Q2 2021

23 | Q2 2021 May21590 Best IP Litigator & Appeals Specialist 2021: Ilya Kazi & Best Patent Law Specialists 2021. IK-IP is an award-winning firm which provides expert Intellectual Property advice that puts the client firmly at the centre. We speak to the firm’s founder and namesake, Ilya Kazi, about the secret to success. Based in London, IK-IP Ltd handles all aspects of Intellectual Property (IP), from patent and trademark filing to strategic advice, establishing freedom to operate, oppositions and, where necessary, litigation. The firm also assists in brokering or sale of IP or acquisitions and exits. Working with everything from start-ups to multinationals, IK-IP advises both buyers and sellers on high value acquisitions, so is well placed to advise SMEs on adding value via IP and making themselves attractive for acquisition or robust to defend their position as needed. Founder, Ilya Kazi, created an innovative law firm based on core values of integrity and service quality. He observed that there is a better and more efficient way to serve clients than the traditional model, namely to have genuine experts providing the strategic insight clients really need, even when they sometimes don’t realise it, in the subtle points that can grow into big issues. Using technology to cut the overhead that bogs down traditional firms, IK-IP also keeps down costs so clients get real value and pay for expertise, not back office and property. “Our basic principle is to act as if we were personally invested in our clients and focus on building their value while keeping our fees to the minimum,” Ilya explains. “Contrary to the strategy many firms have adopted of trying to maximise fees from each client, we try to minimise fees on each matter to what makes sense in commercial context and serve more happy clients as a result. These values have meant we have in a short space of time attracted numerous new prestigious clients and won awards.” Of late, IK-IP has been recognised by the FT as a Leading European Firm and the most recent accolade awarded by SME magazine is two-fold, including the titles of Best Patent Law Specialists 2021 as well as Best IP Litigator & Appeals Specialist 2021. “We are very grateful to have been given this award,” states Ilya. “Whether our clients are FTSE 100 companies or early-stage SME, our goal is to make them genuinely delighted to have found us as a trusted partner on their IP journey.” IK-IP predominantly works with forward-looking technology companies who want a genuine strategic approach to their IP, preferably with friendly and personable people and, so far, most of the firm’s clients have approached them based on personal recommendations. “We passionately do our best for clients and we get most satisfaction from working with clients who appreciate the difference in quality of work and service we offer. We differentiate ourselves because we don’t train juniors on client matters, but have genuine, hand-picked experts with real commercial insight as well as legal and technical knowledge.” Ilya strives to be diverse and inclusive in his recruitment, and states that above all else, attitude is paramount, with all team members being picked for their integrity, ability and genuine desire to do a great job and to fully understand the client’s commercial needs, always going the extra mile to find solutions. He doesn’t believe in internal hierarchies or additional pressures to upsell services and this flatter structure provides experts with a fairer share of reward, so there is never any intrinsic conflict of interest or motivation. “We have a policy that the work must be excellent, the price must be fair and within those constraints it is our responsibility to do what it takes to achieve that.” As with many companies, working operations and approaches had to be altered somewhat due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However Ilya and the team at IK-IP adapted well to the changes, including much of the firm’s contentious work and hearings now being conducted via video. In fact, Ilya believes the pandemic actually created opportunities for the firm, including the use of video to cut costs, time and reduce the company’s carbon footprint. “The shift to working from home with more short notice video access to advisors exposed the limitations of traditional pyramids,” he says. “Our experts are all genuine experts and are not simply taking credit for letters written by trainees - that genuine depth of knowledge and interest in the matter comes across clearly when you call your advisor at short notice.” With regards to the future, Ilya expects to increase the firm’s growth and to offer more services, more widely, to more people. He explains that IK-IP is currently developing its technology platform to be able to deal more efficiently with routine matters. In particular, they are just launching an app to provide both secure and efficient communication of sensitive information and give clients prompt updates on progress without cluttering inboxes or being open to cybersecurity issues. “Our vision is that all our interactions with clients will become optimally efficient and be at a high level, taking the minimum possible amount of their and our time. Our goal is to have technology curate matters so we can deliver precisely targeted doses of expert insight or advice or action for not much more than traditional firms have charged for sending a form letter on a procedural matter of little or no interest (which in our case is handled by technology).” Contact: Ilya Kazi Web Address: www.ik-ip.com IK-IP Ltd

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