Leighton is a Partner and head of the trade mark and brand protection team at European law firm Fieldfisher.

Leighton advises clients in relation to their international intellectual property and commercial requirements across multiple sectors including energy and natural resources; financial institutions; hotels and leisure; retail; life sciences and healthcare; and technology, media and telecommunications.

He has over 15 years' domestic and international experience advising clients in relation to their IP and commercial requirements. This includes worldwide trade mark and design clearance, filing and prosecution; contentious registry proceedings including bringing and defending trade mark opposition, invalidity and revocation actions throughout the world; trade mark licensing, exploitation and commercialisation; settlement, co-existence agreements and dispute resolution, managing IP litigation internationally.

Leighton is an active committee member of the International Trademark Association (INTA) and sits on The Trademark Reporter committee. He regularly attends the INTA annual and INTA leadership meetings. He has spoken widely and commented and published articles in Licensing Executives Society (LES) NewsXchange; Intellectual Property Magazine; World Trademark Review; Managing Intellectual Property and World Intellectual Property Review and our own blog 'SnIPpets'.