Anna Carboni

Practice Overview

Anna has over twenty years of experience as an intellectual property lawyer. She started out as a solicitor at a ‘magic circle' law firm in London, becoming a partner in 1996, and then transferred to the Bar in 2003.

Anna's practice spans the full range of intellectual property and information technology law. She litigates disputes and advises on issues concerning trade marks, copyright, designs, patents, database rights, domain names, computer contracts, data protection, comparative advertising, confidential information, and privacy law. She represents clients before the UK and European Community Intellectual Property Offices as well as in the Courts.

Alongside her client work, Anna sits as an ‘Appointed Person', hearing appeals from the UK Trade Marks Registry; and she determines domain name disputes, as a member of Nominet's panel of ‘experts'. She is also frequently instructed as an independent Mediator, having been accredited by CEDR in 2004.

Professional Reputation

Anna has been named as an expert in several specialist legal directories, such as Legal Business's Legal Experts guides, for many years.

The Legal 500, 2009 states that "Anna Carboni is widely commended for her ‘excellent subject knowledge and amazing drafting of very knotty issues. She has impressive commercial and legal acumen‘."

Chambers and Partners, 2010 comments that clients find Anna's opinions "robust, well informed and based on a sound and clear analysis of the issues". The previous edition described her as "great at seeing the commercial angle" and "highly user-friendly".

Qualifications

• Natural Sciences, MA(Cantab) - Girton College, Cambridge (1981-84)
• Common Professional Examination and Law Society Finals - College of Law, London (1985-86)
• Admitted as Solicitor (1988)
• Solicitor Advocate (2000)
• Called to the Bar (2003)

Appointments

• ‘Appointed Person' under the Trade Marks Act 1994 (2007 to date)
• Member of INTA's Panel of Neutrals (2006 to date)
• Member of Panel of Experts for Nominet UK's domain name dispute resolution service (2004 to date)

Memberships

• INTA - Vice Chair of the International Amicus Committee (2010/11)
• TIPLO - Committee member
• AIPPI, ITMA, CIPA, PTMG
• Chancery Bar Association

Publications

Anna regularly appears on speaker panels at intellectual property conferences, giving talks on a wide range of subjects. She has also contributed to numerous publications, including the following:

• The Community Designs Handbook, Thomson Sweet & Maxwell - Chapter 15: "Overlap with Trade Marks" (updated Sept 2009)
• "Getting to grips with bad faith and public morality" ITMA Review, issue no. 357, July/August 2008
• "Design Validity and Infringement: Feel the Difference" [2008] EIPR 111
• "The potential for ADR and mediation in IP and IT" (co-author, Alan Bryson), ITMA Review, issue no. 351, December 2007
• Trade Mark Use, edited by Professor Jeremy Phillips and Ilanah Simon, OUP - Chapter 5: "Distinctive Character Acquired Through Use: Establishing the Facts", March 2005