Stephen Welfare
Partner and Head of the Intellectual Property Unit
Stephen is an expert in contentious intellectual property disputes and commercial litigation. He heads the Royds’ Intellectual Property Unit. Having trained at Royds, he qualified in 1993 and was made a Partner in 1999.
Expertise and Clients
Stephen deals with all areas of contentious intellectual property; copyright, patents, trademarks, and design law and is responsible for the operation of the “Copywatch” IP Protection Scheme with the British Jewellers Association and the British Travelgoods and Accessories Association. Clients who have enjoyed advice and representation include Shaun Leane, David Marshall, Sarah Jordan and Paul Spurgeon, (all former UK Jewellery designers of the year); Smyths Toys; East; Bhs; Leatherman Tools Inc; Buck Knives Inc; Christie Group; Monsoon Accessorize alongside Sports stars and celebrities.
He is an experienced general commercial litigator and his work includes media and sports law issues, disciplinary appeals and tribunals, licensing matters, Inland Revenue and HM Customs and Excise investigations and has experience of white collar crime work. He also has expertise in Estate Agency law and Business Transfer Agents fees recovery actions.
Articles and Publications
Stephen regularly writes articles for the jewellery and luxury goods market trade press (such as Retail Jeweller, Professional Jeweller, Jewellery in Focus and Fashions Extras). He has provided commentary on topical IP issues on BBC Radio 5 Live, and appeared on Sky News.
Read more about Stephen’s work in the jewellery and luxury goods sectors and see a list of his articles and blogs.
Memberships
He is a member of the Intellectual Property Lawyers Association.
