Mr
Lee
Curtis

Partner & Trade Mark Attorney

Manchester Office

Telephone. +44(0) 161 247 4900
Mobile. +44(0) 759 524 3078
Email. [email protected]
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Experience

Lee has nearly 30 years’ experience of the trade mark and design law in the UK and overseas having qualified as a Chartered Trade Mark Attorney in 1996.

He advises and manages the design and trade mark portfolios of some of the leading brands in the United Kingdom and across the globe.

Lee also has extensive experience of filing and prosecuting trade mark applications, oppositions, revocation and invalidity actions before the European Union Intellectual Property Office, World Intellectual Property Organisation and across the globe.

Lee has extensive experience of the enforcement and preservation of design and trade mark rights. This includes the conduct of hearings before the United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office and appeals to the Appointed Person, enforcement of trade mark rights through trading standards provisions and online. He has also successfully prosecuted numerous domain actions under the Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy (UDRP) before WIPO and through the Dispute Resolution Service (DRS) of Nominet.

In August 2010, Lee obtained a Trade Mark and Design Litigators Certificate giving him the right to conduct litigation in the Chancery Division of the High Court and Intellectual Property Enterprise Court in relation to trade mark, design and passing off matters.

Lee has been widely quoted and has spoken on IP matters in the press and on radio and TV, notably in the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, the Financial Times, The Times, The Sunday Times, BBC Radio 4 and BBC1.

Specialisms

  • Electrochemistry
  • Energy
  • Food science
  • Household products
  • Material science
  • AI
  • Computer hardware
  • Computer software
  • Consumer electronics
  • Cyber security
  • E commerce
  • Industrial & power electronics
  • Medical electronics
  • Printing
  • Scientific instruments
  • Semiconductor technologies
  • Automotive systems
  • Baby & infant products
  • Construction
  • Drug delivery devices
  • Food and beverage packaging
  • Oil & gas
  • Orthopaedics
  • Subsea technology
  • Testing, measurement and electronics
  • Wound management
  • Agbio
  • Bioprocessing
  • Diagnostics
  • Food technology
  • Gene editing technologies
  • Immunobiology
  • Personalised medicine
  • Trade marks

Industries

  • Finance icon Finance
  • Food & drink icon Food & drink
  • Healthcare icon Healthcare
  • Retail icon Retail

Services

  • Advertising
  • Copyright & database rights
  • Designs & design rights
  • Due diligence
  • In-house legal support
  • Portfolio management
  • Strategy
  • Trade marks
  • Transactional IP & commercial support

Qualifications

Trade Mark Attorney

Chartered (UK)

BSC

BSc (Hons) Economics

Recognition

WTR1000 2019 and 2020

“A good sounding-board on matters of legal risk, he is both talented and knowledgeable. His combination of thoroughness and pragmatism is impressive. He explores all options, proposes a firm course of action and goes the extra mile to provide insight on the likelihood of success – a truly trusted adviser.” (WTR1000 2020)

View recognition online

MP IP Stars (Trade Marks) 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020

“always provides practical solutions to issues" (MIP IP Stars 2017) "Curtis gives “quick, no-nonsense advice which is tailored to the client’s business activities and needs”. Another client appreciates Curtis’s “transparency about costs”. (MIP IP Stars 2018)

View recognition online

Legal500 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020

“experienced, practical and solution-oriented" (Legal 500, 2017)

View recognition online

Publications

WTR 1000 2021

View publication online

MIP IP Stars 2020

View publication online

The Wild East? Protecting trade marks in China

View publication online

WTR 1000 2020

View publication online

Does a design have to be disclosed first in the EU to benefit from Community Unregistered Design Right?

View publication online

HGF continue to be highly ranked in The Legal 500 United Kingdom 2020 rankings

View publication online

Alexa, ‘what’s the impact of AI on trade mark law’

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The Intellectual Property Report

View publication online

WTR 1000 2019

View publication online

WIPO Magazine: Trademark Law Playing Catch-up with Artificial Intelligence?

View publication online

Video recording of four person panel I took part in at the United States Patent and Trademark Office in Alexandria, Virginia on 31st January 2019 on Artificial Intelligence: Intellectual Property Considerations.

View publication online

CITMA Review: A right royal rout: June 2020

View publication online

AI is Changing How Products are Bought and by Definition Will Change Trade Mark Law

View publication online

Alexa, ‘what’s the impact of AI on trademark law?’

View publication online

Conferences: 2021

June 8th 2021

WIPR Trademarks Live

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April 20th 2021

Intellectual Property Owners Association Spring Summit

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April 20th 2021

IPOwners Spring Summit 2021

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Conferences: 2020

December 31st 2020

HGF Complete: Brexit Webinars

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December 1st 2020

HGF IP in Retail online training events

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November 5th 2020

CITMA Autumn Conference

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November 4th 2020

WIPO Conversation on Intellectual Property (IP) and Artificial Intelligence (AI): Third Session

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October 6th 2020

WTR Connect 2020

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September 3rd 2020

HGF webinar: The rise of AI. What happens when you take the human out of trade mark law?

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March 3rd 2020

IP in Healthcare Conference 2020

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Conferences: 2019

December 3rd 2019

IP in Retail Conference Amsterdam 2019

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October 17th 2019

Artificial Intelligence: Challenges for Intellectual Property Law - Brussels

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September 24th 2019

IP in Retail Conference 2019 - London & Leeds

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March 14th 2019

“Can robots invent and create? A dialogue between Artificial Intelligence and Intellectual Property” - Alicante

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January 31st 2019

USPTO - Artificial Intelligence: Intellectual Property Policy Considerations - Virginia

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Conferences: 1970

January 1st 1970

HGF IP in Retail online training events

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CSR

Past member of the Public Relations (PR) Committee of the Chartered Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys (CITMA).  Member of the organising panel for CITMA conferences.

Past Examiner (trade mark paper) for the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys.

Past contributor CITMA European Trade Mark Handbook.

Related News

Managing Intellectual Property IP Stars & Firm Rankings 2021

Managing Intellectual Property IP Stars 2021, comprising the highly recommended IP professionals, has now been published. HGF is delighted to have 14 European attorneys listed. IP STARS is the leading …

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Searching for the distinctive

How to streamline the trade mark selection process by conducting effective, in-house ‘dirty searches’. Selecting the right trade mark for your new healthcare product is a critically important task. Consumers …

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Event - 8th June 2021

WIPR Trademarks Live

HGF is sponsoring WIPR Trademarks Live conference 2021 with Partner Lee Curtis speaking on 8th June. WIPR Trademarks Live is designed to provide critical and timely insights from leading trademark …

Event details
Event - 22nd June 2021

Intellectual Property for Business: How to protect your brand and ideas

HGF Trade Mark Director Adjoa Anim will be speaking at a webinar hosted by London Chamber of Commerce and Industry on 22nd June. Brands are arguably one of the most …

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This is not just any caterpillar...

It would have been difficult to miss the recent news that Marks & Spencer has filed trade mark infringement proceedings against German discounter Aldi’s Cuthbert the Caterpillar cake. The filing …

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Event - 26th April 2021

World Intellectual Property Day 2021

World Intellectual Property Day is on 26th April. This year’s theme is IP & SME’s: Taking your ideas to market. World IP day 2021 shines a light on the critical role of …

Event details
Event - 10th May 2021

Intellectual Property - Are you protecting your business ideas?

HGF and British-Swiss Chamber of Commerce are holding a webinar on 10th May 2021. Join HGF Partner and Patent Attorney Mike Nelson and Michaël Alder, Legal Advisor at the Swiss Federal Institute of …

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Copycat routes of action - decisive protection for designers

IPEC handed down a victory on 19th November 2020 to Italian manufacturer Freddy SpA. This company distributed a pair of trousers known as WR.UP pants (launched in 2012) – designed …

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