Lewis Silkin

Intellectual Property

Legal Director

Nicholas is a Legal Director in Lewis Silkin's Dispute Resolution team, specialising in Intellectual Property disputes. He advise on the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights, specialising in IP dispute resolution. Nicholas is also proficient in Mandarin and am Lewis Silkin’s China Desk Lead for IP & Technology.

Nicholas specialises in the protection, exploitation and enforcement across the range of intellectual property rights, including trade marks, copyright, patents, designs and confidential information.

He has particular expertise in protecting and enforcing brands and acts for clients in many different sectors including the retail, manufacturing, engineering, media, financial and technology sectors.

IP Dispute Resolution Nicholas is an experienced dispute resolution lawyer, advising on cases in the High Court (including the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court), Court of Appeal, UKIPO, EUIPO (including the Board of Appeal) and EU General Court, as well as international arbitration. Recent examples of his work include:

Acting for Cosmetic Warriors in its action against Amazon in a dispute arising out of a settlement agreement; Walton International Ltd v Verweij Fashion BV [2018] EWHC 1608 – acting for Walton International in a case involving trade mark infringement and passing off; Acting for Londongrad Limited in a copyright infringement case brought against the BBC; Acting for Dyson in claims against Grey Technology Limited (trading as Gtech) and Euro-Pro Europe Limited relating to trade mark infringement and comparative advertising; Acting for Trustpilot in claims against two widget providers, in relation to copyright and trade mark infringement and passing off; Acting for well-known restaurant Taste of Nawab Limited against Nawab Online Limited in trade mark infringement and passing-off proceedings.

Trade Marks and Portfolio Management Nicholas routinely work with trade mark attorneys and other IP specialists to advise on the registration of trade marks and designs. He also work with foreign attorneys to manage and enforce the trade mark portfolios of global brands. Nicholas has extensive experience of proceedings before the UK Intellectual Property Office, EU Intellectual Property Office, Intellectual Property Enterprise Court, High Court and EU Courts.

China Desk Having lived and worked in China (including in a leading Chinese law firm) earlier in his career, he is uniquely placed to advise Chinese clients on protecting their rights in the UK and EU, as well as offering initial strategic advice for domestic clients who wish to expand into the Chinese market.

Nicholas also works closely with his colleagues in their Data and Digital, Commerce and Creative and Regulatory teams to act as a bridge for Chinese companies to ensure they are compliant with all local laws and regulations when expanding into the UK and EU.

Nicholas has achieved HSK (汉语水平考试) Level 5 (Advanced) in writing and listening and Level 4 (upper-intermediate) in reading. He has also studied “Mandarin for Lawyers” at SOAS and is the UK representative for the Global Chinese-speaking Lawyers’ Association.

Mandarin