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Robert Dickens

Associate

Email

robert.dickens@aoshearman.com

Phone

+44 20 3088 1586

Offices

London

V-CARD
Rob specialises in all areas of intellectual property litigation, including copyright, trade marks, designs and patents.

He has worked with clients across a range of sectors, including technology & media, food & beverage, consumer & retail, life sciences and financial services.

Rob has advised on the intellectual property issues arising from AI. He is a member of the firm’s AI group delivering strategic advice to clients on the safe deployment of generative AI.

Rob also has experience in transactional intellectual property and has spent time on client secondment to Google’s DeepMind and UBS.

Expertise

Experience

Pro bono

  • Working with Just for Kids Law to advise and advocate for young people who have been permanently excluded from school.
  • Working with Z2K to provide legal advice to Londoners experiencing complex benefits and housing issues that are causing financial hardship and crisis.
  • Advising C4RD, an arts charity in Highbury & Islington.
  • Working with REDRESS on raising awareness of and preventing LGBT+ violence and torture globally.
  • Advising Zaytoun, a community interest company which supports the livelihoods of Palestinian farmers, on trade mark matters.  
  • Working with Causeway Education on the firm's Smart Start scheme.
  • Working with Brightside Mentoring on the firm's Smarter Futures scheme.

Published Work

  • Robert Dickens (2021) 'Surprising UKIPO decision finds likelihood of confusion on the basis of non-distinctive and descriptive common element', World Trademark Review.
  • Robert Dickens, Beverley Potts (2022) 'Considering the IPO’s consultation on designs framework and its impacts', LexisNexis.
  • Mark Ridgway, James Gagen, Jill Ge, Robert Dickens (2023) 'The key to unlocking a successful trade secrets strategy', World Intellectual Property Review Insights.
  • Robert Dickens (2023) 'Indirect confusion: What is it good for?', European Intellectual Property Review 2023, 45(6), 344-346.
  • Robert Dickens, Beverley Potts (2023) ‘Real or fake? The IP risks of ‘synthetic’ media’, Managing IP.
  • Neville Cordell, Beverley Potts, Robert Dickens (2024) Ownership of AI-generated content in the UK, European Intellectual Property Review, 46(7), 470-478.
  • Robert Dickens (2024) ‘Crowd control caution’, CITMA Review.

Leadership Positions And Professional Affiliations

  • CITMA
  • AIPPI

Qualifications

Admissions

England and Wales, 2022

Academic

MA (Hons), Jurisprudence, University of Oxford, 2018 

LLM, Distinction, Commercial Legal Practice, BPP University, 2020

PGDip, Distinction, Intellectual Property Law and Practice, 2024 

Disclaimer
A&O Shearman was formed on May 1, 2024 by the combination of Shearman & Sterling LLP and Allen & Overy LLP and their respective affiliates (the legacy firms). Any matters referred to above may include matters undertaken by one or more of the legacy firms rather than A&O Shearman.