Dominic FarnsworthPartner

I am also a member of the Brands & Intellectual Property legal practice group, the Commercial legal practice group and both the Advertising & Marketing and the Sports sector focus groups.

Having started life as an IP litigator, my practice is now mainly non-contentious dealing with IP rich commercial contracts, management of global IP portfolios, brand disputes and rights management. I am well known for my work in the brand protection, creative industry and sports sectors.

I am dual qualified as a Solicitor (England and Wales and the Republic of Ireland) and a Chartered Trade Mark Attorney. I am also a FIFA Licensed Players Agent.

Member of INTA, ITMA, ECTA, Marques, AIDV, BASL

Trade Mark & IP Portfolio Management

I am one of the rare breed of lawyers jointly qualified as both Solicitor and Trade Mark Attorney. I head up our Trade Mark and Portfolio Management Legal Practice Group which manages many thousands of trade marks as well as designs, domains and other IP for clients around the world. I am equally at home whether advising major corporates on a global re-branding exercise, complex trade mark searching and monitoring projects, coordinating trade mark proceedings on a pan-European basis and acting on IP transactions such as licences, assignments, securitizations and brand partnerships.

Brands & IP

I advise on a variety of intellectual property and commercial matters including transactions, disputes and strategic advice across a diverse range of industry sectors. He has particular expertise in the brand sector where he is recognised in the legal directories for work in the advertising and trade mark fields. I am a joint qualified as a solicitor and trade mark attorney and head up the firms Trade Mark and Portfolio Management LPG which handles many clients’ global brand protection needs. I am also a recognised sports lawyer working on IP rich areas such as sponsorship, endorsements, image rights and sports rights exploitation.

Advertising & Marketing

I advise many of the world’s leading advertising agencies and brandowners on IP issues. Typically this could involve clearing advertising campaigns both in the UK and overseas from a legal and regulatory perspective, advising on agency/client agreements, celebrity contracts, brand partnerships, sponsorships and creating/acquiring creative content such as film and music. I also deal with the numerous IP disputes this area generates. The brandowner quest for new ways to reach their audience is reflected in the diversity of instructions I act upon which extend from innovative product design to the creation of branded events to product placement in James Bond movies. Wearing my trade mark attorney hat, I also advises on global brand clearance and trade mark filing programmes for agencies and their clients as well as enforcement.

Sport

I provide commercially driven legal advice on contractual matters, intellectual property rights and related disputes. Particular areas of expertise include sports rights exploitation, brand protection and the marketing and advertising industry. I have advised on a number of major sponsorship and brand partnership deals, celebrity endorsements, image rights structures, ambush marketing of the Olympics and World Cup, elite players' disputes with clubs and country, global trade mark filing programmes and brand protection for major brands, intellectual property infringement claims, domain disputes and defending unauthorised use of famous personalities in commercials and in the media.