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VIEW ALLLegal 500 2024Alex Watt is particularly adept at combining traditional worlds such as art and advertising with the technological breakthroughs generated by new technologies such as NFTs.
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Alex Watt is an experienced intellectual property lawyer who specialises in commercial transactions that have intellectual property, often brands and their growth, at their heart.
Alex is a Partner whose practice tends to involve commercial legal work in IP-centric businesses, such as licensing, gaming, egaming, franchising and publishing. He is also known for his work within the art world, within which he advises galleries, auction houses and the artists themselves.
He has a deep knowledge of advertising and marketing and he leads the firm's advertising & marketing practice, providing advice to both agencies and brands directly. Recently such work has included increasing amounts of affiliate marketing and work a lot of work with influencers, and influencer agencies – as well as promotional advice, drafting ISBA compliant agency agreements, production agreements, sponsorship agreements, and advice more generally on ASA complaints and compliance.
His work is often international and until recently he was the National Representative for the United Kingdom within AIJA, an international network of lawyers with over 4000 members from 90 jurisdictions.
Alex has worked on secondment in-house a number of times, working closely with Universal Pictures, the Telegraph Media Group and the BBC, so he has a good understanding of what in-house lawyers expect and how they prefer to work.
Alex has won significant acclaim for his expertise in legal rankings. He is “recommended for transactional trade mark work and advertising and marketing deals” by Legal 500 2021. He was recently praised by clients within World Trademark Review's WTR 1000 for 2024, who say “He understands the full picture in relation to any issue that arises and can identify the optimum solution for his client. His depth of experience of commercial law issues, regulatory issues such as advertising, and his ability to handle early-stage disputes make him the perfect person to work with.”
- Advising on a brand development and licence agreement with a major UK supermarket that has become one of the UK's most successful vegan brands.
- Drafting the terms and conditions for a platform upon which cryptographic assets of various types will be bought and sold.
- Advising on a multi-million pound international brand and product launch and talent / influencer agreement.
- Advising on a racing sponsorship deal for the promotion and sponsorship of a race series, at the same time as providing engines for that race series, the two agreements work together.
- Advising on the development of a new in-house advertising agency services agreement, media-buying agreement and print-procurement agreement for a major UK retail brand.
- Advising on the standard terms and conditions of a well-known and fast-growing affiliate marketing website.
- Advising on the clearance of a broadcast advert and related adverts, through Clearcast in a prompt and commercially-minded manner.
- Advising on the negotiation of a software development agreement on an agile basis and within a very short time-frame.
- “He understands the full picture in relation to any issue that arises and can identify the optimum solution for his client. His depth of experience of commercial law issues, regulatory issues such as advertising, and his ability to handle early-stage disputes make him the perfect person to work with.” World Trademark Review 1000 2024
- Recommended lawyer for transactions, World Trademark Review 1000 2024
- "Alex Watt is an exceptional lawyer. He has transformed the team, which is renowned across the art and IP worlds." Legal 500 UK 2024
- Listed as Key Lawyer, Corporate and commercial: commercial contracts, Legal 500 UK 2023
- Listed as Key Lawyer, Industry focus: Hospitality and leisure, Legal 500 UK 2023
- Listed as Key Lawyer, Private client: Art and cultural property, Legal 500 UK 2023
- Listed as Key Lawyer, TMT (technology, media and telecoms): Media and entertainment (including media finance), Legal 500 UK 2022
- Recommended for transactions and said that clients reported he was "solutions focused, responsive, pragmatic and knows the market". World Trademark Review 2021
- "Alex Watt is extremely switched on and entrepreneurial in his approach. He takes time to fully understand the client’s needs and goals, questioning instructions to ensure the best possible outcome for the client." Legal 500 2021
Alex is passionate about art, architecture, design and music.
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