Dehns

Dehns

Type	Partnership
Industry	Law
Founded	1920
Headquarters	London, Brighton, Oxford, Munich
Products	Legal advice
Employees	154
Website	www.dehns.com

Dehns is the trading name of "Frank B. Dehn & Co.", a United Kingdom firm of patent and trade mark attorneys, with offices in London, Brighton, Oxford and Munich. It was founded in 1920 by Frank Bernard Dehn.

The firm's published client list includes: Apple Corps, Ares-Serono Group, Boehringer Ingelheim, Borealis, Coca-Cola, ConocoPhilips, DuPont, Honda, Kimberly-Clark, Medtronic, Otis Elevator Company and Tetley. ^[1]

The firm

Founded in 1920, the practice has offices in London, Brighton, Oxford and Munich. The firm’s patent work comes from European direct clients, particularly from Scandinavia, as well as the UK. The firm also acts directly for a large number of US Fortune 500 clients and handles a significant amount of work originating in Japan. Most of its trade mark work comes from the UK and from US direct client companies. Clients include small businesses and private inventors, as well as multinational firms. The firm’s straightforward, business-oriented approach combined with its technical excellence has made it a leader in its field.Dehns ensures its staff receive intensive training and has a policy of recruiting highly qualified graduates and post graduates into the firm. The firm has an amazing record of professional examination successes, which has seen the prize for highest marks in the country going to Dehns’ trainees for three years in a row and four of the past seven.

Types of work undertaken

The firm advises on all aspects of patenting innovative technology, registering words, logos and other marks and registering original designs. Services include preparation and filing of applications, opposition and cancellation actions, advice on areas of conflict, regular watching for patents and trade marks of competitors and conducting infringement and other proceedings. Industries in which it is active in patent work include pharmaceuticals, biochemistry, biotechnology, petrochemicals, polymer chemistry, textiles and materials science and metallurgy. It also operates in computing, electronics, telecommunications, automotive, engineering, aeronautics and civil engineering. Trade mark activities include broadcasting and communications, computing, publishing, leisure and entertainment, food and drinks, cosmetics, finance and travel. Experience in contentious matters ranges from European oppositions and appeals to worldwide infringement conflicts. In non-contentious matters such as mergers, acquisitions and re-financings, where intellectual property can form an important part of a firm’s assets, the practice can carry out an intellectual property audit, advise on the strength of the intellectual property and record a party’s interest.

Legal 500

As of 2009, it is ranked in the top tier of the annual Legal 500 list of UK patent firms in London ^[2] and in the top tier of patent and trade mark firms in the regions. ^[3] In 2006 it ranked as the second-largest firm in the UK by number of patent attorneys. ^[4]

In 2005, Michael Butler, a partner at the firm, represented Neal Macrossan in his initial appeal hearing against a UK Patent Office decision not to allow Macrossan's patent application. The subsequent Court of Appeal judgment in Aerotel v Telco and Macrossan's Application, in which Mr Macrossan represented himself, informs the UK Intellectual Property Office's policy on patentable subject matter. ^{[5] [6]}

In 2002, three partners of the firm became the first UK patent attorneys to register as practising foreign attorneys before the German Chamber of IP Attorneys (Patentanwaltskammer). ^[7]

External links

• Dehns website
• Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys
• Legal 500
• European Patent Office website
• UK Intellectual Property Office

References

1. ^ "Client List". Dehns. http://www.dehns.com/clients/client-list.asp. Retrieved 2010-01-05. 
2. ^ "Patent attorneys London". Legal 500. http://www.legal500.com/c/london/tmt-technology-media-and-telecoms/patent-attorneys-london. Retrieved 2010-01-05. 
3. ^ "Patent and trade mark attorneys The Regions". Legal 500. http://www.legal500.com/c/london/tmt-technology-media-and-telecoms/patent-and-trade-mark-attorneys-the-regions. Retrieved 2010-01-05. 
4. ^ The Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys. (2006). List of Members and Students. ISBN 0-903932-24-5
5. ^ "Mr Macrossan was represented by an experienced patent agent, Mr Michael Butler." "2006 EWCA Civ 1371" (pdf). http://www.ipo.gov.uk/2006ewcaciv1371.pdf. Retrieved 2007-09-08. 
6. ^ "Attorney firm Frank B Dehn & Co represented him in front of the Patent Office ..." ""Applicants forced to rethink software patent strategies" (subscription content)". http://www.managingip.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=1254150. Retrieved 2007-09-08. 
7. ^ "Frank B Dehn scores German first". Managing Intellectual Property. http://www.managingip.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=1326814. Retrieved 2007-09-08.