INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY FOR FMCG

Our trade mark and patent attorneys and IP solicitors specialise in protecting and commercialising the intellectual property that drives the FMCG sector

Today FMCG is an umbrella term for a huge range of very different products.

FMCG covers everything from food and drink, fashion and clothing and personal health products through to household cleaning products. In fact, it covers any product repeatedly sold in a high-volume retail environment.

Regardless of the types of products you offer, the one thing they all have in common is they are all incredibly valuable global assets. However, making sure they hold their value requires a complex balancing act. You need to keep pace with your consumers’ mounting expectations whilst improving and adding to your product range and preserving instantly recognisable names.

This balancing act can be made easier by making absolutely sure the intellectual property (IP) behind your brand, your products, and your packaging is not only fully protected but also working as hard for you as they can. This is even more important in the FMCG sector given the exceptionally competitive and increasingly cut-throat nature of the global retail market.

This is where the trade mark attorneys, IP solicitors and patent attorneys in Potter Clarkson’s specialist FMCG team can help.

Whether you are a long-established heritage brand, a growing business or a young but ambitious newcomer, our multidisciplinary team has the specific experience you’ll need to make sure your products and brands achieve their maximum commercial value.

Together we will:

• Provide you with the advice you need to protect your brands in every part of the world
• Advise you on the most strategic use of all your IP rights
• Register your trade marks, designs and patents and protect your trade secrets throughout the world
• Provide infringement and validity opinions relating to trade marks, designs and patents
• Conduct appropriate pre-filing searches for trade marks, designs and patents
• Provide trade mark watching services (including our best in class online brand protection service)
• Defend your IP rights whether you are attacked via a trade mark or patent office or court proceedings
• Enforce your rights against competitors infringing your rights
• Draft the commercial, IP and licensing agreements you need to capture, protect, and exploit your IP
• Provide a wider commercial perspective you can use to build your brand and product portfolios

WHY ASK US TO HELP YOU MAXIMISE THE VALUE OF YOUR IP?

The reason our specialist FMCG team is unique is it not only includes trade mark attorneys who understand how best to build and leverage an international brand portfolio and patent attorneys who have worked in-house at the market leaders in FMCG, it also includes our experienced IP solicitors.

Our solicitors specialise in drafting and negotiating domestic and multi-jurisdictional agreements. They are already working closely with the producers of some of the most instantly recognisable products on our shops’ shelves. As a result, they know how to cement the commercial and legal relationships you’ll need to continue to grow.

And given the rate at which new brands and new products are being launched, it is highly likely your commercial position or your IP will be challenged. If this happens, our experienced litigators will guide you through the process in the UK, in Europe and if required, internationally.

But aside from our legal and FMCG experience, we pride ourselves on the longstanding and tight knit working relationships we have with our clients.

We know that when we get into the detail with you, difficult conversations will be had. If these conversations are going to deliver the best and most commercially valuable advice, they need to be open and easy. This will only happen if we get on which is why building the personal side of our relationship is as important to us as the results we’ll achieve for you.

And it’s the same inside our team. As we’re all one team, we can thrash out what really matters across legal disciplines, offices, territories and product lines to find the best way forward for you, your brands and your products.