing of pre-loved clothes and bags, including law relevant to claims about the environmental benefits of buying second hand as opposed to new products.
- I helped a household-name campaigning organisation with its ‘critical campaigning’ - advising on the legal and practical risks of using others’ IP in its advertising and messaging.
- I assisted a well-known INGO with a complex enforcement matter involving fraudulent use of its name and logo by organised criminals in Sub-Saharan Africa.