Steve Waine

Steve Waine has over 25 years of experience in the trade marks field. He works with a wide range of clients in all areas of business. Major client areas are pharmaceuticals, food and beverages, entertainment, chemicals, finance, fashion and consumer goods. Steve handles all areas of trade mark and copyright law, including filing and prosecution of applications, litigation including the prosecution and defense of oppositions, searching and portfolio management.

His work is carried out directly before the UK Intellectual Property Office, with work in other countries being facilitated by foreign associates under supervision. Steve’s experience means he is able to provide advice with respect to foreign law at a general level, helping clients devise a suitable filing strategy.

Steve began training in the trade mark profession in the in-house trade marks department of a world-famous oil and gas company before moving to private practice 21 years ago. After qualifying as a trade mark attorney, he looked to expand his knowledge in new areas of the law. Specifically, he studied legislation relating to trade marks, including the growing area of protection and litigation relating to domain names, and the implementation of new territorial protection through the introduction in the UK of the Madrid Protocol.

An international filing system that can provide significant cost savings to clients, the Madrid Protocol has opened up new strategies with respect to the protection of trade marks. Steve has acted as the practice co-ordinator for Murgitroyd for this ever-changing system.

In 2010, Steve was appointed as a Director of Trade Marks. While the majority of his work is still client-facing, he now also spends time assisting in the management of the group and training new attorneys. He is involved in business development, and will often visit new clients to help them formulate their company strategy for the protection of trade marks, as well as providing advice on the maintenance of records, branding and communication of brand values to their colleagues.

Some of Steve’s major clients have been in the following sectors: pharmaceuticals, food, beverages, entertainment, chemicals, finance, fashion, consumer goods, oil and gas.