Our TEAM

Mark Hiddleston

Director – Chartered Trade Mark Attorney / Trade Mark Litigator

mark.hiddleston@hiddlestons.com

Mark is a UK Chartered Trade Mark Attorney, UK Trade Mark Litigator, UK Solicitor (non-practising), Irish qualified solicitor and Irish Trade Mark Agent.  

Mark founded Hiddleston Trade Marks with the intention of providing a high quality responsive practice with a difference.  He has a passion for trade marks and has over 25 years in the field.  

Prior to founding Hiddleston Trade Marks, Mark was a partner and Head of Trade Marks at the UK-based firm of trade mark and patent attorneys, Elkington and Fife LLP, for 10 years and prior to that was the Managing Director of the trade marks group of the London office.

Although highly successful in his field, Mark realised that the world of trade mark was changing and he wanted to found a firm that would change with that world to meet the needs of his clients in the modern world.  He has substantial experience in relation to the clearance and prosecution of UK and European Union trade mark applications, international registrations under the Madrid Protocol and national applications world-wide, the negotiation and drafting of settlement agreements in relation to trade marks, and the handling of oppositions and cancellation actions before the UK and EU Intellectual Property Offices and disputes world-wide.  

During his lengthy career, Mark has handled trade mark matters and large-scale trade mark portfolios for clients operating in a diverse range of fields, including the beverage, tobacco, food, confectionery, film and TV, entertainment, pharmaceutical, financial, automobile, engineering, publishing and software and hardware industries.  He is a member of the INTA Public Information Committee and a member of the Council for the Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys (“ITMA”), Chairman of ITMA’s Formal Publications Working Group and a former member of the Institute’s Education and Training Committee.

He also has an expanding practice in relation to domain name disputes, including the filing of domain name dispute resolution proceedings at WIPO.  

From 2002-2005, he helped to set up and run the Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys’ first Advanced Level Court for students sitting the then ITMA Finals Level Examination.  He has been an Examiner for the Institute’s UK Trade Mark Law and Practice paper and a Lecturer on the Institute’s Warwick University Residential Lecture course.  

He is a regular lecturer, having given lectures on behalf of CPA (Computer Patent Annuities), AIPLA (The American Intellectual Property Law Association), INTA (The International Trade Mark Association), ITMA (The UK Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys) and IPIC (The Intellectual Property Institute of Canada). He has contributed articles to Trade Mark World and IP Review.

Mark is a Senior Editor and contributor to the United Kingdom Trade Mark Handbook, the leading authority on trade mark practice in the UK.

Laura Coupland

Paralegal / Accounts & Office Manager

laura.coupland@hiddlestons.com

Laura is a paralegal handling prosecution matters for UK and European Union trade mark applications and registrations and national applications world-wide.  Laura is also our Office and Accounts Manager and handles any enquiries from clients on invoicing issues.

Debra Hiddleston

Chartered Trade Mark Attorney

debra.hiddleston@hiddlestons.com

Debra has substantial experience in the field of trade marks and designs and is a Chartered Trade Mark Attorney, European Trade Mark Attorney, and is a member of the Chartered Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys.

Debra has gained extensive experience of trade mark law during her time of working both in-house and in private practice.

Debra has substantial experience in trade mark clearance and prosecution, via the UK and European Union trade mark application systems and the Madrid Protocol international application system.

She also has extensive experience in the registration of designs, both via the UK system, and the Registered Community Design (RCD) system.

In addition to clearance and prosecution, Debra has experience of handling oppositions and cancellation actions both in the UK and abroad.

Debra enjoys providing a bespoke service to individual clients, advising upon the best way forward in terms of protection, cost etc. and enjoys the challenge of gaining protection for difficult marks.

Debra has an Honours Degree in Music and English Literature.