GWLG-RGB-Positive-logoGWLG-RGB-Reverse-logo
Who we are
What we do
Our people
Insights
Topics
  1. Gowling WLG
  2. > Services
  3. >
    Intellectual Property Law

Intellectual Property Law

Intellectual Property - Category Page  - website - banner - image
  • Overview
  • IP insights
  • Webinars
  • GoXL
  • Tools
  • All IP resources
  • Trending topics
  • Contact us

Overview

When it comes to protecting your brands, your creations and your inventions, you need a trusted intellectual property law firm that will help you to maximise your assets and protect what makes them unique. Your business has invested precious time and resources in their development and they should remain yours to commercialise to their full potential.

Our global intellectual property (IP) practice spans offices worldwide and works across key jurisdictions to provide exceptional IP advice across the full life cycle of your IP rights including advertising and marketing, entertainment and sports, regulatory, patents, trademarks, copyright, design rights and related litigation and transactional work.

Delivering a complete range of IP services, our strength lies in technical excellence and international reach delivered with a collaborative approach. We offer an outstanding team of intellectual property lawyers who will support you wherever you operate around the globe. As your business grows and expands, there is often a desire to venture beyond a country's borders; our international experience allows us to advise businesses operating from locations around the world including the United States, Europe and Asia on the growth of their intangible assets.

We help IP owners overcome complex obstacles and optimise new opportunities. Every step on the path to market presents different challenges for you and your business. Our IP lawyers will work with you to overcome those challenges by delivering practical, cost-effective legal advice focused on growing and protecting your business.

Our IP practice works as part of a full-service international law firm, allowing us to provide a comprehensive offering that seamlessly combines your IP interests with other facets of your organisation, developing a more holistic picture of your business objectives to ensure your success.

When it comes to protecting your brands, your creations and your inventions, you need a trusted intellectual property law firm that will help you to maximise your assets and protect what makes them unique. Your business has invested precious time and resources in their development and they should remain yours to commercialise to their full potential.

Our global intellectual property (IP) practice spans offices worldwide and works across key jurisdictions to provide exceptional IP advice across the full life cycle of your IP rights including advertising and marketing, entertainment and sports, regulatory, patents, trademarks, copyright, design rights and related litigation and transactional work.

Delivering a complete range of IP services, our strength lies in technical excellence and international reach delivered with a collaborative approach. We offer an outstanding team of intellectual property lawyers who will support you wherever you operate around the globe. As your business grows and expands, there is often a desire to venture beyond a country's borders; our international experience allows us to advise businesses operating from locations around the world including the United States, Europe and Asia on the growth of their intangible assets.

We help IP owners overcome complex obstacles and optimise new opportunities. Every step on the path to market presents different challenges for you and your business. Our IP lawyers will work with you to overcome those challenges by delivering practical, cost-effective legal advice focused on growing and protecting your business.

Our IP practice works as part of a full-service international law firm, allowing us to provide a comprehensive offering that seamlessly combines your IP interests with other facets of your organisation, developing a more holistic picture of your business objectives to ensure your success.

Services offered

Our outstanding intellectual property lawyers will support you wherever you operate around the globe; including the most challenging of jurisdictions. Contact us for practical legal advice on protecting and enforcing your IP assets.

Advertising and Product Regulatory

Some of the world's largest companies trust us to facilitate their advertising campaigns and product launches. Let our industry-savvy professionals apply their hands-on experience and flexible, creative approach to help you navigate complex regulatory environments and effectively advertise your goods and services. From advertising, marketing and product regulation, to comparative advertising litigation and managing digital and social media issues, we are well equipped to help you across the full spectrum of advertising and product regulatory issues in a range of areas including entertainment, digital media, sports, pharmaceuticals, and food and drink.
Find out more about Advertising & Product Regulatory

Advertising and Product Regulatory

Some of the world's largest companies trust us to facilitate their advertising campaigns and product launches. Let our industry-savvy professionals apply their hands-on experience and flexible, creative approach to help you navigate complex regulatory environments and effectively advertise your goods and services. From advertising, marketing and product regulation, to comparative advertising litigation and managing digital and social media issues, we are well equipped to help you across the full spectrum of advertising and product regulatory issues in a range of areas including entertainment, digital media, sports, pharmaceuticals, and food and drink.
Find out more about Advertising & Product Regulatory

Brand Protection

Brand Protection

We assist clients in tackling counterfeits offline and online, wherever they may operate. We have broad experience establishing customs recordal programs and other border patrols, blocking sales in physical and electronic markets, reclaiming misappropriated domain names, stopping online copyright and trademark infringement, shutting down online vendors and managing complex litigation.
Find out more about Brand Protection

Intellectual Property Litigation and Strategy

Intellectual Property Litigation and Strategy

When your IP is threatened, you need the support of a top-ranked IP law firm with the international strength to pursue claims around the world.

Our award-winning lawyers in Canada, UK, Germany and France have successfully represented clients in all levels of court on cases involving trademark, patent and copyright infringement and validity, the misappropriation of confidential information and theft of trade secrets, defamation, and IP licensing disputes.

Find out more about IP Litigation and Strategy

Patents

Patents

We have one of the largest patent drafting and prosecution practices in the world. Our team provides direct patent filing in Canada, China, Singapore and the UAE. In those jurisdictions, as well as the UK and Europe, the Middle East and ASEAN regions we also help you to maximise and enforce your patents through strategy, enforcement and commercialisation.

We routinely and efficiently handle large global patent portfolios for many of our clients, some of whom innovate all over the world.

Find out more about Patents

Trade Secrets

Trade Secrets

Developing a trade secrets strategy is essential for effective protection of your sensitive business information. And it provides the necessary ground for enforcement, if the need arises. Our international cross-disciplinary team offers comprehensive law advice across legal services – from audit to creating and implementing of trade secret policies to enforcing it globally.

Find out more about Trade Secrets

Trademarks, Brands & Designs

Trademarks, Brands & Designs

Our professionals develop clearance and protection strategies that will work wherever you need them - from a homegrown strategy for your local market, to a global approach that is efficient and effective. Our "one stop shop" service can offer a single point of contact globally, advising startups and major multi-nationals alike on all facets of branding, with a commercial approach to trademarks, designs, copyright, domain names, licensing and enforcement. We are experienced in managing global portfolios, conducting major clearance exercises and leading cross-border multijurisdictional enforcement programs.
Find out more about Trademarks, Brands & Designs

Delivering innovation, agility and certainty: Meet us INTA 2025

More than 40 members of our global IP team will be in San Diego—presenting, networking and collaborating to help tackle your most critical challenges.

Learn more
INTA-2025-promo-banner-CTA-image

A winning reputation

"They have built a cohesive team where they complement one another. They communicate well and are very good at recommending others within the firm if there is other expertise that I require."

Chambers Global


Our IP professionals are committed to delivering results for our clients. This dedication underscores the many awards and rankings we receive each year.

Our teams in Canada, China, UAE, France and the UK are recognized among the top firms globally for patent and trademark advisory in the Managing Intellectual Property (MIP) "IP Stars" firm rankings, with a focus on contentious and prosecution work, and for transactions work. The World Trademark Review (WTR) and IAM Patent 1000 recognises our trademark professionals annually across multiple areas, including litigation, prosecution and transaction.

The Legal 500, Chambers UK, Chambers Europe, and Chambers Global consistently rank our team across several IP categories in Canada, the UAE and the UK. The Best Lawyers® Guides also name our lawyers in its annual Canada, France and UK editions.

Client work

We act for many of the world's leading companies and advise them on IP law across Canada, Europe, China, Dubai, Singapore and around the world. Find out more about some of our past projects.

Services - website - hovercard - retail

Lookalikes and passing off

Lookalikes and passing off

Acting for retail and FMCG clients in relation to lookalike products, often infringing a range of rights from copyright and design rights, to trademarks and passing off.
Services - website - hovercard - advertising

Advertising

Advertising

Counsel to numerous businesses with respect to the review of advertising copy, nutrition labels, comparative advertising, sweepstakes and social media.
Services - website - hovercard - brands

Portfolio management

Portfolio management

Advising on all aspects of a food processing company's global brand portfolio including brand strategy, sponsorship agreements, clearance and advising on infringement issues.
Services - website - hovercard - pharma lab

Licensing and collaboration

Licensing and collaboration

Counsel to several pharmaceutical companies on IP matters relating to the development of COVID-19 vaccines.
Services - website - hovercard - retail

Lookalikes and passing off

Lookalikes and passing off

Acting for retail and FMCG clients in relation to lookalike products, often infringing a range of rights from copyright and design rights, to trademarks and passing off.
Services - website - hovercard - advertising

Advertising

Advertising

Counsel to numerous businesses with respect to the review of advertising copy, nutrition labels, comparative advertising, sweepstakes and social media.
Services - website - hovercard - brands

Portfolio management

Portfolio management

Advising on all aspects of a food processing company's global brand portfolio including brand strategy, sponsorship agreements, clearance and advising on infringement issues.
Services - website - hovercard - pharma lab

Licensing and collaboration

Licensing and collaboration

Counsel to several pharmaceutical companies on IP matters relating to the development of COVID-19 vaccines.
Services - website - hovercard - retail

Lookalikes and passing off

Lookalikes and passing off

Acting for retail and FMCG clients in relation to lookalike products, often infringing a range of rights from copyright and design rights, to trademarks and passing off.
Services - website - hovercard - advertising

Advertising

Advertising

Counsel to numerous businesses with respect to the review of advertising copy, nutrition labels, comparative advertising, sweepstakes and social media.
Services - website - hovercard - brands

Portfolio management

Portfolio management

Advising on all aspects of a food processing company's global brand portfolio including brand strategy, sponsorship agreements, clearance and advising on infringement issues.
Services - website - hovercard - pharma lab

Licensing and collaboration

Licensing and collaboration

Counsel to several pharmaceutical companies on IP matters relating to the development of COVID-19 vaccines.
Services - website - hovercard - retail

Lookalikes and passing off

Lookalikes and passing off

Acting for retail and FMCG clients in relation to lookalike products, often infringing a range of rights from copyright and design rights, to trademarks and passing off.

Key contacts

Kate Swaine

Kate Swaine

Partner

Co-Head of Intellectual Property, Global

Birmingham
Shelagh Carnegie

Shelagh Carnegie

Partner

Co-head - Intellectual Property, Global

Toronto
View our team
Intellectual property - Category Page - In-page

Related services

Advertising & Product RegulatoryBrand ProtectionIntellectual Property TransactionsIP Litigation & StrategyPatentsTrademarks, Brands & Designs

Related sectors

AutomotiveFood & BeverageLife SciencesRetail, Leisure & HotelsTech

Subscribe for updates

Sign up to receive insights on the latest legal changes and developments

Subscribe

Stay connected

  • Email icon - White
  • LinkedIn logo - white
  • X Twitter logo - white
  • Facebook logo - white
  • YouTube logo white
  • Instagram logo - white
gowlingwlg

Gowling WLG is an international law firm comprising the members of Gowling WLG International Limited, an English Company Limited by Guarantee, and their respective affiliates. Each member and affiliate is an autonomous and independent entity. Gowling WLG International Limited promotes, facilitates and co-ordinates the activities of its members but does not itself provide services to clients. Our structure is explained in more detail on our Legal Information page.

PeopleSectorsServicesClient solutionsInsightsNewsClient work
TopicsEventsCareersWho we areGlobal reachContact us

© 2025 Gowling WLG All rights reserved.

Legal information
Privacy statement
Accessibility
Terms of use
Cookies
Sitemap