Burness Paull named Scotland’s top IP disputes experts for fifth year in a row

Burness Paull has been named “Scotland IP Disputes Firm of the Year” for the fifth year in a row at the Managing IP EMEA Awards 2024.

The annual “IP Stars” awards ceremony, which took place in London last night, recognises remarkable IP achievements and developments in the last year, celebrating the success of leading firms and their clients from across the EMEA region.

With one of the largest IP teams in Scotland, Burness Paull advises high profile clients on UK-wide contentious and non-contentious matters, safeguarding the IP of household names across sectors including technology, life sciences, food & drink, financial services, and arts & entertainment.

The contentious side of the practice manages an ongoing spread of patent, trade mark, copyright, design right, confidential information and trade secrets disputes, many of which are part of ongoing enforcement campaigns for the likes of Sky, PPL PRS Limited and PicRights.

The non-contentious practice advises on the full spectrum of commercial contracts and projects, from high profile sponsorship, franchising and licensing agreements, to bespoke IP audits and due diligence in significant M&A transactions.

The disputes team is the busiest in the country, having acted in over half of all actions raised in the Scottish Intellectual Property Court in recent years, raising the majority of those actions.

Over the last year, the team has acted in a £400M claim in the Court of Session, which we understand is the highest value litigation ever commenced in Scotland, and in its role supporting the guardians of the Harris Tweed® brand, helping the Harris Tweed Authority protect the brand in the UK and around the globe.

Colin Hulme, Head of IP at Burness Paull said: “To be named “IP Disputes Firm of the Year” for the fifth year running is real testament to the hard work of our team and the trust our clients put in us to protect their most valuable assets – year on year.

We continue to grow in strength and depth as we develop our existing team and bring in new talent, all working on cutting edge IP work for amazing clients in Scotland, the UK and beyond.

Innovation and creativity builds value and its our privilege to help our clients maximise the returns of their creations, ensuring their interests are protected and defended and working with them to achieve their strategic ambitious, whatever they look like.”

Burness Paull’s IP team is gold ranked by both World Trade Mark Review (WTR) 1000 and IAM Patent 1000 and is recognised as Band 1 in the Chambers UK and Legal 500 directories.