Strategic intellectual property advice
Alongside our leading position in Europe in Patents and IP litigation, the Group also enjoys a wealth of experience in providing life sciences and healthcare clients with strategic IP advice.
We assist in the application and exploitation of IP rights and the protection of valuable scientific know-how. In particular, we have worked with many start-up and fledgling companies to develop a sustainable patent strategy and help broker valuable collaborations between pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies and hospital authorities.
As part of our comprehensive service, the group can also call on the services of Taylor Wessing's extensive trademark practice. Lawyers within this practice operate a filing and prosecution service, which includes a Community Trade Mark application service sourced from our office in Alicante, Spain (where the administrative centre for Community Trade Marks is based). Our trademark specialists are familiar with the specific issues affecting the life sciences and healthcare sectors, including parallel import repackaging issues and the need for 'umbrella marks'.
Members of the group are active in the many bodies which influence the laws and regulations relevant to this industry sector. Current affiliations include:
- the UK Intellectual Property Lawyers Association (where a member of our group is chairman)
- the Community Patent Convention Focus Group
- the UK Patents Court Users' Committee
- the UK Association of British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI)
- the UK Association of British Healthcare Industries (ABHI)
- the Bioindustry Association.