Introduction

Helyn is an experienced advocate specialising in all aspects of intellectual property law. She provides tactical, commercially grounded advice, not only to large corporations, including international brands, but also to small and medium size enterprises where the need to act quickly and effectively in relation to intellectual property issues is essential to establishing and maintaining a presence in the marketplace. She is a strategic thinker in this fast-moving area of law and is always sensitive to commercial imperatives as well as issues of reputation management, costs and enforcement.

Helyn joined 33 Bedford Row to enhance its existing civil and commercial capability and to lead its diversification from media and sports law into the wider intellectual property arena. 

She is a first port of call for her work: 

• appearing as an advocate and advising in relation to litigation in various courts and tribunals including the UKIPO, the High Court and the Court of Appeal
• advising clients in relation to IP protection, enforcement or defence
• advising on IP-related contract and commercial issues

Intellectual Property

Helyn’s intellectual property expertise includes EU and UK trade marks, passing off, copyright, registered and unregistered designs and breach of confidence. She has particular experience with clients in the fashion, lifestyle, consumer products, retail and manufacturing sectors, and her work has included such high-profile cases as Interflora v Marks & Spencer and Specsavers v Asda.

Commercial

Helyn has been instructed in a variety of civil and commercial cases including the following:

• Advising a global independent IT solutions company in relation to a hardware purchasing agreement and infringement.
• Acting for a filmmaker in a dispute relating to two feature films and conversion of filming equipment; obtained strike out and costs against representatives of claimant for acting without authority.
• Acting in claim for damages arising out of vehicle hire agreements.
• Advising defendant in claim relating to plant installations; circumvented exclusion clauses and raised breach counterclaims resulting in successful settlement.
• Representing diamond mining companies in obtaining Norwich Pharmacal and disclosure orders.
• Advising client in action for breach of contract and breach of implied warranties for sale of goods; successfully represented client on renewed application for leave to appeal.
• Advising on contract terms and defended technology college in an action brought by former employee.
• Acting as junior counsel for Japanese pharmaceutical company in significant ICC arbitration involving wrongful termination of contract and withdrawal.
• Acting  as junior counsel for warehousing and transport logistics company in joint venture and breach of confidence claim; successfully defended client and obtained final orders and costs.

Regulatory

Helyn's practice reflects her interest in the enforcement of intellectual property rights. Helyn is fully conversant with the bodies that enforce and protect IP from a public law perspective, and is available to advise and provide practical leadership to Local Authorities and Trading Standards in fulfilling statutory duties in relation to IP crime (counterfeiting and piracy).

Helyn has been appointed to two SFO-approved counsel lists, and sits on select regulatory panels, including on the Complaints Committee of the Independent Press Standards Organisation, the Strategic Governance Panel to Open Water (the new English non-household water retail market), and as chair of the Open Water General Data Protection Regulation Committee. 

Notable Cases

Trade Marks and Passing Off

• Advising a manufacturer and supplier of children’s science sets and kits in relation to rival kits and prevention of further sales to market.
• Acting as junior counsel for FMCG retailer in resisting appeal against first instance decision of non-infringement of trade mark.
• Acting for foodstuffs company at first instance and on appeal; successful on appeal against refusal of trade mark registration.
• Acting  for client engaged in an anaesthetic scavenging unit business; successfully resisted passing off (existence of goodwill) and bad faith (ownership of mark) in opposition proceedings brought by principal against territorial agent.
• Acting for music producer in trade mark revocation for non-use; successfully resisted application for procedural strike out at first instance and on appeal.
• Acting  for pharmaceutical company in trade mark opposition proceedings based on prior plant breeder’s right; successfully resisted opposition enabling registration.
• Acting for an American nostalgia brand in relation to an infringement case involving offensive parody and another involving similar signage and adoption of similar get-up.
• Acting for established luxury hotel and related companies in relation to recovery of domain names from cyber squatters; obtained summary judgment against defendants and transfer of domain ownership into name of client.
• Acting in case of general importance in relation to amendment to specifications and examination practice; ex-parte appeal to Appointed Person against Registrar decision; successful in reversing refusal of application and obtaining remittal for fresh hearing
• Acting for foreign principal at first instance and on appeal in claim against UK agent for unauthorised registration of proprietary trade mark; forced agent to relinquish and transfer registration.
• Acting for major American tobacco company on ex-parte appeal in UKIPO for refusal of mark on absolute grounds.
• Acting as junior counsel for international luxury brand in multi-million pound case involving trade mark infringement and counterfeiting operation
• Defending German footwear manufacturer against revocation proceedings for non-use; questions of genuine use and sufficiency raised; registration retained.
• Advising in relation to the protection of entertainment and merchandising brand ‘The Lone Ranger’.
• Advising on trade mark infringement and passing off in relation to unauthorised use of the name and logo of a globally established automotive company.
• Advising leading adult toy and recreation brand on enforcement of trade mark rights against multiple infringers via SEPs.
• Advising major telecommunications company in case involving UK and EU trade mark infringement based on alleged misstatements made during telephone sales.
• Acting for MBE recipient in claim against third party for misrepresentation of regional awards as commercially linked with pre-established award event, internationally televised and supported by persons such as HRH The Queen, Gordon Brown, Tony Blair and David Cameron.

Design

• Advising major high street fashion group in relation to infringement of A/W seasonal collection.
• Advising manufacturer of motorised golf caddies in relation to infringement of UK unregistered design rights; obtained judgment and costs.
• Obtaining judgment for luxury gentleman’s brand in relation to unauthorised importation of clothing into EEA; obtained 100% costs order.

Copyright

• Advising major telecommunications company in case involving infringement of rights in database and compilations.
• Advising in relation to vintage Celia Birtwell/ Alfred Radley garment and fabric designs and transfer of ownership and assets.
• Advising client in relation to copyright infringement and unauthorised use of the ‘Oyster’ brand and technology model in promotional campaigns.
• Advising in relation to revival of copyright for works by literary treasure.
• Advising in relation to Hed Kandi CD jacket illustrations.

Commercial

• Advising a global independent IT solutions company in relation to a hardware purchasing agreement and infringement.
• Acting for a filmmaker in a dispute relating to two feature films and conversion of filming equipment; obtained strike out and costs against representatives of claimant for acting without authority.
• Acting in claim for damages arising out of vehicle hire agreements.
• Advising defendant in claim relating to plant installations; circumvented exclusion clauses and raised breach counterclaims resulting in successful settlement.
• Representing diamond mining companies in obtaining Norwich Pharmacal and disclosure orders.
• Advising client in action for breach of contract and breach of implied warranties for sale of goods; successfully represented client on renewed application for leave to appeal.
• Advising on contract terms and defended technology college in an action brought by former employee.
• Acting as junior counsel for Japanese pharmaceutical company in significant ICC arbitration involving wrongful termination of contract and withdrawal.
• Acting  as junior counsel for warehousing and transport logistics company in joint venture and breach of confidence claim; successfully defended client and obtained final orders and costs.

Qualifications

LLB (Hons) 1st Class

BVC ICSL 

ICSL Postgraduate Diploma in Professional Legal Skills

Recent Clients

Helyn's clients have included a number of well-known domestic and international entities including the Arcadia Group, Burberry, Phones-4-U, Ritz Hotel, Hard Rock International, Standard Life, Laura Ashley, Ford, Ann Summers, Teva, John Adams, Cantor Index, Agence France-Presse, AXA, Sweaty Betty and Philips Van Heusen.

Testimonials

What others say about Helyn: 

“...advice was thoughtful and well-structured…”

“...quick and thorough and good with clients…”

“...Helyn knows her subject and gives advice in a commercial context…”

“...good client skills and built good rapport…”

“...I have total confidence in her and expect others will too…”

“...came at the issue from the client’s perspective and gave good value advice…”

“...a pleasure working with you…”

Appointments

SFO Panel Counsel List B panel

SFO Prosecution Panel Counsel List

Chair of the Open Water General Data Protection Regulation Committee 

Memberships

Intellectual Property Bar Association

Lincoln's Inn

Direct Access

Helyn is accredited to accept work under Direct access, also known as Public access, in suitable cases. In order to instruct Helyn on a Direct access basis, contact the clerks on +44 (0) 20 7242 6476 or at clerks@33bedfordrow.co.uk. 

Data Protection Notice

Helyn Mensah is a self-employed barrister in independent practice. During the course of providing legal services as a barrister, Helyn collects and uses personal information (personal information being any information about an individual from which that person can be identified).  She is the data controller in respect of this information for the purposes of the Data Protection Act 2018 and the General Data Protection Regulation ('GDPR').

33 Bedford Row is separate and has its own Data Protection Act 2018/GDPR 'Privacy Policy and Data Protection Statement', in respect to personal information collected, used and stored by or related to it. This covers personal information arising from, or related to, 33 Bedford Row providing services as a barristers chambers, as well as use of its website. This 'Privacy Policy and Data Protection Statement' sets out what information they obtain about you, why and how they use it.  This policy also sets out your rights.

Helyn has a retention of data policy (attached to this online profile) which sets out how long she retains personal information and the reasons why she adopts certain retention periods. A hard copy is available on request by contacting Helyn via the 33 Bedford Row clerks.

You can view 33 Bedford Row's 'Privacy Policy and Data Protection Statement' on 33 Bedford Row's website. Hard copies are available on request by contacting chambers directly.

Privacy Notice

Privacy Notice

Privacy Notice - General Data Protection Regulation – Helyn Mensah

Please read the following information carefully.

This privacy notice contains information about the information collected, stored and otherwise processed about you and the reasons for the processing. It also tells you who I share this information with, the security mechanisms I have put in place to protect your data and how to contact me in the event you need further information. 

Who Am I? 

Helyn Mensah is a barrister practising at 33 Bedford Row Chambers, 33 Bedford Row, London WC1R 4JH. I collect, use and am responsible for personal information about you (personal information being any information about an individual from which that person can be identified). When I do this I am the ‘controller’ of this information for the purposes of the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) and the Data Protection Act 2018. If you need to contact me about your data or the processing carried out you can use the contact details at the end of this document.

What do I do with your information?

Information collected

When carrying out the provision of legal services or otherwise providing services to you I collect personal information that you provide that includes, but is not limited to, the following:

(a)  personal details (including copies of documents such as passports and driving licences)

(b)  family details

(c)  lifestyle and social circumstances

(d)  goods and services

(e)  financial details

(f)  education, training and employment details

(g)  other personal data relevant to, or included in, instructions to provide legal services, including data specific to the instructions in question and data included in documents provided to me as part of instructions or otherwise.

In relation to (g) above, such information may include personal information relating to family members, associates, agents, employees, shareholders or beneficial owners.  Where you provide such personal information to me, you confirm that you are authorised to do so. It is not reasonably practicable for me to provide to these individuals the information set out in this Privacy Notice. Accordingly, where appropriate, you are responsible for providing this information to any such individuals.

Similarly, where you are a professional client and provide me with personal data relating to your client (including any information referenced in (f) above) you confirm that you are authorised to do so.

Information collected from other sources 

The personal information I obtain may include information which has been obtained from:

• other legal professionals
• other professional services providers (including consultants)
• experts and other witnesses
• prosecution authorities
• courts and tribunals
• trainee barristers
• lay clients
• family and associates of the person whose personal information I am processing
• in the event of complaints, the Head of Chambers, other members of Chambers who deal with complaints, the Bar Standards Board, and the Legal Ombudsman
• other regulatory authorities
• current, past or prospective employers
• education and examining bodies
• business associates, professional advisers and trade bodies, e.g. the Bar Council
• the general public in relation to the publication of legal judgments and decisions of courts and tribunals data processors, such as my Chambers staff, IT support staff, email providers, data storage providers
• public sources, such as the press, public registers and law reports.

In particular, I may collect information from a solicitor or consultant or other professional adviser that instructs me on your behalf to provide legal services.

How I use your personal information

Purposes: I may use your personal information for the following purposes:

1. to provide legal services to my clients, including the provision of legal advice and representation in courts, tribunals, arbitrations, and mediations
2. to keep accounting records and carry out office administration
3. to take or defend legal or regulatory proceedings or to exercise a lien
4. to respond to potential complaints or make complaints
5. to check for potential conflicts of interest in relation to future potential cases
6. to promote and market my services
7. to carry out anti-money laundering and terrorist financing checks
8. to train other barristers and  pupils, and when providing work-shadowing opportunities
9. to publish legal judgments and decisions of courts and tribunals
10. as required or permitted by law.

Whether information has to be provided by you and why

If I have been instructed by you or on your behalf on a case, your personal information has to be provided to enable me to provide legal services to you, to enable me to comply with my professional obligations and to keep accounting records. If you do not provide the personal information requested, it may delay or prevent me providing services to you.

What is the legal basis for processing your personal information?

I rely on the following as the lawful bases on which I collect and use your personal information:

• If you have consented to the processing of your personal information, then I may process your information for the purposes set out above to the extent to which you have consented to me doing so.
• If you are a client, processing is necessary for the performance of a contract for legal services or in order to take steps at your request prior to entering into a contract.
• In relation to information which is regarded as “special category data” for GDPR purposes which includes personal information revealing a person’s racial or ethnic origin, religious or philosophical beliefs or data concerning age I rely on your consent for any processing for the purposes set out in purposes (ii), (iv), (vi) and (viii) above. I need your consent to carry out processing of this data for these purposes. However, if you do not consent to processing for purposes (iv) (responding to potential complaints) I will be unable to take your case. This is because I need to be able to retain all the material about your case until there is no prospect of a complaint.
• In relation to information regarded as “special category data” for GDPR purposes I am entitled by law to process the information where the processing is necessary for legal proceedings, legal advice, or otherwise for establishing, exercising or defending legal rights.
• In relation to information which is not regarded as “special category data” for GDPR purposes, I rely on my legitimate interest and/or the legitimate interests of a third party in carrying out the processing for the purposes set out above.
• In certain circumstances processing may be necessary in order that I can comply with a legal obligation to which I am subject (including carrying out anti-money laundering or terrorist financing checks).
• The processing is necessary to publish judgments or other decisions of courts or tribunals.

Where I rely on legitimate interests as a lawful basis for processing your personal information, I will carry out a balancing test by reference to your interests and fundamental rights and freedoms. I will only use your personal information for the purposes for which I collected it, unless I reasonably consider I need to use if for another reason and that reason is compatible with the original purpose.

Who will I share your personal information with?

If you are a client, some of the information you provide will be protected by legal professional privilege unless and until the information becomes public in the course of any proceedings or otherwise. As a barrister I have an obligation to keep your information confidential, except where it otherwise becomes public or is disclosed as part of the case or proceedings.

It may be necessary to share your information with the following:

• other professional advisers such as other legal professionals and consultants
• experts and other witnesses
• prosecution authorities
• courts and tribunals
• the staff in my Chambers
• pupils
• lay clients
• family and associates of the person whose personal information I am processing
• in the event of complaints, the Head of Chambers, other members of Chambers who deal with complaints, the Bar Standards Board, and the Legal Ombudsman
• other regulatory authorities
• current, past or prospective employers
• education and examining bodies
• business associates, professional advisers and trade bodies, e.g. the Bar Council
• professional indemnity insurers or brokers
• the general public in relation to the publication of legal judgments and decisions of courts and tribunals

If you have engaged other professional advisers to instruct me on your behalf on the matters on which I am providing legal services to you, I shall assume that I may disclose your personal information to them unless you tell me otherwise.

Other People

I may be required to provide your information to regulators, such as the Bar Standards Board, the Financial Conduct Authority or the Information Commissioner’s Office. In the case of the Information Commissioner’s Office, there is a risk that your information may lawfully be disclosed by them for the purpose of any other civil or criminal proceedings, without my consent or yours, which includes privileged information.

I may also be required to disclose your information to the police or intelligence services, where, acting in good faith, I consider it required or permitted by law. 

Data Processing

I use a number of different service providers (acting as ‘data processors’) who provide administration and  IT-related services to enable me to operate my business and provide services to clients. Your personal information is transferred to (and stored by) these data processors, who generally fall under the following categories:

• My Chambers
• Document and data storage service providers
• Practice Management Service providers
• IT service providers (which may include cloud-based storage providers)
• Accounting service providers
• Email providers

Please contact me using the details at the end of this document if you want further information on specific data processors or the types of personal data they process for me.  Further information in relation to the systems operated by Chambers in acting as a data processor for me can be obtained from the Senior Clerk.

Transfer of your information outside the European Economic Area (EEA)

This privacy notice is of general application and as such it is not possible to state whether it will be necessary to transfer your information out of the EEA in any particular case. However, if you reside outside the EEA or your case involves persons or organisations or courts and tribunals outside the EEA then it may be necessary to transfer some of your data to that country outside of the EEA for that purpose.

If you are in a country outside the EEA or if the instructions you provide come from outside the EEA then it is inevitable that information will be transferred to those countries. If this applies to you and you wish additional precautions to be taken in respect of your information please indicate this when providing initial instructions.

Some countries and organisations outside the EEA have been assessed by the European Commission and their data protection laws and procedures found to show adequate protection. The list can be found on its website. Most do not.

If your information has to be transferred outside the EEA, then it may not have the same protections and you may not have the same rights as you would within the EEA.

I may transfer your personal information to the following which are located outside the European Economic Area (EEA):

• cloud data storage services based in the USA who have agreed to comply with the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield, in order to enable me to store your data and/or backup copies of your data so that I may access your data when they need to. The USA does not have the same data protection laws as the EU but the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield has been recognised by the European Commission as providing adequate protection. To obtain further details of that protection see here, or
• cloud data storage services based in Switzerland, in order to enable me to store your data and/or backup copies of your data so that I may access your data when I need to. Switzerland does not have the same data protection laws as the EU but has been recognised by the European Commission as providing adequate protection. To obtain further details, see here.

If I decide to publish a judgment or other decision of a Court or Tribunal containing your information then this will be published to the world. 

I will not otherwise transfer personal information outside the EEA except as necessary for providing legal services or for any legal proceedings.

How long will I store your personal data? 

A retention of data policy is attached to this online profile which sets out how long I retain personal information and the reasons why I adopt certain retention periods. A hard copy of this policy is available on request by contacting Helyn via the 33 Bedford Row clerks.

Consent

As explained above, I am relying on your explicit consent to process any of your personal information that is “sensitive information” for GDPR purposes.  You provided this consent when you agreed that I would provide legal services. In addition, there may be other circumstances in which I rely on your explicit consent to process other personal information. Where the lawful basis on which I can process your personal information is consent, you have the right to withdraw this consent at any time. If you withdraw you consent this will not affect the lawfulness of any processing activity I have carried out prior to you notifying me of the withdrawal of your consent. Further, withdrawal of your consent will not affect the lawfulness of processing on any other applicable lawful basis (for example, if you have asked me to work for you and I have spent time on your case, you may owe me money which I will be entitled to claim). To withdraw consent, you should notify me by contacting me as set out at the end of this document.

Your rights 

Under the GDPR, you have a number of rights that you can exercise in certain circumstances. These are free of charge. In summary, you may have the right to:

1. Ask for access to your personal information and other supplementary information;
2. Ask for correction of mistakes in your data or to complete missing information I hold on you;
3. Ask for your personal information to be erased, in certain circumstances (though please note that I may not always be able to comply with your request of erasure for specific legal reasons which will be notified to you, if applicable, at the time of your request).
4. Receive a copy of the personal information you have provided to me or have this information sent to a third party (note this applies to certain data only). This will be provided to you or the third party in a structured, commonly used and machine readable format,
5. Object at any time to processing of your personal information for direct marketing; object in certain other situations to the continued processing of your personal information;
6. Restrict my processing of your personal information in certain circumstances;
7. Request not to be the subject to automated decision-making which produces legal effects that concern you or affects you in a significant way. If you want more information about your rights under the GDPR please see the Guidance from the Information Commissioners Office on Individual's rights under the GDPR.

If you want to exercise any of these rights, please contact me  using the contact details at the end of this document. Please provide a contact address so that you can be contacted to request further information to verify your identity and in addition:

• Provide proof of your identity and address;
• State the right or rights that you wish to exercise. I may also need to ask you to provide other information to help me confirm your identity. This is a security measure to ensure that personal information is not disclosed to any person who has no right to receive it. I will try to respond to all legitimate requests quickly, but in any event within one month. If your request is particularly complex or you have made a number of requests, it may take me longer than one month. In this case, I will notify you and keep you updated.

Keeping your data secure

I use reasonable technical and organisational security measures to prevent personal information from being accidentally lost or destroyed, or used or accessed in an unauthorised way. In this connection, Chambers, as data processor, acting on my behalf, will only process your personal data on my instructions and are subject to a duty of confidentiality.

Marketing

As above, I may share your personal data with Chambers who may in turn use that data to notify you by email, telephone or post about invitation to seminars and similar events. You may opt out of receiving any such marketing communications at any time by using the “unsubscribe” link in any emails. In relation to how Chambers uses such data, please see Chambers’ privacy policy. Other than sharing personal data with Chambers as described above, I will not share your information with any other third party for marketing purposes.

How to make a complaint?

You may contact me or my Chambers via the contact details given below. The GDPR also gives you the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioners’ Office if you are in the UK, or with the supervisory authority of the Member State where you work, normally live or where the alleged infringement of data protection laws occurred. The Information Commissioner’s Office can be contacted at http://ico.org.uk/concerns/. 

Future processing

I do not intend to process your personal information except for the reasons and purposes stated within this privacy notice. If this changes, this privacy notice will be amended and placed on Chambers website. 

Changes to this privacy notice 

This privacy notice was last updated on 30 December 2019. I may change this policy from time to time. When I do it will be placed on Chambers website. 

Contact details

If you have any questions about this privacy notice or the information I hold about you, please contact me or my clerks.  The best way to contact me is to contact my clerks by email at clerks@33bedfordrow.co.uk or by telephone at +44 (0) 20 7242 6476. You may also contact me by post at 33 Bedford Row, London WC1R 4JH, marking the envelope and letter as a ‘data protection [query or complaint] for the attention of Helyn Mensah’.

Transparency Information

Helyn Mensah is regulated by the Bar Standards Board (BSB). She is authorised to practise in England and Wales and her registration entry can be found on the BSB's Barrister Register by searching here.

The Legal Ombudsman's decision data website can be found online here.

Professional, licensed access and/or lay clients may contact Helyn, through the 33 Bedford Row clerks, to obtain a quotation for legal services. Contact details are:

Email        |  clerks@33bedfordrow.co.uk

Tel            |  0207 242 6476

Address   |  33 Bedford Row Chambers, 33 Bedford Row, London, WC1R 4JH

Helyn’s most commonly used pricing models, are:

1. for specific hearings - a fixed fee; 
2. for other work - hourly rates.

The areas of practice in which she most commonly provides legal services are disputes involving:

1. EU and UK trade marks
2. Passing off
3. Copyright
4. Registered and unregistered designs
5. Breach of confidence
6. Contracts
7. Regulatory

Her most commonly provided legal services are:

1. Representation in court;
2. Advising in conference; and
3. Drafting - letters, statements of case, statements, court applications, etc.

The factors which might influence the timescales for her most commonly provided legal services:

1. complexity of the task;
2. availability of all the documentation;
3. availability of additional information from the client; and
4. amount of papers that need to be read.

A website called Legal Choices is run by the frontline legal regulators. It can be a good source of information for those looking to instruct a lawyer.

Helyn has professional indemnity insurance cover for all the legal services she supplies to the public and businesses. She is also registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) under no. ZA087167.