Dr Tim Sampson

Tim is regularly instructed in a broad range of commercial disputes spanning the full spectrum of contractual, business and financial disputes with particular expertise in construction disputes, all types of intellectual property and data protection matters – before the High Court or in arbitrations under AAA and LCIA rules.

Tim is known for his sharp and commercial acumen, he is valued by clients for providing clear and strategic advice. He has a formidable courtroom presence and is noted for his incisive cross-examination and persuasive advocacy both written and oral.

In addition, Tim lectures and writes on all his specialist areas of legal practice and for a number of years taught on professional training courses run by BPP University, as well as providing Expert content for LexisNexis. He is also the current editor of Chapter 14 (Appeals) of CITMA’s EU Trade Mark Handbook.

Out of Chambers, Tim can be found on the ski slopes or cooking up a storm in his kitchen or on the bbq. He also enjoys rowing, having rowed for his college first VIII at Durham and May and Lent VIIIs Cambridge and raced at HRR a number of times, climbing and classical music.

Commercial Disputes and Regulatory

Tim acts in a very wide variety commercial cases, with particular expertise in disputes including claims for breach of contract, bank development loan repayment, insolvency matters, debt recovery and third-party guarantee enforcement proceedings, breaches of environmental regulations and claims under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 – in particular in relation to caravan sales / pitch agreements. He has considerable experience in relation to recovering monies paid by investors into sham ‘collective investment schemes’ for building plots / allotments and subject to regulation under s.235 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.

Construction and Technology

Tim regularly acts in complex construction disputes often with significant technical or expert evidential issues – including adjudications (both under the Scheme for Construction Adjudications and ad hoc rules) and High Court TCC enforcement proceedings, as well as leading in recent appeals to the Court of Appeal. He also advises in respect of such claims and related matters such as dilapidations. Tim also has substantial experience in relation to domestic building disputes, with a particular emphasis on dealing with such cases through mediation or other forms of ADR.

Intellectual Property, Defamation and Data Protection

Tim has a successful intellectual property practice including copyright, patents, design rights / registered deigns and trademarks / passing. As well as acting in defamation (including claims for malicious falsehood) and data protection claims. He is instructed in all aspects of contentious and non-contentious UK and European intellectual property law and data protection regulation and regularly represents clients in the Trade Marks Office, Chancery Division of the High Court, and IPEC on such matters, as well as conducting international arbitration claims under both AAA and LCIA rules. He was also instructed in both the CA and the Supreme Court in its seminal judgment on accessory liability and accounts of profit in Ahmed v Lifestyle.

Qualifications

Durham University – Bsc (Hons) Molecular Biology and Biochemistry
University of Cambridge PhD in Biochemistry

Languages

Basic Spanish

Memberships

Called to the Bar at Lincoln’s Inn (March 2000)
Society of Construction Law
Chancery Bar Association

“Thanks for recommending Dr Tim, he prepared some wonderful particulars in a construction dispute and a nice guy too!”

Instructing Solicitor

Intellectual Property

Tim has been instructed in IPR cases before the Chancery Division of the High Court, the Intellectual Property and Enterprise Court (IPEC), as well as representing clients before the UK Trade Mark Office, the EUIPO / EPO and CJEU. Tim also lectured in IP law on Cambridge University’s Masters in Bioscience Enterprise MPhil course for 5 years.

Recent and Reported Cases

Trade Marks & Passing Off

Lifestyle Equities CV v Ahmed & Ahmed

Supreme Court

[2024] UKSC 17; [2025] A.C. 1; [2024] 2 W.L.R. 1297; [2024] E.T.M.R. 32; [2024] Bus. L.R. 1438; [2024] R.P.C. 14.: Tim (led by Peter Knox KC and Laurent Sykes KC) successfully represented the Ahmeds in their appeal to the Supreme Court. The Court had to consider whether the liability of directors and senior employees alleged to be joint tortfeasors in respect of a strict liability tort (such as trademark infringement) was also a matter of strict liability, irrespective of the state of knowledge of the defendants. The SC held that liability was not strict – rather the test for ‘accessory liability’ required knowledge of all the facts that gave rise to the primary tort. Further to that issue, the SC also held that there was no joint and several liability as between defendants in respect of a claim for an account of profits and that genuinely earned directors’ salaries were not required to be accounted for when taking an account of profit.

Court of Appeal

[2021] EWCA Civ 625; [2021] F.S.R. 31; [2021] Bus. L.R. 1020: Tim (led by Peter Knox KC) acted for the director Defendants in respect of a claim to make them liable as joint tortfeasors for the established acts of corporate trade mark infringement and then for an account of profits against them including making them liable on a joint and several basis for the unpaid account levied against the corporate defendants. The case raised important points of law in respect of the liability of directors as joint tortfeasors, where their company has been held liable for a strict liability tort (trade mark infringement) and whether, when taking such account, the directors and company are jointly or severally liable for the sums to be accounted and then even if the directors are liable as joint tortfeasors whether their past salaries can be recovered against them as part of that account of profits. The case was appealed to the Supreme Court.

The Ritz Hotel (London) Ltd v Ritz Apartments Ltd (Claim IP-2022-000010 (IPEC)) Tim was instructed on behalf of the Defendant in respect of claims of ss.10(1) and 10(3) Trade Mark Act 1994 infringements of various “Ritz” trademarks owned by the Claimant. The claims were settled prior to trial.

Asian Business Publications Ltd v British Asian Achievers Awards Ltd [2019] EWHC 1094 (IPEC) – Tim acted for the defendant in respect of a claim for passing off where it was alleged that the addition of the word “British” to name of the defendant’s awards event did not sufficiently distinguish it from an awards event operated by the Claimant, so as to avoid a misrepresentation arising sufficient to support a claim in passing off.

Grenade (UK) Ltd v Grenade Energy Ltd & Anr [2016] EWHC 877 (IPEC) – represented the Defendants at the Claimant’s application for summary judgment for passing off & trade mark infringement

Sun Mark Ltd and Bulldog Energy Drink Ltd v Red Bull GmbH – (Case C-206/15 P: 2015) -represented the applicants in their application for permission to appeal to the CJEU in circumstances where the applicants had not taken part in proceedings before the General Court in respect of trade mark Opposition proceedings that has be resisted to that point in time by OHIM.

Weight Watchers Ltd & Others v Love Bites & Others [2012] EWPCC 11, [2012] E.T.M.R. 27: represented the Defendants in respect of allegations of trade mark infringement where the PCC (now the IPEC) exercised its power to give a preliminary non-binding judgment in a trade mark case for the first time.

Sun Mark v Red Bull – 2011 – instructed by Sun Mark on three related cases in involving Sun Marks’ trade mark disputes with Red Bull GmBH. (a) judicial review proceedings brought against the UKIPO and Red Bull as an interested party alleging that the UKIPO had improperly granted trade marks to Red Bull that had been applied for in bad faith bad faith (led by Aidan Robertson QC) (b) Drafting amended grounds of appeal and appeal skeleton in respect of the ruling of Arnold J. in Claim No. HC10 CO173 finding Sun Mark had infringed certain Red Bull trade marks (led by John Baldwin QC) and (c) trade mark office proceedings for the revocation of two Red Bull trade marks (No. 790389 & 824548) – all three claims were eventually compromised.

UKIPO – Trade Marks

“ISLAM CHANNEL” – acted for the applicant in respect of the UK Trade Mark Office’s refusal, under s.3(1)(b) and (c) of the TM Act, to grant a trade mark for Islam Channel (UK 00003119213 – (2016))

“PHYSIO SOLUTIONS / PHYSIOTHERAPY SOLUTIONS” – acted for the Opponent in its Opposition to the registration of “Physiotherapy Solutions”- OP 401540 – and the counterclaim for revocation – CA 500535 (2015)

“SAVE AN ORPHAN” (UK Trade Mark Opposition No.: 2628031 (2013)) – represented the Opponent in opposition proceedings in respect of the Save an Orphan trade mark.

Copyrights

Rinkoff v Baby Cow Productions Ltd. [2025] EWHC 39 (IPEC): Tim was instructed on behalf of the comedian Harry Rinkoff in respect of his claim that the defendant production company had infringed his dramatic work copyright rights in the format for a comedy series known as Shambles when producing its Live at the Moth Club (‘LATMC’) series. The Court determined that the claimed format was at too higher level of generalisation to be protected as a dramatic copyright work (not that formats could never protected as a copyright work) and that there was also no inference of copying in any event.

Munim v Rahman [2022] EWHC 2870 (Ch): Tim was instructed to deal with the copyright ownership / infringement claims in respect of the design of a trophy for the Asian Restaurant & Takeaway Awards, in circumstances where an ex-employee /consultant claimed copyright in the trophy as the sole creator of the artistic work.

Davies v Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (1986) Ltd [2019] EWHC 1252 (Ch): Tim acted for the Defendant in respect of his claims to have created the iconic wolf’s head design, now used by the football club, as a school boy in the 1960s. Consequently, he was the copyright owner of that work and that it has been unconsciously copied by graphic designers working for the club when creating the club’s team badge.

Database Rights and Data Protection

Raminder Ranger v House of Lords Appointments Commission [2015] EWHC 45 (QB); [2015] 1 WLR 4324 – representing Dr Ranger in his Part 8 claim against HOLAC for access under the Data Protection Act for access to letters held by the Commission that allegedly contained information pertaining to his application for membership of the House of Lords.

Executive Grapevine International Limited v Wall & Others [2012] EWHC 4152 (Ch); – Chancery Division of the High Court before Norris J.: represented the Claimant in its claim for infringement of database rights by an ex-employee who had stolen copies of the company’s marketing databases and sold them via e-Bay.

Patents

European Patent Office

Opposition to EP 1 021 120 B1 by HOOVER Ltd. (GB). – Acting for the opponent in oral opposition proceedings at the EPO in Munich.

Opposition to EP 1 161 405 by BIAGRO Inc. / Opposition to EP 743931 by MANDOPS (UK) Ltd. – joined cases heard before the EPO.