HGF biggest UK filer of EUTMs in 2018: CompuMark
Law firm HGF filed the most trademark applications in the EU out of UK law firms last year, new data has shown.
According to data published on January 9 by CompuMark, a trademark analytics company, HGF filed 431 trademark applications with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) in 2018.
Barker Brettell placed second, with 374 applications, an increase of 14% from 2017.
Last year marks the first time since the establishment of the EUIPO in 1996 that Marks & Clerk does not top the list. The firm came third on the list in 2018, with 374 applications, a fall of 18% from the previous year.
Robert Reading, director at CompuMark, said the numbers of trademark applications filed with the EUIPO by UK applicants dropped off significantly in the wake of the 2016 Brexit referendum vote.
The number of applications fell from 10,154 in 2016 to 9,382 the following year. Although the number in 2018 was lower still, at 9,263, this stabilisation represented “good news” for the UK IP sector, according to Reading.
According to the figures, UK-based firms have had a consistent amount of EU filing work since the referendum vote.
This year will nonetheless be a period of “considerable uncertainty” for UK-based trademark firms, Reading argued, as it remains unclear what effect Brexit will have on IP law.
David Potter, partner at HGF in Leeds, UK, said that the figures reflected continued growth by the firm in recent years. Speaking to WIPR, Potter said that the firm’s message to clients of “business as usual” as Brexit draws closer was starting to have an impact.
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