Lewis Silkin LLP has today announced the acquisition of patent and trademark firm Miller Sturt Kenyon (MSK), bolstering the firm’s leading Intellectual Property practice.

The acquisition will see MSK Managing Director Andy Cloughley and Director Matthew Turner join as partners, together with their wider team.

Founded by Joseph Miller as J. Miller & Co in 1957, before becoming the Miller Sturt Kenyon partnership in 1997, the firm has almost 70 years of experience in IP and patents, and in the technology and life science sectors; including Engineering, Electronics & Consumer Devices; Nanotechnology, Semiconductors & Materials; Telecommunications, Software & IT; Medical Devices & Optics; and Chemistry, Life Sciences, Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals.

Underpinning the firm’s focus on supporting businesses to create, optimise, manage and protect their Ideas, Lewis Silkin’s IP practice has undergone significant growth in recent years, notably including its acquisitions of Adslogans and Ablett & Stebbing, resulting in the launch of its IP360 offering.

The acquisition of MSK further enhances this offering, strengthening Lewis Silkin’s ability to service complex, multijurisdictional patent and trademark portfolios and deepening its expertise in advising dynamic, innovative companies across markets ranging from life sciences and engineering to technology and media.

Jo Farmer, Joint Managing Partner at Lewis Silkin, commented:

It is a real pleasure to welcome Andy, Matthew and the MSK team to Lewis Silkin. We have known MSK for some time now, and combining our teams is a hugely exciting step forward for our IP practice as we continue to position ourselves as the go-to law firm for Ideas and People focused businesses both in the UK and in key centres of creativity around the world.

Competitive advantage is increasingly driven by innovation, with technological advancements creating new opportunities to capture market share. Brands seeking to create, protect and commercialise their ideas has never been more important, and demand for specialist patent expertise is on the rise. At Lewis Silkin, we are constantly looking at how we can adapt and respond to the ever-changing needs of our clients, and bringing on board MSK adds real strength in depth to our IP360 offering.

It's an incredibly exciting time for MSK to be joining Lewis Silkin, with the two firms aligned in our strategic outlook, expertise and experience, and Lewis Silkin bringing our existing clients added depth of legal specialism in our key markets around the world – from the UK and EU to Asia and the US. Bringing the teams together will make us even better equipped to react at pace and manage the full lifecycle of ideas, from creation to protection and enforcement.