Brodies named Scotland’s top IP firm for second year running

Led by partners Grant Campbell, Gill Grassie and Robert Buchan, Brodies’ IP team received the accolade for its IP work over the past year in both the commercial and dispute avoidance/resolution sides of the business.

The Managing IP Global Awards, held last night at the Intercontinental Hotel, Park Lane, London, are now in their 10th year.

The winners are chosen by Managing IP’s team of editors and researchers, based on the publication’s world IP survey, recent market developments and client feedback.

The judges highlighted the fact that Brodies’ IP team had acted for Loch Lomond Distillers in one of the largest M&A deals of 2014, involving the sale of the distiller’s entire trade mark portfolio covering over 20 jurisdictions, and had also taken the lead in the debate on the establishment of a local Unitary Patent Court division in Scotland.

Other highlights over the past year have included acting for Facebook,TripAdvisor, PRS for Music, Oil States International, pharmaceutical companies in relation to patent issues on blockbuster drugs, and supporting leading businesses in the oil & gas sector in protecting their trade secrets/patents.

In a complex, unusual and high-profile case, the team also successfully litigated to protect the distinctive green branding of a well-known seafood restaurant in Oban.

Ms Grassie said: “It is an honour for our team to be recognised with such a prestigious award for the second year running, reflecting the hard work of our IP specialists and most importantly the continuing support of our clients in Scotland and abroad.”

Bill Drummond, managing partner of Brodies, added: “IP protection is essential to support the technological and scientific innovation in which so many businesses have invested their future and on which key sectors of the Scottish economy depend.

“It is also crucial to encourage inward investment by showing that that we have a robust legal framework and domestic lawyers with an international reputation for asset protection.”