Head of Trade Marks

Partner, Chartered Trade Mark Attorney

Andy handles a wide range of trade mark work, from searches, portfolio reviews and devising filing strategies to prosecution of applications, oppositions, revocation and invalidity actions. Andy has extensive experience representing clients at the UKIPO, EUIPO and WIPO (for international ‘Madrid Protocol’ registrations). Andy also leads the firm’s domain name dispute practice and has advised clients on possible DRS, UDRP and ADR proceedings.

He works with clients in the UK, US, continental Europe and Asia in a wide range of industry sectors. These include consumer products, fashion, fintech, electronics and electronic engineering, as well as food and beverage, marketing services, telecommunications, computer software and pharmaceuticals.

Work Highlights

Some recent highlights of Andy’s trade marks practice have included:

Successfully securing acceptance and registration for a Swedish multinational client’s new sonic logo at the UK IPO without having to rely on evidence of acquired distinctiveness. Finding a creative solution for a client that was facing a strong ‘double identity’ trade mark infringement claim, which ultimately resulted in coexistence being agreed between the parties. Overcoming a non-distinctiveness refusal raised by the UK IPO against a golf club manufacturer client’s device mark application by adopting an innovative, visual approach in the response to the examiner. Andy is also an expert at dispute resolution. He has been successful in achieving favourable settlements on 89% of his clients’ contentious matters in the last five years.

He joined Mewburn Ellis LLP in 2008, qualifying as a UK Chartered Trade Mark Attorney in 2011. He joined the partnership in 2016. Andy also has nearly 10 years of experience as a professional representative at the EUIPO (2011 to 2020).

Andy has a BA (Hons.) in sociology from the University of Sheffield, a Post-graduate Diploma in marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing and a Certificate in Intellectual Property Law from Queen Mary University in London.