Brand Protection and Enforcement Triage Service

Your brand is what makes your business unique to your customers. When that brand is at risk, you need immediate support to determine the steps required to protect its identity. We combine expertise in brand strategy and enforcement techniques to provide the holistic approach you need.

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Meet the team

A & E make brand protection easy

We understand the importance of creating a strong brand and getting the most from it. Our expert team offers cost-effective, bespoke solutions to strengthen your brand identity and take the necessary steps to protect and enforce your rights.

To ensure a comprehensive solution to all your branding issues, we leverage our strong connections with PR firms, marketing agencies and brand creation specialists to choose the best collaboration partners for your requirements.

Our experience

Our team combines specialists in IP disputes and IP registration to provide a triage service that seamlessly identifies the brand protection and enforcement support our clients need and rapidly deploys the right strategy.

We consult and advise on all aspects of brand protection and enforcement, providing a one-stop shop to help businesses protect their brand identity, regardless of sector. Our client base is diverse and includes start-ups, SMEs, NPOs and charities, as well as larger, more established businesses.

How we can help

Our brand protection and enforcement lawyers can help with:

  • Trade mark registration, infringement issues and ownership disputes
  • Brand enforcement and management
  • Brand strategy and policy
  • Domain name disputes and social media takedowns
  • Reputation protection.
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Questions and Answers

We recommend registering a trade mark as it clearly defines what you have protected in the public domain, making it easier to take action against copycat or similar brands. It also helps other businesses conducting due diligence to identify your brand and avoid infringement.

If you don’t register a trade mark, you can still enforce your rights under the legal action known as “passing off”. However, this route has different requirements and can be more complex and costly.

We’ll assess the best method to use based on the circumstances. The first step usually involves writing to the copycat, outlining your rights, describing the infringing behaviour, requesting they stop and setting out any remedies you seek.

In most cases, a resolution is reached after negotiation. If the infringer is less cooperative, we’ll explore more formal options with you.

Costs vary depending on the situation and the enforcement route taken. One advantage of our approach is that we explore all options, including cost-effective solutions, not just court action.

Be proactive. Register a trade mark, keep your IP portfolio under review (are you using it for what it’s registered for or should you register further variations as your brand evolves?) and if you suspect or become aware of any infringement, seek advice and act on it.

Recognition of our work

Legal updates and thought leadership

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Hear what our clients say about us

Your expert guidance, whether through insightful advice during our monthly meetings, facilitating key introductions, or sharing your deep knowledge of data protection, has been instrumental in strengthening both our contractual practices and our compliance framework.

Client testimonial Technology & Innovation

Wayne is wonderful to work with. He is excellent with clients, assertive but not aggressive with opponents, commercially astute, has a good reputation with judges and has excellent tactical judgement.

Client testimonial Chambers 2026

Nicola is an exceptional lawyer with unsurpassed technical knowledge in a very specialist area. She is very approachable, a real advocate and champion for women and social diversity in the sector.

Client testimonial Chambers 2026

The very hardworking Nicola McNeely is an expert in a number of fields and effortlessly explains the most technical of subjects and associated legal points in a straightforward and meaningful way.

Client testimonial Legal 500 2026

Nicola McNeely is an outstanding legal professional with strong expertise in the crypto and blockchain space. Her advice is always clear, practical, and tailored to the fast-moving nature of the industry and our needs.

Client testimonial Legal 500 2026

They have a flexible approach, which works well in the SME market and they are well tuned to client requirements and culture. The technology team is a significant differentiation in the market, in particular in relation to NFTs and virtual currency.

Client testimonial Legal 500 2026

Martyn Davies – has a high degree of integrity, clarity of communication and an in depth understanding and appreciation of SME client requirements, concerns and needs. Martyn can be trusted to take commercial and pragmatic approaches.

Client testimonial Legal 500 2026

Very capable team, clear communication and were proportionate in their contact with us. Good judgement on whether we needed email or fact to face communication.

Client testimonial Legal 500 2026

The team members took time to really listen and understand our concerns and the nuanced situation, so the advice we received was not only helpful from a legal perspective but also recognised emotion and context.

Client testimonial Legal 500 2026

Another key practitioner is the vastly experienced data protection/cyber security expert Kerry Beynon.

The Legal 500 2025 TMT (Wales) IT and Telecoms

Much of the firm’s success in the area can be attributed to the efforts of ‘knowledgeable and commercially astute’ team head Nicola McNeely, who is skilled at ‘explaining the most technical of subjects in a straightforward and meaningful way’, including blockchain and NFT matters.

The Legal 500 2025 TMT (Wales) IT and Telecoms

Appreciated for its ‘practical and cost-effective service’, as well as its ability and willingness to be engaged with the latest market trends, HCR Law has quickly gained traction since establishing an office in Cardiff in 2020.

The Legal 500 2025 TMT (Wales) IT and Telecoms

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