Intellectual property
More recently, Michael has participated in an increased number of remote hearings as a result of the covid-19 pandemic, which has seen the Bar move towards more online advocacy. However, Michael comments that “To some extent the IP bar was already familiar with remote hearings as it is not uncommon to have a witness overseas, whom you must cross-examine via a translator on a video link. I expect nearly everybody in chambers will have done this before. The lockdown regime has resulted in the entire trial being conducted remotely, as opposed to just part of it.” Throughout his career as a barrister, Michael has found the complex nature of IP law to be crucial to his enjoyment: “I really enjoy appellate advocacy when I am pushing the boundaries of the law, as it is satisfying to address difficult questions from an informed court.” Michael shares a particular highlight of his career to date: “I appeared as counsel for the lead party before the Grand Chamber – 13 judges – of the Court of Justice with 11 interveners. That case concerned the validity of millions of EU trade marks across the EU28. It was probably one of the most important trade mark cases in the past 20 years.” A recent high-profile case involved Colin the Caterpillar, where Michael is part of the #FreeCuthbert team: “It is rare for a legal case to be the subject of cartoons in both the Sunday Times and Private Eye !” Looking into the Bar’s future Michael says: “Recruiting talented practitioners is central to a chambers’ success. Most sets are not that big or well- resourced. Therefore, they cannot offer that much by way of pupillage award, nor can they offer a guaranteed income – partly due to the self-employed nature of the Bar. Serle Court is an exception to both of these general points as our pupillage award is
Intellectual propertyworkcanbedivided into twomainareas: hardand soft IP. ‘Hard’ IP relatesmainly topatents, while ‘soft’ IP principally covers trademarks, copyright, design rights andpassingoff. IPbarristers adviseon issues suchas infringement disputes, issues on validityof registered IP rights, andcommercial agreements that deal either exclusivelywith IP rights or with IP rights in thewider context of larger commercial transactions. With a background in science and an interest in complex areas of law that raise “difficult problems”, Michael Edenborough QC recalls having to decide between IP and tax after receiving pupillage offers in both areas of law: “I made my decision based on the fact that the subject matter of IP disputes is inherently more interesting. You can barely walk a few metres without bumping into an IP right – for example the clothes we wear, the beverages we drink and the computers we use are all littered with IP rights (eg, copyright/designs, trademarks and patents) – IP considerations are literally everywhere.” Difficult points of law Now, with more than 25 years’ experience (and 10 years as a silk), Michael continues to enjoy his work as an IP barrister. He deals with all aspects of IP law and practice: “trade marks and passing-off, copyright and designs, patents and confidential information. I also deal with plant varieties, geographical indications, moral rights, database rights and data protection issues.” IP is very international in nature, with many cases having a multijurisdictional aspect (eg, infringing activities in several countries). He advises on “particularly difficult cases, either factually or legally” and he often pushes the boundaries of the law: “I do mainly technical advocacy before specialist tribunals, quite often on appeal, with relatively little trial work handling live witnesses.”
For more chambers that work in this practice area, please use the ‘Pupillage index’.
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