UK IP firms AA Thornton and Venner Shipley have announced they are joining forces from 1 December.

All of the partners and people of AA Thornton, which has bases in London and Alicante, will be moving to Venner Shipley, which has five locations in the UK and an office in Munich.

The combined firm will total 230 people, including 46 partners, and operate under the Venner Shipley name.

Adrian Bennett, managing partner at AA Thornton, commented: “We are delighted to join Venner Shipley. Together, we will be able to offer a rich talent pool and further resources to our clients, while maintaining the high levels of personal service that they expect from us.”

The firm will operate from six UK offices, as well as through pan-European operations in Germany and Spain, to provide a full IP service of patent, trademark, design, copyright, litigation and licensing services. 

Siân Gill, Venner Shipley’s managing partner, said: “Our shared values and complementary strengths will allow us to continue growing in a highly competitive market.”

Speaking to the Global Legal Post about the impetus behind the merger, Gill said that AA Thornton is known for its trademark practice, particularly in the fashion and retail sector, while Venner has a large team of patent attorneys. It has filed more AI-focused patent applications “than any other team in Europe”, she said. 

The combination between the two firms “ensures we remain at the forefront of IP law, providing the resources and expertise to support clients across all sectors”, Gill added. 

The new Unified Patent Court (UPC) was also an important consideration. Gill noted that both firms had work ongoing before the UPC and “the more experience you can get in a fledgling court like that the better”.

According to Gill, the UK and Germany were becoming increasingly important jurisdictions. Germany hosts four local divisions of the UPC and one of the seats of the central division is based in Munich, and Venner Shipley was seeing a growing demand for filing German patent applications, utility models and advice on litigation and freedom-to-operate matters from a German perspective.

Despite the UK being outside the system, UK firms were involved in many cases at the UPC, she added. “We have half a dozen matters either pending or in the pipeline before the UPC which is really encouraging.”