Key Lawyer – Intellectual property: trade marks, copyright and design
Roland is the head of our Brands practice in the UK and co-heads the international trade mark group. For over 30 years, he's advised major international brand and technology owners on their IP rights.
Clients describe Roland as a tactically smart, solutions-focused, and commercially-minded. He's responsible for protecting the name, logos, shapes, colours and packaging for numerous household name brands in a wide range of sectors. These include food and beverage, FMCG, fashion, luxury goods, tech, financial services, auto industry and travel.
Roland advises on the full range of contentious and non-contentious "soft" IP matters, including: trade mark, designs and copyright disputes and litigation, lookalikes, anti-counterfeiting, domain name and content infringements, trade mark clearance, prosecution, oppositions and strategic portfolio advice, comparative advertising, and all types of commercial transactions involving these rights.
He's led first instance and appeal cases in the English courts, the UKIPO, the EUIPO and CJEU and taken part in a number of successful mediations, and regularly coordinates crossborder IP litigation in the EU.
Outside of private practice, Roland sits on the Executive Board of MARQUES (the European brand owners' association), the Parallel Import Committee of INTA, the Law Society's IP Law Committee, the UKIPO's Marks & Designs Forum and the EUIPO's SQAP judicial quality audit panel. He is a facilitator on the Oxford University IP diploma course.
Roland comments on IP related matters of national interest with media outlets including the BBC.
Brexit is coming, a brand owner's checklist, Lexology, October 2020
Major advance on Brexit and pan-EU intellectual property rights , Practical Law, March 2018
The Implications of Brexit for Trade Mark Proprietors and Trade Mark Practitioners, GRUR Newsletter, January 2018
Kit Kat Shape Mark: Has The EU General Court Pre-Judged The UK Court Of Appeal? Lexology, February 2017
Colour combinations: getting back to WYSIWYG, Managing IP, October 2016
Of Purple Haze and Scrabble Plays: appeal court says "no" to fuzzy trade mark descriptions, IPKat blog, 6 October 2013
Protection of design classics and iconic 3D shapes in English courts, Intellectual Property Magazine May, 2016
PLC Updated Practice Note - Intellectual property issues relating to employees and consultants, LexisPSL Practice Notes on (1) Trade mark litigation in the High Court, (2) Madrid International Trade Mark System, (3) Parallel Imports, (4) Overview of the Community Trade Mark System, and (5) Anti-Counterfeiting and Customs Procedures in the UK, June 2017
Intellectual property issues relating to employees and consultants, PLC Updated Practice Note
Trade mark litigation in the High Court, LexisPSL Practice Note
Madrid International Trade Mark System, LexisPSL Practice Note
Parallel Imports, LexisPSL, Practice Note
Overview of the Community Trade Mark System, LexisPSL Practice Note
Anti-Counterfeiting and Customs Procedures in the UK, LexisPSL Practice Note
Tablet teachings: learning points from the latest Apple v Samsung decisions, World Trademark Review, 1 March 2013
Distinguish IP myths from reality, Managing IP, August 2010
Taylor Wessing Global Intellectual Property Index, Editor
Key Lawyer – Intellectual property: trade marks, copyright and design
Trade mark star
Global Elite Thought Leader: IP – Trademarks; Recommended: IP – Copyright
Intellectual Property - Band 1: Roland Mallinson is called upon for his expertise in managing, developing and enforcing company trade mark portfolios. He is one of the most talented trade mark litigators in the UK market. "Roland Mallinson is excellent - very thoughtful, very clever and impressive." "Roland is great - he looks for practical solutions and runs a good team."
IP (trademarks, copyright and design (including trade secrets)) - Ranked: ‘I recommend both Roland Mallinson and Magdalena Borucka. Both have excellent legal knowledge and feel like part of the team.’
Intellectual Property: "Roland Mallinson has an encyclopaedic knowledge of the market."
Intellectual Property: trade marks, copyright and designs
IP - trademarks, copyright and design
Outstanding IP Practioner
Trade Marks Lawyer of the Year
Leading individual - Intellectual Property
Leading individual - Intellectual Property (Band 1): Roland Mallinson is called upon for his expertise in managing, developing and enforcing company trade mark portfolios. He is one of the most talented trade mark litigators in the UK market.
Recommended lawyer - Brand management
Trade mark star
Leading individual - Prosecution and strategy (Gold)
“Roland is a sensible, pragmatic litigator who will try to find a commercial response. An impressive person who is hard wired into all of the associations and pressure groups, he does a lot for the industry in general. He has a community-minded approach and is extremely visible.”
He is one of only two lawyers in the UK to be top ranked in all of the categories of Enforcement & Litigation, Prosecution & Strategy and Anti-Counterfeiting by World Trade Mark Review's WTR1000 directory of the world's leading trade mark lawyers (annually since 2011).
Leading individual - Enforcement and litigation (Gold): Versatile and incisive head of brand management Roland Mallinson is featured in three WTR 1000 tables this year. He is a hook for complex anti-counterfeiting, litigation and prosecution matters. “Roland is a sensible, pragmatic litigator who will try to find a commercial response. An impressive person who is hard wired into all of the associations and pressure groups, he does a lot for the industry in general. He has a community-minded approach and is extremely visible.”
Leading individual - Anti counterfeiting
Leading individual - Intellectual Property (Band 1): Roland Mallinson is one of the most respected contentious and commercial trade mark lawyers working in London today. A client describes him as "excellent, very user-friendly, knowledgeable and commercially focused."
Managing the worldwide trade mark portfolio for a leading Scotch whisky and spirits company, including brand and advertising clearance, IP protection for new product development and handling enforcement and other brand-related disputes.
par Roland Mallinson
New EU law could limit distinctive packaging
Louise Popple, Elena Glengarry and Roland Mallinson look at the potential impact of the EU's proposed packaging legislation on 3D shape trade mark rights.
par plusieurs auteurs
Establishing new IP capability in MENA with our latest partner appointment in Dubai
par Ronald Graham et Roland Mallinson
par plusieurs auteurs
par plusieurs auteurs
par Dr. Amir-Said Ghassabeh et Dr. David Klein, LL.M. (Univ. of Washington), CIPP/E
par plusieurs auteurs
par Louise Popple et Adeolu Faniran
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par Nick Harrison et Giles Crown
par plusieurs auteurs
par Simon Jupp et Louise Popple
par Kachenka Pribanova