The WTR 1000 focuses exclusively on trademark practice and has firmly established itself as the definitive 'go-to' resource for those seeking world-class legal trademark expertise.
Gold - Firms: prosecution and strategy
HGF is an elite-level IP firm with offices throughout Europe, including in the United Kingdom, Germany and the Netherlands. Its experts can cover almost any industry and together can form integrated multi-disciplinary teams to support each client’s unique needs. The UK practice is one of the largest in the country, and Brexit has only expanded the group’s workload, taking on 18,000 cloned rights in 2021 alone. Heading the department is the “extremely knowledgeable and practical” David Potter, who has recently been working with The Hut Group, owner of the Myprotein brand in an IP dispute. Joining him on this brief is Martyn Fish, who now operates as CEO. He has also been acting for one of the world’s leading animal protein processors on an infringement matter. Jonathan Thurgood is another top expert at the ensemble. “Jonathan is a go-to attorney for all needs related to IP in the UK and EU. He is very knowledgeable on the law, provides comprehensive and well-considered advice and is always available for discussions.” Also receiving praise is Lee Curtis. “Lee has a broad knowledge of the law in multiple jurisdictions and across many industries, especially retail and fashion.” Next up are Rigel McGrath, Richard Wylie, Geoffrey Smith and Stephanie Loeffler-Reading. McGrath specialises in the food and drink, healthcare, pharmaceutical and retail sectors; Wylie provides strategic and commercial advice to his diverse clientele; Smith is a dual-qualified solicitor and trademark attorney with an aptitude for handling trademark and design issues; and Loeffler-Reading combines her educational background in pharmacy with her in-house experience to advise her long list of pharmaceutical patrons. Two more names that feature in the guide this year are Lauren Somers and Claire Jones. “Lauren’s advice is pragmatic and her responsiveness is impeccable. She is also very personable, making working with her an absolute pleasure. Lauren is extremely popular with her clients and is an asset to her firm.” Jones supports fashion brand Tommy Hilfiger with all of its trademark needs. She is also skilled in the area of non-traditional marks. Handling litigation mandates are Antony Gold and Marie McMorrow. Gold remains a consultant at the set, offering his expertise in the internet and retail arenas while McMorrow has overseen complex cross-border litigation in the European Union, China, the United States and New Zealand during her career.
Silver - Firms: trademark attorneys
HGF is home to more than 50 trademark attorneys and is one of the top filers across the United Kingdom and Europe. Its Scottish offering is a pivotal part of the practice, with the attorneys in Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Glasgow providing expert advice to a diverse selection of brands. A new patron this year is car manufacturer MG, which turns to Neil McKechnie for prosecution and strategy support. The Commonwealth Games Federation is another of McKechnie’s patrons. His recent focus for that organisation has been on crafting filing strategies and advising on how to increase brand exposure. Dual qualified trademark attorney and solicitor Caroline Pigott has built an impressive practice in the life sciences and food and beverage sectors. “Caroline is extremely knowledgeable and professional in all that she does. She is highly personable with excellent communication skills and shows a keen interest in her clients’ businesses. Caroline is incredibly meticulous, dedicated and her judgement and advice are top notch.”
Recommended - Firms
Since opening its doors in the Netherlands in 2015, HGF has worked hard to establish itself as one of the most prominent trademark attorney outfits in Europe. The outfit, which now has 22 offices spread throughout the continent, continued its pan-European expansion in 2021 by launching a new office in France, and it remains a vital partner for local and domestic brand owners. In Amsterdam the group is spearheaded by three seasoned partners, each with over 25 years of experience. “The team delivers an outstanding service. Their IP knowledge and business-oriented approach is highly valued, and their global network consistently provides high-quality protection.” First name on the roster Alexander Hagen comes stacked with commercial acumen that was honed during a stint in-house. When it comes to IP strategy, he sees the bigger picture and identifies solutions that satisfy both the immediate and long-term business objectives. “Kasper Radstake is extremely insightful and truly customer focused. He has an excellent eye for detail, which is crucial when it comes to managing global IP portfolios, and he really adds value by understanding a company’s needs.” “One of the Netherlands’ smartest and most perceptive trademark attorneys, Pieter de Ruijter understands every aspect of trademark protection and has a keen sense of strategy. He combines years of expertise and in-depth knowledge with a hands-on mentality and pragmatic approach. Pieter is an absolute delight to work with.”
HGF is one of Europe’s leading IP firms, bringing together patent attorneys, trade mark attorneys, design attorneys, IP solicitors and attorneys-at-law across 22 offices in seven European countries to provide a dynamic and complete IP solution.
The firm has an ambitious growth strategy and is already one of the leading firms in the United Kingdom and throughout Europe in terms of its national reach, volume of Patent Cooperation Treaty and EU trade mark filings and position in major legal directories. The firm’s growth has been secured organically and through a combination of acquisition and strategic lateral hires from both private practice and in-house counsel.
HGF has a proven track record in forging successful long-term relationships with clients across a spectrum of business sectors and technologies. The firm’s focus is on delivering client-specific IP advice from teams of professional attorneys chosen to meet clients’ needs. The firm’s highly experienced attorneys, commitment to client service and geographical profile ensure that it is uniquely placed to attend to high-value and complex IP issues.
Specialist teams
The firm has dedicated teams of experts working across key industry sectors with relevant experience who fully understand their clients’ businesses and appreciate the significance of their brands, innovations and other IP assets.
These teams comprise trade mark attorneys, patent attorneys, design attorneys, IP solicitors and attorneys-at-law across 22 offices in Europe, in:
- Aberdeen;
- Amsterdam;
- Basel;
- Bern;
- Birmingham;
- Dublin;
- Edinburgh;
- Glasgow;
- Heidelberg;
- Leeds;
- London;
- Manchester;
- Munich;
- Newcastle;
- Nottingham;
- Oxford;
- Rennes;
- Salzburg;
- Sheffield;
- The Hague;
- Westport; and
- York.
Key industry sectors include:
- retail and fashion;
- food and drink;
- pharmaceuticals;
- automotive;
- computing and software;
- energy;
- medical devices; and
- healthcare.
For each sector, the firm’s specialist trade marks team offers the following services.
- Clearance projects – HGF’s attorneys have sector-specific experience in large-scale international search projects through to single-mark domestic searches, offering clear, commercial advice on availability of marks in each case.
- Filing and prosecution – providing accurate advice on registrability, strategic filing advice and efficiently seeing applications through to registration in order to build strong portfolios that reflect clients’ business needs.
- Portfolio advice and audits – the team has a proven track record in developing strategic and well-balanced strategies for the protection and enforcement of all IP assets (including trade marks and designs) and regularly conducts audits to ensure portfolios remain aligned to the interests of clients’ businesses.
- Portfolio management – as one of the largest trade mark filers in Europe and with a bespoke management and budgeting tool, the team has vast experience managing global trade mark portfolios.
- Watching services – providing all manner of register, domain and anti-counterfeit watches.
- Oppositions and disputes – whatever the nature or scale of the dispute, HGF’s team of trade mark attorneys and solicitors have the expertise to work with clients to achieve the best possible outcome.
- Transactional trade mark issues – with decades of experience, the team is ready and prepared to support clients with due diligence, licensing and all other transaction-related work.
- Training – HGF offers bespoke training tailored to clients’ specific needs.
The wider firm offers everything you would expect of a world-class IP firm, including patent and trade mark, design rights and copyright advice, as well as IP litigation, non-contentious IP law, licensing and contracts, oppositions and appeals, due diligence, freedom-to-operate and IP strategy advice to protect innovations.
Languages
The firm’s spoken languages include:
- English;
- Chinese;
- German;
- French;
- Dutch;
- Japanese;
- Spanish;
- Italian;
- Latin;
- Greek;
- Swedish;
- Danish;
- Norwegian;
- Twi;
- Kyrepong;
- Ga;
- Portuguese;
- Mandarin;
- Russian;
- Cantonese;
- Polish;
- Gaelic;
- Arabic;
- Hindi; and
- Bengali.
International
HGF is one of a few firms to have mapped out reciprocity across the globe and have a clear strategy for growing international work, targeting the United States, India, Korea and China with focused activities. HGF has connections with:
- the Asian Patent Attorneys Association;
- the International Federation of Intellectual Property Attorneys;
- the International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property;
- the American Intellectual Property Law Association;
- the Biotechnology Innovation Organisation (BIO);
- BIO Korea;
- BIO Japan;
- BIO-Europe;
- the International Trademark Association;
- the North East of England Process Industry Cluster;
- International Drug Discovery Science Technology; and
- the American Bar Association.
Jurisdiction