Marks & Clerk reflects on its first year at Sciontec AI and sets out its Liverpool City Region focused plans for 2024.
Marks & Clerk, a leading global intellectual property firm, has become an integral part of the Sciontec AI business community over the past 12 months, having moved into Sciontec Development Limited (Sciontec)’s all-inclusive workspace, in The Spine at Paddington Village, in early 2023.
With 15 offices across three continents, Marks & Clerk’s Liverpool city centre workspace acts as a base for a team of local patent attorneys, trade mark attorneys, commercial lawyers and IP litigators, who specialise in supporting the region’s health and life sciences, advanced materials and manufacturing, cleantech, and digital and creative sectors.
The move into Sciontec AI workspace also marked the firm’s first venture within the Knowledge Quarter Liverpool (KQ Liverpool) innovation district, enabling Marks & Clerk to become embedded within the thriving business ecosystem and enhance their own growth prospects.
Anis Naidu, Senior Associate, Chartered UK and European Patent Attorney for Marks & Clerk LLP, said:
“We have a strong history of supporting north west based start-ups to protect their new ideas, provide strategic intellectual property (IP) advice, and commercialise emerging technologies. We are now keen to better align our specialisms with the Liverpool City Region’s recognised sector strengths and overarching growth strategy.
“Our Liverpool Growth Team has quickly achieved this, having set down its roots in our Sciontec AI workspace last year, and is working hard to build trust and relationships within the surrounding innovation district.”
Marks & Clerk’s coworking presence at Sciontec AI in The Spine, one of Liverpool’s most unique buildings which is owned by Liverpool City Council, provides the IP firm with a convenient and well connected location from which it can take advantage of the high quality workspace, fantastic onsite facilities, and proximity to the neighbouring universities and knowledge assets.
As a result, Marks & Clerk joined KQ Liverpool’s KQ Startup programme as Expert Advisors, sharing their technical expertise and providing complimentary bespoke advice to early stage businesses and entrepreneurs. They also supported the 2023 and upcoming 2024 LCR Tech Climbers initiative as Commercial Partners, as well as exhibiting at the 2023 NanoMed Europe Conference as an official event partner.
Graeme Murray, Senior Associate, Chartered UK Trade Mark Attorney for Marks & Clerk LLP, said:
“Our base at The Spine during the past 12 months has significantly bolstered our presence in the Liverpool City Region and our ability to work with new clients and connections to support the flourishing community of start-ups in a wide range of sectors in the area.
“Our involvement with the recent LCR Tech Climbers initiatives has been greatly complemented by our ability to work and host guests within the fantastic Sciontec AI space in The Spine, and we look forward to another year here”.
Looking ahead, Marks & Clerk now aims to help a growing number of local companies to launch into international markets, as well as increasing their own exposure within the public domain.
Aimee Cawley, Partner, Chartered UK and European Patent Attorney at Marks & Clerk LLP, added:
“We are privileged to work with fantastic innovators in the Liverpool City Region, and have seen the level of R&D undertaken grow significantly in recent years. One of our objectives for this year is to increase awareness amongst KQ Liverpool based organisations as to how they can protect, enforce and maximise the value of their intellectual property, being there to support them on that journey.
“We have significant expertise – delivered by great people – that we want to share across the city region in workshops, seminars, clinics and the like; we want to be front and centre when it comes to IP in people’s minds.”