Murgitroyd

Murgitroyd
HeadquartersGlasgow
No. of offices22
Major practice areasIntellectual Property
Key people
Date founded1975
Company typePrivate limited company
Websitemurgitroyd.com

Murgitroyd is an international practice of intellectual property attorneys, headquartered in Glasgow, which specialises in patents, trade marks, designs and copyrights. The practice was established in 1975 and currently has 22 offices worldwide, and over 440 employees.

History

Murgitroyd was founded as a sole practitioner practice in Glasgow, Scotland by Ian Murgitroyd in 1975. The practice became a partnership in 1977 and was incorporated in 1993. It is currently a standalone private limited company ultimately owned by Sovereign Capital. Prior to its acquisition by Sovereign Capital in 2019,[1] the Murgitroyd group was listed on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange, having floated in 2001.[2]

Acquisitions

Murgitroyd has acquired a number of practices since the turn of the century:

  • 2003: Cabinet Bonneau based in Nice, France
  • 2005: Castles based in London, England[3]
  • 2006: Fitzpatricks based in Glasgow [4]
  • 2008: Kennedys based in Glasgow, Scotland and Newcastle upon Tyne, England[5]
  • 2009: Raworth Moss & Cook based in London, England [6]
  • 2013: Patentanwalt Liu based in Munich, Germany
  • 2016: Patentvest based in Managua, Nicaragua
  • 2019: Chapman IP based in Southampton, England [7]
  • 2021: Hanna Moore + Curley, based in Dublin, Ireland, and Dalian, China.[8]
  • 2021: UDL Intellectual Property, based in Leeds, Cardiff, London, Milton Keynes, and Newcastle, England.[9]
  • 2022: Creation IP, based in Glasgow, Scotland.

Most recently, the UK-based IP firm TLIP, based in Leeds and Cambridge, joined Murgitroyd in December 2022.[10]

Offices

Murgitroyd has twenty offices in Europe — in the United Kingdom, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy and Switzerland — and direct representation rights in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, Monaco, The Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. Furthermore, the practice also has two client liaison offices in the United States of America, an office in Dalian, China and a further office in Nicaragua specialising in patent searching, technical illustration and docketing.[11]

Industry rankings

Murgitroyd was awarded the highest ranking across all sector categories in the Financial Times 2019 Survey of Europe's Leading Patent Law Firms.[12]

Murgitroyd was also ranked in the top tier of the Managing Intellectual Property IPStars 2016 guide in Scotland, features in The Legal 500 (UK) directory and the Chambers & Partners directory, and has also gained ISO 9000 accreditation and a gold status ranking from the Intellectual Asset Management Patent 1000.[13]

References

  1. ^ "Patent and trademark attorney firm Murgitroyd Group snapped up for £63m – The Scotsman". 18 October 2019.
  2. ^ "Murgitroyd AIM Listing – The Scotsman".
  3. ^ "Murgitroyd in £4m swoop for trademark rival Castle – The Scotsman".
  4. ^ "Patent and trademark specialist Murgitroyd swallows old rival – The Herald".
  5. ^ "Murgitroyd snaps up Kennedys in £3.4m deal – The Scotsman".
  6. ^ "Murgitroyd buys Raworth Moss & Cook – Growth Business". 19 January 2009.
  7. ^ "Murgitroyd grows in Ireland with acquisition of Hanna Moore + Curley - Scottish Legal News".
  8. ^ "Murgitroyd grows in Ireland with acquisition of Hanna Moore + Curley". Scottish Legal News. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  9. ^ "Scotland-based patent law firm buys English rival". HeraldScotland. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  10. ^ "IP firm Murgitroyd targets growth with fourth acquisition in two years". HeraldScotland. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  11. ^ "Nicaragua office – The Scotsman". 24 June 2016.
  12. ^ "Financial Times 2019 Survey of Europe's leading Patent law firms". Financial Times. 9 July 2019.
  13. ^ "Murgitroyd accreditations". Murgitroyd. 6 January 2016.