Herefordshire cider and Herefordshire perry are protected names, which only producers in the county following the registered method may use. For the cider makers scattered between Bulmers in Hereford and the smallest farm press in the Golden Valley that is both an asset and a trap: the county name is shared, so what makes one maker different has to be protected separately, through a registered trade mark for the brand, a registered design for the bottle or label, and copyright in the artwork. Intellectual property solicitors in Hereford spend a good deal of their time on drinks.
Agriculture has intellectual property of its own. New apple, hop and soft-fruit varieties can be protected by plant breeders' rights, licensed to growers and infringed by propagation, and the growers around Marden and Ledbury deal with licences and royalties as a matter of routine, while the Hereford breed itself depends on the pedigree records of its cattle society. In the city, the engineering institute NMITE, Hereford College of Arts and a small cluster of software and design businesses produce the patents, copyright and confidentiality questions of a university town in miniature.
The solicitor's work is the same as in London, with smaller numbers: UK Intellectual Property Office registrations for trade marks and designs, licences, assignments and non-disclosure agreements, and the letter before action that settles most disputes. A claim that has to be fought is usually brought in the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court, whose capped costs and £500,000 ceiling on damages keep it within reach of a cider maker. A patent attorney handles the patent side. Registrations and standard documents come at fixed prices; a dispute is billed by the hour.
The IP firms within reach of Hereford appear below, verified practices at the top. What intellectual property law covers is the overview, the general IP solicitors guide explains the service, company matters sit with business law solicitors in Hereford, and the IP solicitors in Worcester page adds the firms in the next county.