Appleyard Lees
Firm overview:
From its five offices across the UK—including a newly opened location in the capital—Appleyard Lees offers a sophisticated service for brands, delivered by a blended team of solicitors, trademark attorneys and dual-qualified practitioners. Some of the firm’s peers question its visibility on big-ticket client work; however, the team’s new instructions on large portfolios for major brands and continued work for longstanding clients such as Puma indicate a robust practice that produces results.
Appleyard Lees also manages hundreds of registry disputes, as well as high-stakes matters before the High Court and the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court (IPEC).
Team overview:
The practice is spearheaded by Robert Cumming, partner and head of Trade Marks and Litigation. He is particularly skilled at strategically positioning brands for success, and combines his background as a litigator with his experience working on large corporate deals to gain the best possible outcome for clients.
The team features Chris Hoole, a dual-qualified solicitor and chartered trademark attorney who is praised by a peer for his work on a particularly notable trademark matter.
The partnership has expanded for 2026 to reflect the firm’s growth. Beverley Robinson was promoted to partner in 2025 to lead the firm’s growing Design rights team. Amritjot Jethwa joined the partnership in April 2026 as the head of Commercial IP Contracts.
Key matters:
- Bolt Technology: Trademark dispute with O2
Partner Robert Cumming successfully defended the mobility company’s core brand, 'Bolt', in a trademark dispute brought by telecommunications giant O2. The defence allowed Bolt to fully retain the use of its name and resulted in a costs order being secured in its favour.
- Hairburst: Cross-jurisdictional oppositions and enforcement
The firm was instructed to take over and consolidate the brand's portfolio of over 100 trademarks across the UK, EU, US, China, Australia, New Zealand, and the Middle East. Led by partner Beverley Robinson, the team also managed multiple cross-jurisdictional oppositions and enforcement actions to proactively protect the brand’s core revenue streams and prevent third-party infringement.
- Gym King: Trademark filing, strategy and transfer of ownership
Appleyard Lees files trademarks for popular apparel brand Gym King in the UK and across key commercial territories. The firm also secured the transfer of ownership of certain disputed domain names for the company.
Clients:
ASDA, Bolt Technology, Epetome, GHD, Gym King, Hairburst, International Procurement and Logistics (IPL), Pelsis, Puma, Siemens, TFG London / The Foschini Group, Tunstall Healthcare, United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA), Wella, Zoetis / Petmedix
