The world's first regular high-definition television service went out from Alexandra Palace in 1936, and the borough beneath it has been producing and arguing over creative work ever since. Haringey's intellectual property clients today are the writers, composers, documentary makers and designers of Crouch End and Muswell Hill; the musicians and producers of Tottenham, where a studio in a railway arch can launch a career; the makers and small fashion labels in the warehouses around Harringay and Manor House; and the food brands of Green Lanes, where a name over a shop can become a product in supermarkets across the country.
For most of them the issue is copyright: who owns a track recorded with three collaborators, a script developed with a production company, or a logo drawn by a friend. The answer is whoever created it unless a written assignment or an employment contract says otherwise, and an IP solicitor in Haringey spends a lot of time putting those agreements in place after the event. Trade marks come next, registered at the UK Intellectual Property Office for band names, labels, restaurants and sauces; then licences, so that work can be used without being given away, and non-disclosure agreements before an idea is pitched.
Infringement is handled first by a letter before action and then, where it must be, by proceedings in the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court, which has a £500,000 limit on damages and keeps the loser's costs liability within a known range; its small claims track suits a Tottenham producer whose beat has been used without a licence. Patent matters go to a patent attorney working with the solicitor.
Registrations and standard agreements are fixed-fee; litigation is by the hour.
Intellectual property firms serving Haringey are listed below, verified firms first. See what intellectual property law covers, the general IP solicitors guide and the London IP page for the specialist practices near the Rolls Building; business law solicitors in Haringey deal with the company side.
Verified