Niri Shanmuganathan – Partner

Head of Trade Marks, Copyright & Media (UK)

Niri qualified as a solicitor at Taylor Wessing in 1995 after being awarded first class honours in his Law Society Finals.  He obtained a diploma in Intellectual Property law at Bristol University in 1996.  Niri is a Partner in the Intellectual Property Department and is a member of the Department's Entertainment and Media, Advertising and Trade Mark Groups.

He is described by Legal 500 as "a good tactician", "a rising star" and "wins widespread plaudits from clients for his responsiveness and is considered "a joy to work with"".  He is recommended in Legal 500 for advertising and marketing, defamation and privacy and IP contentious.  Chambers and Partners describe him as having a "wonderfully energetic style." and is referred to as "a great young lawyer hot on all aspects of publishing".  He is recommended in Chambers for his defamation/reputation management work and publishing.

As well as advising on intellectual property matters Niri advises organisations within the publishing, advertising, sport and film/tv sectors on defamation, contempt, obscenity and privacy issues. He has also been intimately involved in giving pre-publication contractual and clearance advice regarding high profile exposés in newspapers.  His most notable victories are:

• Obtaining the first costs capping order awarded against a claimant bringing a defamation claim on a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).
• Successfully striking out a defamation claim brought by a claimant on a CFA (one of the few cases that have been won against a claimant on a CFA).
• Successfully defending a £500,000 special damages claim in a defamation case.

Taylor Wessing Practices

• Intellectual Property

Taylor Wessing Industries

• Media & Entertainment

Areas of Expertise

• Advertising and PR
• Copyright
• Defamation
• Designs
• Film and TV
• Music
• Press and publishing
• Sport
• Trade marks

Topical Issues

• Defamation and privacy law and procedure in England, Germany and France