Marks & Clerk

Intellectual Property

John has over 10 years’ experience in the trade mark profession and works with a portfolio of national and international clients on developing a strategy for their trade mark protection. He works on trade mark searches, applications, oppositions and other contentious actions covering the UK, Europe and the rest of the world.

John’s practice involves a wide spread of sector expertise including the food and drink, apparel, FMCG, media and entertainment sectors as well as representing clients in manufacturing industries such as the plumbing and heating sector and electrical accessories.

With significant experience working with clients to develop innovative trade mark protection strategies, John helps to strategically assess clients' geographic priorities and to identify the best forms of protection for clients’ commercial needs. This often involves advice on combining trade mark protection with other IP rights, such as registered designs, and advice on bespoke enforcement strategies to address counterfeiting activity – for example, through online marketplace platforms.

John has expertise in advising on protection of non-traditional trade marks including shape marks in particular and is a member of the International Trade Mark Association’s European and Central Asian sub-committee in this area. In a recent case, John also worked on a successful appeal to the General Court of the EU concerning registration of a client’s mark on the basis of acquired reputation.

John has been recognised as a leading individual by World Trademark Review 1000.

Earlier in his career John worked on secondment in the in-house IP team of a significant food industry client and uses this experience to provide clear, concise and commercially focused advice to his clients.

John graduated from Cambridge University with a degree in Modern Languages. He speaks Spanish and French fluentl​y, as well as having qualifications in Japanese and Catalan. John is a member of the Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys and qualified as a Trade Mark Attorney in 2010.

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CITMA

Certificate of Intellectual Property, Queen Mary, Universit of LondonMA, Modern and Medieval Languages, University of Cambridge