Ashfords specialise in advising clients on securing, maintaining, exploiting and protecting their valuable designs.
Product Design Clearance, Filing and Prosecution
We:
- Give advice as to what designs to register and where to register them;
- Conduct clearance searches and investigations to check whether a design can be used and registered without infringing a third party’s earlier legal rights in a design; and
- File, prosecute and register UK, Community and International (Hague Agreement) registered designs and co-ordinate and supervise the filing, prosecution and registration of registered designs in national countries around the world.
Litigation, Design Proceedings and Dispute Resolution
We:
- Bring and defend registered design infringement and invalidity proceedings before the Courts;
- Bring and defend unregistered design infringement proceedings before the Courts;
- Bring and defend registered design invalidity proceedings before the Intellectual Property Office and OHIM;
- Co-ordinate and supervise designs litigation and other types of design protection proceedings abroad; and
- Conduct all forms of alternative dispute resolution involving designs.
Designs Maintenance and Renewal
We:
- Renew UK, Community and International (Hague Agreement) registered designs; and
- Co-ordinate and supervise the renewal of registered designs in national countries around the world.
Commercial and Corporate Transactions involving Designs -
We negotiate and draft:
- Manufacturing agreements and all other forms of commercial agreement that involve designs;
- Licenses and assignments of designs; and
- Conduct due diligence on target design portfolios and negotiate and draft appropriate warranties and indemnities in share/asset sale and purchase agreements.
