Pinsent Masons hires partner to lead IP team in Dublin

Maureen Daly joins from Irish full-service law firm Beauchamps, where she has been partner and head of technology and IP for 18 years.

As an IP lawyer, as well as a qualified European and Irish trademark attorney, she began her career at A&L Goodbody, where she advised clients on a broad range of IP issues, including litigation.

In 2005 Daly moved to Beauchamps, where she headed the IP team advising on all IP rights such as patents, trademarks and copyright. Her work included the protection and exploitation of IP rights by way of licences and assignments, research & development agreements as well as the defence and enforcement of those rights before Irish courts.

Landmark IP decisions

Daly acted for the Football Association Premier League, for example, in a dispute against Sky and Vodafone. She secured a landmark injunction at the High Court of Ireland to block illegal streaming of a sporting event. Furthermore, Daly also represented the entertainment industry in securing an injunction to block websites that contain copyrighted work without the owner’s consent. In addition, she conducted litigation before the Irish courts relating to screen scraping, a method for extracting data from websites.

Daly will also be involved in patent litigation at Pinsent Masons. Following the departure of patent partner Ann Henry to Bird & Bird last July, Pinsent Masons’ Dublin office had no official patent partners. Legal director Karen Gallagher led the team in the interim.

Strong in life sciences

Pinsent Masons is particularly visible in the life sciences sector, where it has concentrated the majority of its recent hires. Maureen Daly, who has a science degree in biochemistry, also fits into this strategy.  Recently the firm bolstered the team with life sciences transactional lawyer Michael Stewart, who joined the Dublin office from an in-house position at Novartis.

Head of Pinsent Masons’ Dublin office, Ann Lalor, says, “Maureen is a market leader in IP and data, and one of very few IP litigators in Ireland with a science degree and patent litigation experience. Having worked with many of the world’s biggest domestic and global brands, Maureen’s outstanding reputation and expertise means she has the right skills and experience to lead our busy IP team.”

Besides Daly and legal director Karen Gallagher, another partner and two associates in the Dublin office also advise on patent matters. Furthermore, seven of the firm’s London-based partners are also Irish-qualified, with each partner working in Dublin once a month. In total, the IP team in the Irish capital has twelve qualified lawyers for IP matters.

Entry point for the UPC

The firm has been actively growing its Dublin team over the past few years, particularly with regard to the UPC. Pinsent Masons’ head of IP and life sciences, Clare Tunstall, says, “Dublin is a key growth jurisdiction for Pinsent Masons. Our ambition is to develop a multi-partner team able to support clients from across the technology, science and industry sector. Since its inception five years ago, patents have been a key part of our Irish IP practice and we expect that to continue in light of the UPC.”

Ireland has not yet ratified the UPCA. Since some judicial powers will have to be transferred to the UPC, Ireland is legally required to hold a referendum on ratification.

Earlier this year the Irish government announced it would include the UPC question in another referendum on gender equality planned for November. According to national newspaper the Irish Examiner, it now seems the government has postponed the referendum until the local and European elections in June 2024.