Iain Connor

Partner at Pinsent Masons LLP

Iain leads Pinsent Masons' contentious intellectual property practice having prosecuted many of the UK’s most high profile pieces of IP litigation through the UK courts and then on to the Court of Justice of the European Union. His European Court highlights include Interflora -v- Marks & Spencer - a trade mark infringement case relating to the use of Interflora as an AdWord in the Google advertising programme – for which Pinsent Masons was awarded “Winners of Managing IP Awards UK Trade Mark Litigation Team of the Year 2014 “; Football DataCo -v- Livescore - a Database Rights case relating the to re-use of football match data; Specsavers -v- Asda Stores - a parody advertising case relating to the slogan "Be a real spec saver at Asda"; L'Oreal -v- Bellure - the first “unfair advantage” trade mark case before the CJEU; and British Horseracing Board -v- William Hill - the first Database Rights case to be heard before the CJEU.

He advises on advertising matters including BCAP, CAP and Clearcast clearance issues as well as comparative advertising, marketing and sponsorship issues. He advises companies across a range of sectors from media and entertainment to retail and financial services. Having been previously seconded to Ericsson, his IT and telecommunications practice focuses on issues arising out of the use and exploitation of software and related infringement matters.

Legal 500 states he gives "no-nonsense advice, and is an individual with integrity’, ranking him for both intellectual property and media and entertainment. Chambers and Partners UK guide says he is 'a very good presenter and can condense issues into clear, easily understandable language' while its Global Guide states Iain is 'noted for providing clear and concise advice to clients'.