“What is intellectual property (“IP”)?”
IP rights were devised to reward creative endeavour by providing creators with legal protection for their creations.
IP is a complex area of law, so it is important that clients consult specialist IP lawyers.
The most common IP rights are:
1. Trade marks – these are marks which are used to designate trade origin. Trade marks are capable of being registered if they are sufficiently distinctive.
There is also a class of unregistered trade mark rights in the UK that protect the misappropriation of goodwill, this is known as the law of “passing off”.
2. Copyright – this is a right that arises automatically in the UK upon creation by a “qualifying individual” of a “qualifying work”. Copyright protects a wide range of such qualifying works, such as artistic works, musical works, literary works and sound recordings. Copyright is not a true monopoly right because it does not extend to works that are the product of true independent creation.
3. Patents – these are rights that must be registered with the relevant Patent Office. Patents are one of the most powerful intellectual property rights, because they offer a true monopoly. In other words, people cannot practice your patented invention, regardless of whether they had prior notice of your patent.
4. Design rights – there are series of overlapping design laws, some requiring registration to be effective, other subsisting automatically upon creation. Design rights commonly protect the appearance of products, such as their shape.
Trade secrets / confidential information and know-how are also sometimes (mis)-defined as IP rights.
“What is contentious IP / IP dispute resolution work?”
IP rights can be enforced against people who “infringe” the rights provided under the various IP laws. Typically, a dispute will begin by one side sending the other party a “cease and desist letter” asking that the recipient discontinue its allegedly infringing activities within a short period of time, upon threat of court proceedings being issued.
As a result, contentious IP (or IP dispute resolution work) usually involves acting for a defendant or a claimant (although counterclaims can often complicate the situation significantly).
We are also often involved in providing clients with pre-action advice, where clients are considering the strength of a case or are trying to plot a safe course through an IP “thicket”.
“When it is prudent to engage IP lawyers?”
We are bound to say that there are numerous instances in which involving a lawyer at an early stage will reap significant dividends in the long-term. This could range from flagging up the risk of adopting a brand, which is too close to a rival, to making sure that a company’s IP rights are best protected at the outset.
However, our approach is not to meddle in our clients’ commercial affairs. We do not seek to place barriers in front of our clients with overly-cautious advice, out of a desire just to protect ourselves from risk (unlike some lawyers we could mention). Instead, we seek to advise clients about protecting their businesses and navigating the risks that are an ever-present component of carrying on a successful business.
“You claim that Waterfront Solicitors LLP offers extremely competitive rates. What, in particular, do you offer?”
We offer a range of billing arrangements for clients, such as:
a) For clients that are involved in disputes / litigation, we have offered fixed or capped fees, no-win no-fee agreements, blended no-win no-fee arrangements (i.e. part hourly rate part no-win no-fee) and very reasonable hourly rates (see below).
b) For commercial work, we routinely offer fixed or capped rates. We also act as part-time in-house lawyer for a couple of clients who then pay us a monthly retainer. Other alternatives include potentially taking equity in return for legal services (this option is often attractive to certain start-up clients).
As is evident from the above example, we seek to agree billing arrangements that make business sense to our clients. Our experience has taught us that rigid hourly billing rates are not popular or appropriate for many clients, who rightly demand a better value for money than hourly rates can provide.
We are always transparent and open with our clients about our billing arrangements at the outset of any engagement, so that we can build lasting and trusted relationships with our clients.
“How much are your hourly rates?”
The precise level of our hourly rates depends on the matter in question. However, from experience, we can say with certainty that our fees are significantly lower than other City law firms by as much as 70% in some instances.
“Why are most clients over-paying for their legal services?”
Good question!
Some City law firms (“BigLaw”) undoubtedly offer an excellent, if expensive, service to their clients. Others BigLaw firms are frankly over-priced for what they offer.
Clients are often shocked to find that a small team (say comprising three lawyers) at some BigLaw firms will have a combined hourly rate of over £1,500 per hour! In such circumstances, it is hard to carry out even relatively modest pieces of client work for less than £50,000. In some recent court cases, English Judges have been scathing in their criticism for the millions of pounds of fees generated by some firms: http://www.thelawyer.com/ao-faces-costs-post-mortem-after-blackberry-judgment/132274.article
Some other clients, quite understandably, continue to choose to instruct BigLaw because it is the safe choice. As the saying went: “Nobody ever gets sacked for choosing IBM”. Others clients are simply unaware, as yet, of the quality of niche firms in the marketplace.
As more clients because more savvy consumers of legal services, we expect niche law firms, such as Strickland LLP, to profit.
“Why instruct a niche legal practice?”
We believe that much IP / IT / commercial legal work is most effectively carried out by niche firms that specialise in a particular area of law. Niche firms such as Strickland LLP can offer a more flexible and personalised service to clients, by being small enough to adapt effectively to their clients’ needs.
“Would you be able to handle large pieces of litigation?”
We do have the resources and expertise to handle substantial pieces of pieces of litigation.
We structure our litigation teams to include more junior IP barristers at the leading IP chambers, who we consider to be far better value than most junior BigLaw solicitors (their hourly rates are often around 40% cheaper). Yet junior barristers have much greater court based experience than comparably experienced solicitors.
We also seek to employ paralegals on specific cases in order to keep costs down for the client, but to provide better continuity of service for clients, rather than the merry-go-round of trainees that work on cases at BigLaw firms.
“Are your lawyers authorised to conduct advocacy at Court?”
We do not currently have any qualified solicitor advocates retained within Strickland LLP. We are able to carry out certain hearings at Court, but for the vast majority of significant hearings we use specialist IP barristers.
We get IP barristers involved right at the outset of disputes and litigation. We find that this is the most effective approach for the client and that integrating barristers as part of a case team reaps significant long term benefits.
“How do you deal with cross-border matters?”
We have developed a thorough knowledge of IP experts throughout the world. We often work with such lawyers to form cross-jurisdictional teams. However, we have no formal referral relationships with any foreign lawyers. As a result, we are free to add the best foreign lawyer to our case team for the particular job in hand. Unlike BigLaw, we are not forced to go a certain BigLaw local branch office, even if they are not the right people for the job.
Again, our approach is to tailor and personalise the legal services to our clients’ specific business needs.