Simon Bennett Partner

Telephone: 020 7614 2522  Fax: 020 7614 1422
Email: SBennett@foxwilliams.com
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Departments: Commerce & Technology

From a professional view

Simon advises clients in a variety of Intellectual Property matters ranging from patents, trade marks and passing off to copyright and designs and breach of confidence in sectors including fashion, new media, financial services, IT and oil and gas. He is experienced in many types of dispute resolution including arbitration, mediation, High Court, Court of Appeal, Copyright Tribunal, Trade Marks Registry and European Patent Office. In addition, he has extensive experience advising clients in relation to their IP rights, including the drafting of commercial agreements relating to these rights. He has also advised clients on their IP portfolios and strategies to further enhance and protect existing rights.  

He has a reputation for advising clients on the protection of their rights on line; particular examples of work include having a cybersquatter sentenced to prison for 1 year on behalf of a major high street retailer and representing 100 famous authors in the first class action domain name dispute of its kind.   He currently serves as a panellist for the resolution of .eu domain name disputes administered by the Czech Arbitration Court.   

Simon is recommended by The Legal 500 Directory for his IP expertise in TMT, media entertainment.

Simon has written and spoken widely on intellectual property.  His articles have been published in Trademark World, World Trademark Review, Computer and Internet Lawyer, Copyright World, IPLaw 360 and The European Lawyer, among other publications.   He has lectured on the subject of the protection of intellectual property at The Central European University in Budapest and to Chinese government officials in Beijing, China as part of a joint WTO and EU initiative. He is also co-author of “A User’s Guide to Designs”, published in March 2010 by Bloomsbury Professional.

He is a regular commentator in the media, having been quoted in the Times and Financial Times on IP issues, and he has appeared on ITN News commenting on trade mark protection for the Metropolitan Police.  His claim to fame is appearing on BBC 4 in conjunction with an exhibition of artwork at the ICA where a confidentiality agreement he drafted was displayed in the place of a piece of artwork that the artist would not allow to be displayed for confidentiality reasons. 

Simon is a member of the Internet Committee of the International Trademark Association and has organised and spoken at seminars on the new global top level domains that have been introduced. 

From a personal view

With three young children Simon’s personal time is limited but as a keen skier he is enjoying introducing his brood to the slopes.  Music is another special interest following a childhood where he learnt to play the viola and piano and, before his voice broke, sung in operas at the Royal Opera House and English National Opera.  He is actively involved in running his old school alumni association.