Field Fisher Waterhouse has claimed first place in the Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys’ (ITMA) annual ranking of community trademark (CTM) filings, while Linklaters is the only law firm to significantly buck the downward trend of filings.


“This is the first time any trademark agent or law firm has beaten Marks & Clerk,” said John Olsen, head of Field Fisher’s trademark and brand protection group. He said companies such as MasterCard and Warner Bros had been very active, adding: “Unlike Linklaters, we don’t get a major amount of work from other parts of the firm.”

Roland Mallinson, who was appointed head of Linklaters’ UK trademark filing practice in 2002, said the firm’s standalone intellectual property practice has grown. Linklaters has filed over 25 per cent more CTMs than last year, despite an overall fall in filings among the top 50 firms of over 13 per cent.

Mallinson attributed the rise to the firm’s pan-European approach, future EU enlargement in Central and Eastern Europe and a new pharmaceutical client.

Community trademark filings
1 Jan 02-31 Dec 02
Classes claimed		 1 Jan 02-31 Dec 02
Applications filed		 1 Jan 01-31 Dec 01
Classes claimed		 % change
2001-02
1 Jan 02-31 Dec 02 1 Jan 02-31 Dec 02 1 Jan 01-31 Dec 01 % change
Classes claimed Applications filed Classes claimed 2001-02
1 Field Fisher Waterhouse 1,744 411 1,763 -1.08
2 Marks & Clerk 1,565 646 1,857 -15.72
3 Boult Wade Tennant 900 355 1,042 -13.63
4 Clifford Chance 777 309 1,495 -48.03
5 Urquhart-Dykes & Lord 770 256 957 -19.54
Other law firms
16 Linklaters 498 195 396 +25.76
22 Baker & McKenzie 452 165 573 -21.12
44 Walker Morris 223 89 220 +1.36
Source: ITMA