In the world of intellectual property, Abel + Imray has been at the forefront of innovation for 150 years. In 1871, two engineers and leading patent agents founded the firm. Since then, our experience and legal expertise has protected thousands of ideas and brands.

Whether we’re advising on the IP rights of others, filing patents for game-changing inventions, or registering famous trade marks, we look forward to helping shape the innovations of the future, and working with businesses from our offices across Europe in the exciting and challenging times ahead.

New millennium, new office, new logo

Though dubbed ‘the day the earth stood still’ by newspapers, the new millennium brought a flurry of activity for our firm. Our aerospace work took flight as Airbus UK became one of our established clients while, on the ground, our office space expanded into Cardiff.

Having represented many brands over the years, we developed our own visual identity and unveiled the first Abel + Imray logo in 2000.

A year later, it was proudly used in our new Cardiff office. Our presence in Wales was in part thanks to Julian Bardo and an approach by Welsh Water which, on the cusp of privatisation, needed some quality IP advice. Following this and other successes, enquiries began to flow from local premier law firms – and soon after, our name was on Wales’ IP map.

Seven years after opening our Cardiff office, we moved our Bath base from Georgian Chapel Row to open-plan offices at Westpoint Building, creating even better opportunities to collaborate.

A brand new look

The world’s first popular cryptocurrency took off in 2009 with the advent of Bitcoin. Digital assistants Siri and Alexa became popular from the early 2010s, redefining the way we get information (and seemingly from thin air). And reusable rockets blasted onto the scene in 2015, as Blue Origin’s New Shepherd and SpaceX’s Falcon 9 made successful vertical landings.

With so much change afoot, it was time for a new look for Abel + Imray. In collaboration with Bath-based design agency Mytton Williams, we exchanged our ampersand – and Abel + Imray was born. This alteration was accompanied by a design aesthetic that was anything but beige. The bold new palette featured a dark pink pantone, now synonymous with our firm’s forward-thinking reputation.

‘Start with the Why’

Inspired by Simon Sinek’s Ted Talk ‘Start with the Why’, we took time to examine Abel + Imray’s guiding principles. We quickly recognised how caring and understanding were the foundational tenets of our work. That everyone from partners to paralegals care deeply about their clients’ businesses and IP, asking questions to really understand the technical, commercial and legal details. And how the whole firm champions collaboration, investing in relationships and inspiring trust by working as an extension of our clients’ teams.

This space for reflection crystallised our own ‘why’ – to look after your ideas so you are free to do what matters most to you. And caring about looking after our clients’ IP in mainland Europe, post-Brexit, saw us open our Spanish office. This meant that Abel + Imray could continue to provide a full range of IP services across the continent, and in particular before the EUIPO in Alicante.

Focused and future-ready

Having survived two world wars and 150 years of virtually uninterrupted business, we’d say we’re well versed in being resilient during uncertain times. But 2020 presented a whole new set of unique challenges.

Whether based in London, Cardiff, Bath or Spain, our teams were able to adjust rapidly – and admirably – to the demands of lockdown and working from home, continuing to deliver the Abel + Imray standard.

Led by managing partner Matthew Critten, our firm is confident we will have become even stronger after such a tough year. We look forward to growing our client base and delivering valuable IP work for a prosperous future.

The equity partners of Abel + Imray over the years:

Charles Denton Abel

1871 – 1906

John Imray

1871 – 1902

O Imray

1877 – 1921

A G Bloxham

1899 – 1939

T Shields

1906 – 1935

O Y Imray

1920 – 1929

J W Waghorn

1920 – 1932

A Hicks

1920 – 1924

W W Groves

1924 – 1949

F M Leighton

1930 – 1945

W Waghorn

1930 – 1952

A J S Evans

1950 – 1969

O W Jaques

1950 – 1971

F J Bubb

1952 – 1972

V J L Fry

1952 – 1971

H J Pike

1960 – 1989

J M Taylor

1960 – 1985

A M Dowler

1960 – 1993

D T Darby

1973 – 2000

A J Coulson

1973 – 2009

P C Machin

1973 – 1982

P J Barry

1984 – 2011

J Senior

1984 – 2011

J E Bardo

1984 – 2016

R D Mair

1989 – 2015

C A Humphreys

1994 – 2017

C J Legg

2001 – 2017

J G Pearson

2004 –

J E Denness

2006 –

M P Critten

2006 –

S M Bentley

2006 –

P A Brady

2006 –

M T Burt

2013 –

C P Brooks

2015 –

M J E Fletcher

2015 –

J M Ford

2015 –

R N Williams

2018 –

N T Forsyth

2020 –