Darren Meale

Partner & Deputy District Judge at Simmons & Simmons

Speaker

Darren is a brands lawyer, litigator and portfolio manager, Deputy District Judge in the IPEC and an award-winning innovator. His practice takes on trade mark, copyright and design law disputes and advice. He has litigated at all levels in the UK, from the UK Intellectual Property Office to the UK Supreme Court. He has also fought cases at the EUIPO, the EUIPO Board of Appeal and the General Court of the EU.

Darren’s practice takes in a wide variety of sectors, in particular the media, technology, fintech and luxury goods sectors. He has advised clients on intellectual property rights in relation to everything from cartoon characters to whisky bottles, clothing, lingerie, soft drinks, films and hotels.

Darren is a member of the JIPLP Editorial Board and is the outgoing Chair of the INTA Famous Marks Europe Sub-Committee. He is a past winner of the Financial Times Young Legal Innovator of the Year award and was a nominee for Rising Star of the Year at the last British Legal Awards. These accolades recognise his work in AI; he is the creator of the world’s first AI trade mark lawyer, named Rocketeer. He is also an IPKat blogger and writer of the Retromark trade mark round-ups.