Intellectual Property Disputes

Briffa has been helping businesses, organisations, trade associations and celebrities to successfully resolve IP dispute issues for more than twenty-five years. We find out what you want to achieve, review the matter thoroughly, look at the risks, costs and benefits, come up with a plan and fix budgets where possible.

Briffa’s intellectual property dispute lawyers have a firm grasp of litigation tactics and strategies — we advise on how to avoid damaging legal disputes and spot ways to settle intellectual property disputes in a commercial manner to your advantage.

You can rely on us if you need specialist IP dispute advice and we are also a sound choice for the full range of contract or commercial disputes that your business may encounter.

Briffa are widely regarded as experts in the specialist legal field of intellectual property management. We work closely with leading IP barristers on High Court cases, so your opponents and their advisors are sure to understand that your lawyers are credible and experienced when you pick us. Our solid reputation for fighting and winning the “David vs Goliath” cases means that no opponent is too big and we can advise on what needs to be done to bring an end to their infringing activities.

Wondering how to fund court action or dispute resolution services to protect your intellectual property? Briffa has been active in obtaining after-the-event insurance for businesses that required this. We have successfully structured insurance packages to allow small businesses to take on large multinationals while keeping the risk as low as possible. If you have a dispute and want an expert and honest opinion on your options, please get in touch.

All litigation is tactical and involves risk. With intellectual property, the risk can be high because of the value of the assets on the table. Not acting fast can result in greater loss. As a consequence, it is worth considering applying for an injunction or another urgent remedy from the court to at least ensure that any breach of your rights does not get any worse until you can claim full damages later. Injunctions and other interim applications, where a Claimant is successful, often result in an early overall resolution but they are inherently high-risk and high cost and need to be very carefully considered with strong evidential support. Briffa’s expert team of IP dispute lawyers will help you navigate this complex field and get the best possible outcome for your business.

It is common practice to initiate a trade mark infringement case using a cease and desist letter. The letter is crucial and with any issue of value or significance, we do not recommend using a template approach. It makes sense to consult experienced lawyers. Briffa’s experienced and friendly team are pros at drafting cease and desist letters for our IP legal clients. We can help you take the necessary steps to protect your intellectual property.

We can also advise if you receive a cease and desist letter in a trade mark dispute. We have considerable experience in this area. It is sometimes possible, for example, to succeed in trade mark infringement disputes by demonstrating that your opponent’s trade mark should not have been registered or is not properly used. This kind of approach, at an early stage in the claim, can often short circuit the litigation and bring an end to the matter.

Copyright covers a huge variety of works and disputes in this field are equally varied. From a film script to software code, a beautiful illustration to a piece of music, a copyright infringement claim and often be the only way to properly protect your rights and managing these claims requires specialist advice. Finding a cost-effective solution is our speciality and Briffa’s expert lawyers are on hand to help you through the process, from initial letter to final judgment.

Being one of the only firms in the UK to have taken a design infringement case as far as the Supreme Court, Briffa knows exactly what needs to be done to protect your designs. We can pursue claims for both registered and unregistered design infringement whilst advising on how best to secure the result you need to protect your business.

Of course, not every claim is valid and Briffa has a long track record in defending infringement claims to ensure that brands don’t overexert their rights against innocent parties. The starting point is to speak to one of our expert solicitors and get the advice you need to decide your litigation strategy.

Famously the most expensive form of IP litigation Briffa has a long track record in both pursuing and defending patent infringement actions without costing the earth. Our specialist solicitors can manage the claim from start to finish and have substantial experience in both the High Court and Intellectual Property Enterprise Court.

We deal with the ongoing problem of domain name hijacking, domain name kiting, typosquatting and unlawful domain name parking. The management of domain names, including their acquisition and use, is now a very important part of brand management and must be considered hand in hand with trade mark and brand strategy generally. Our service ensures clients stay abreast of new suffixes as they become available and includes the monitoring of registration activity of others and active challenges where competitors abuse registrations. We employ the full range of tools and forums available, including alternative dispute resolution (such as those available at Nominet and ICANN) as well as court action.