Intellectual Property Disputes

Eileen is Managing Partner and head of the Commercial and Corporate Law Team at Gleeson McGrath Baldwin LLP. With over 20 years of practice with the Firm, Eileen has forged a reputation for strategic insight and an in-depth knowledge of commercial and corporate law with a specific focus on Intellectual Property.

Eileen has built enduring relationships with clients based on trust, integrity, and hard work. They value her pragmatic and hands-on approach to corporate transactions including reorganisations, disposals, and acquisitions across a broad range of sectors. She guides owner-managed and growing companies through various stages from startup, advising on corporate structures through investment, financing and growth. She also works across the entertainment industry with musicians, artists and content creators and various other stakeholders to develop, protect and monetise intellectual property, including sponsorship endorsements and brand protection.

Her notable work includes:

• Guiding the shareholders of a large privately owned educational institute through the stages of an M&A transaction from negotiating heads of terms, through the due diligence procedure and negotiating transaction documents
• Advising an Irish group of companies in the retail, development, and pharmacy sector on a large corporate reorganisation
• Advising an international leisure group on recent expansion, acquisitions, and financing including a €55 million share purchase
• Advising a large family-owned company on the scaling up of a transport and logistics and R&D company
• Advising an Approved Housing Body on governance, regulatory requirements and financing for social housing projects
• Advising a number of professional services companies on M&A transactions, including partial share sales and shareholder agreements
• Advising a family-owned company on a joint venture with an international PLC in the drinks and entertainment industry

Eileen is a registered European Trademark Attorney, a member of the EUIPO Mediation Centre Stakeholder Network, and for 2024/25 is Co-Chair of the International Bar Association’s IP and Entertainment Law Committee. She is also a member of the Dublin Solicitors Bar Association. Eileen has tutored in the Law Society on Intellectual Property Law and Company Law.

Outside of work, Eileen loves live music; she has been invited to speak at various arts and music-related conferences and regularly gives her time and expertise for free to assist various cultural organisations. She spent time on the Board of Dublin City FM, a special interest radio station, after managing its predecessor Anna Livia FM in her 20s. She can be seen running the country roads of Ireland participating in various running challenges followed always by a dip in the sea.

She brings this experience to her legal practice and has a truly interdisciplinary and unique approach, making her an invaluable asset to her clients.

Practice Areas:

• Intellectual Property Disputes

Sectors:

• Leisure, Hospitality & Retail
• Media, Entertainment & the Arts
• Closely Held & Growing Businesses
• Social Housing

Ciaran is a Partner who has a multi-disciplinary practice in the areas of Real Estate and Housing Dispute Resolution, Commercial & Media and Entertainment. He has been practicing since 2013 and holds Diplomas in Insurance Law and Sports Law, a Certificate in Commercial Transactions, and is a registered European Trademark Attorney.

Ciaran has extensive experience in residential and commercial conveyancing, banking and construction law and with a particular emphasis on social housing. He has acted for Approved Housing Bodies for 10 years in the acquisition and long-term leasing of social housing units and has a unique insight into the key legal, commercial and social issues around social and affordable housing and cost rental.

He has acted in the acquisition of both new and second-hand properties ranging from individual houses to large-scale multi-unit developments. He was the lead solicitor for an AHB in relation to the acquisition of the following developments:

• 85 Apartments at a derelict development in Dundalk
• 95 Apartments in County Cork
• 137 units and 110 connected units in Limerick
• 69 units in Castle Island on behalf of two AHBs working in conjunction

Ciaran has acted in the restructuring of group companies and the sale of companies for values between €1 million and €20 million, and he undertook all property due diligence on the sales. Ciaran was key advisor in the sale of a major Irish Brand to a US drinks brand, with ongoing royalty payments. He advised on title, planning, corporate governance, IP and drafted leases/licences.

Ciaran has represented a logistics company in the acquisition and disposal of industrial units nationwide. In representing a group of Irish Construction Companies for 8 years, Ciaran has advised consultants and developers on building agreements, collateral warranties and other sub-contract construction documents.

Ciaran has significant litigation experience at all Court levels including the Commercial and High Courts in insurance, commercial, IP, and general litigation. He has acted as a defence solicitor for one of the main insurers in the Irish Market for the last 10 years and is the lead defence solicitor for a major state-owned body.

Ciaran has acted in the defence of professional negligence claims in relation to the property matters and assisted major lending institutions to enforce their rights under mortgage and charge documents through the High Court.

On copyright, Ciaran acted on behalf of 12 co-defendants in High Court proceedings issued against a major artists, their international record labels and publishing companies.

On sports law, he provides legal advice to many sporting organisations including a League of Ireland Football club, on regulatory matters, child protections policies, property matters and their obligations in relation to player safety, health, and welfare. Ciaran has an in-depth knowledge and particular interest in case law in the areas of sports injuries suffered in schools, on the field of play and the liability issues for sporting organisations and schools.

He has represented international artists and bands on trademark and copyright matters including contentious High Court litigation which necessitated injunctions.

It’s hard to believe Ciaran has free time, but when he does, he can be found on golf courses at home and abroad and playing football.

Practice Areas:

• Commercial Litigation
• Commercial & Corporate
• Insolvency and Enforcement
• Real Estate
• Insurance Defence
• Intellectual Property
• Intellectual Property Disputes

Sectors:

• Media, Entertainment & the Arts
• Closely Held & Growing Businesses
• Social Housing

Tessa Robinson is a senior solicitor with more than 15 years’ experience in the legal profession, having qualified as a solicitor in 2016 following ten years of practice at the Bar of Ireland.

She works primarily in the Commercial and Corporate area, advising clients on a wide range of commercial and company law issues including scaling up businesses, reorganisations, and financing. She has particular expertise in mergers and acquisitions, commercial transactions, commercial lease drafting and negotiation, corporate reorganisations, financing transactions, and licensing matters. She also has experience in complex litigation, including appearances before the Commercial and Chancery Courts.

Tessa is a graduate of TCD and the King’s Inns. She is a member of the Law Society of Ireland and the Dublin Solicitors Bar Association, and has a Diploma from the Law Society in Technology and IP Law. She has provided advice on a volunteer basis at FLAC clinics. Her notable transactions/cases include:

• Acting for an international leisure group in the business acquisition and financing of a number of Irish hotels
• Representing European online travel agencies in ‘screenscraping’ and competition law litigation before the Irish High Court, including advising on database rights
• Commercial Court injunction regarding the transfer of a development site valued at €17m and the breach of an undertaking
• The sale and business transfer of a number of childcare services
• Acting for shopping centre landlords in relation to the lettings of their commercial units.

In her free time, Tessa enjoys cycling and in September 2024 she took part in the Paris2Nice charity cycle, raising €25,000 for Pieta House.

Practice Areas:

• Dispute Resolution
• Commercial & Corporate
• Insolvency and Enforcement
• Insurance Defence
• Intellectual Property
• Intellectual Property Disputes

Sectors:

• Leisure, Hospitality & Retail
• Media, Entertainment & the Arts
• Closely Held & Growing Businesses
• Social Housing

Alistair is a consultant solicitor to the firm and focuses solely on intellectual property law. Formerly the principal of IP boutique Acuatus and prior to that an IP partner at a large Irish corporate law firm and at a national Australian firm, he has more than 35 years’ international experience in the area.

He represents multinationals and SME’s across the full spectrum of contentious and non-contentious IP matters but with a particular focus on pharmaceutical patent litigation, trade mark and passing-off litigation, brand protection and domain name disputes. His experience includes:

• Representing various multinational pharmaceutical industry companies in numerous long running patent/SPC infringement and invalidity and trade mark infringement disputes in the High Court Commercial List and on appeal to the Court of Appeal;
• Acting for many years for various international brand owners in the alcoholic beverages and the non-alcoholic energy drink sector in brand protection disputes and High Court trade mark infringement litigation and advising on advertising and trade mark clearance and protection matters;
• Representing one of the leading Irish retailers in brand protection matters in Ireland, the UK and Europe, including brand clearance, trade mark watch, protection and infringement litigation and domain name dispute matters;
• Obtaining and renewing a High Court blocking injunction against ISP’s to prevent the infringement of a global rights owner’s IP in the sports industry;
• Acting for an international FMCG company operating in the dairy sector in its brand clearance and trade mark protection programme in Ireland and successfully on appeal in long running trade mark litigation ;
• Representing a multi-national pet food manufacturer in trade mark and design litigation in the Irish High Court and managing equivalent litigation on behalf of the client in the United States through to a successful global IP rights settlement;
• Acting for a young Irish computer game development company in creating and implementing a strategy for protecting the group’s IP assets internationally and in the negotiation of numerous commercial arrangements for game development in conjunction with the client’s US attorneys;
• Undertaking IP due diligence programmes in M&A transactions for a wide range of Irish, European, North American and Australian based companies in diverse sectors, including technology, telecoms, FMCG, financial and professional services.

Alistair is a past chair of the International Trademark Association’s Emerging Issues Committee, a longstanding domain name dispute resolution panelist with the World Intellectual Property Organisation and with the Czech Arbitration Court, a member of the French speaking Association des Praticiens du Droit des Marques et des Modèles (“APRAM”),of the Pharmaceutical Trade Mark Group (“PTMG”) and of the Intellectual Property and Data Protection Committee of the Law Society of Ireland.

He is admitted as a solicitor and is a registered Irish and European trade mark attorney. Also, admitted as a solicitor in England & Wales, New Zealand and in various Australian jurisdictions, he holds a BA/LLB from the University of Auckland and an LLM (Int. Prop.) from the University of London. In his spare time he follows baroque opera and art house cinema and enjoys gardening, tennis and sea swimming.

Practice Areas:

• Intellectual Property
• Intellectual Property Disputes

Sectors:

• Media, Entertainment & the Arts