PATENT and trade mark attorney firm, Lawrie, has delivered growth of 12% this year and is projecting total sales of around £3.5m in the next financial year.
Growth areas for the intellectual property firm have been in trade mark work, and in patent filings in sectors including chemistry, life sciences, renewable energy and software. 193,460 European patent applications were filed last year – an increase of 2.5% on the year before. Sectors that saw the most growth in patent filings according to The European Patent Office were: life sciences (up 11.0%), digital communication (up 11.2%), electrical machinery, apparatus and energy, which includes clean energy and battery technology (up 18.2%). The company is also seeing major Scotland-based clients, who had previously worked with London firms, benefit from moving their IP portfolios to Lawrie on home soil.
An increasing number of UK businesses are filing UK patents and benefitting from the UK Government’s tax relief scheme, Patent Box, and a growing number of UK patents are being accelerated to grant through the UKIPO’s Green Channel initiative. As economic conditions remain challenging and businesses become more aware of the need to protect and enforce their intellectual property, Lawrie has noted an increase in contentious work, acting for and against companies in patent and trade mark oppositions.
Lawrie has also invested in several new hires to support the company’s growth including a new trainee patent attorney, taking the total headcount to 22. Nurturing talent from trainee to fully fledged patent attorney is one way that Lawrie is investing in its team from the earliest stages and embedding their client led approach at every level.
Support functions have also seen growth with the recruitment of two new graduates in records roles and three experienced paralegals joining the firm to support the patent and trade mark teams.
Founded in 2010, Lawrie was established to provide client-centric advice, with its mission to be an IP firm that cares about its clients’ needs and to make IP a pain-free experience. Testament to this, Lawrie was named Managing IP’s Firm of the Year Prosecution (UK – Scotland) at the Managing IP Awards at an awards ceremony in London on 21 June. This is a joint award across both patents and trade marks and reflects the breadth of skillsets at the firm.
Further recognition of company success has been gained by Craig Hutchison who was nominated for Practitioner of the Year (UK – Scotland), for the extraordinary service he provides to clients. Donald Lawrie, Craig Hutchison and Jim Robertson from the Lawrie patent team have all been declared as Managing IP – IP Stars, and trade mark attorney Sharon Mackison awarded a Notable Practitioner in the trade mark space. In addition, Chris Martin from Lawrie’s patent team has been noted as a Managing IP Rising Star.
Donald Lawrie, Director of Lawrie, said: “Our mission is simple – to be the easiest intellectual property team to work with and to make IP a pain-free experience. It is fantastic to have our clients and our network recognise that our team are delivering on this and its incredible to be part of this award winning team. We’ve had another year of growth at Lawrie, made possible by our knowledgeable and experienced team of experts working hard to do the best for our clients. I’m proud we have created a culture of conscientiousness and innovation, enabling us to bring fresh perspectives to our growing client base and, with some key clients wins in the offing, I’m excited to see what the next year brings.”
