John is a Registered and Chartered Trade Mark Attorney and is Office Managing Partner of Marks & Clerk's Birmingham office. He has over 15 years’ experience in the trade mark profession and works with a portfolio of national and international clients on developing a strategy for their trade mark protection. He works on trade mark searches, applications, oppositions and other contentious actions covering the UK, Europe and the rest of the world.

John’s practice involves a wide spread of sector expertise including the food and drink, apparel, FMCG, automotive, media and entertainment sectors as well as representing clients in manufacturing industries such as transport and security infrastructure and electrical accessories.

With significant experience working with clients to develop innovative trade mark protection strategies, John helps to strategically assess clients' geographic priorities and to identify the best forms of protection for clients’ commercial needs. This often involves advice on combining trade mark protection with other IP rights, such as registered designs, and advice on bespoke enforcement strategies to address counterfeiting activity – for example, through online marketplace platforms.

John has expertise in advising on protection of non-traditional trade marks including shape marks in particular and previously participated in an International Trade Mark Association (INTA) committee to help drive policy and best practice among different IP offices in this area. Earlier in his career John also worked on a successful appeal to the General Court of the EU concerning registration of a client’s mark on the basis of acquired reputation.

Earlier in his career John worked on secondment in the in-house IP team of a significant food industry client and uses this experience to provide clear, concise and commercially focused advice to his clients.

John graduated from Cambridge University with a degree in Modern Languages. He speaks Spanish and French fluently, as well as having qualifications in Japanese and Catalan. John is a member of the Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys and qualified as a Trade Mark Attorney in 2010.

John has been recognised as a leading individual by World Trademark Review 1000.