Marks & Clerk in capital move

Intellectual property practice Marks & Clerk is eyeing further expansion after relocating to larger premises in Edinburgh.

The firm is moving its capital operation to 40 Torphichen Street in the Haymarket area of the city providing capacity for expansion as well as integration of its existing team across a single floor.

The Edinburgh office’s managing partner, Paul Chapman, said the relocation from Canning Street reflected “the excellent work being carried out by our staff in the capital”. He added: “We are excited by the opportunities that will be afforded by this contemporary, newly refurbished office space which is the perfect base for our expanding firm.

“We anticipate that it will play a central role in our story going forward, extending and reinforcing our strong relationship with Edinburgh which stretches back two decades.

“Torphichen Street is ideally located in the heart of the capital, being close to the Exchange office district and Haymarket station. Strategically, it places us on a strong footing to be part of the many thriving sectors in the east of Scotland, from medicine to microelectronics, and bridging the gap between the academic and the commercial.”

Marks & Clerk filed the highest number of Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) applications between January 2014 and December 2016, according to recent data published by the World Intellectual Property Organisation.

The statistics also revealed that the firm, which has offices across the UK, Europe, North America and Asia, is one of Europe’s top three filers.

The Edinburgh team advises a wide range of businesses from start-ups, spin-outs and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMES) to large multinational companies, and is said to bring together “specialised scientific backgrounds with clear commercial acumen”.