Annie Watts

Annie Watts is an Associate in Bird & Bird’s Intellectual Property team in London, focusing on Intellectual Property Law. She has particular experience working in copyright infringement and licensing disputes.

Having worked on a broad range of contentious and non-contentious IP matters for clients in industries including software, media & entertainment, energy & resources, and education, she now focuses primarily on contentious copyright and trade mark matters. These include disputes concerning trade mark infringement and passing off, as well as copyright infringement and copyright licensing, including statutory licences for the use of literary and artistic works, sound recordings and broadcasts. She has also regularly assisted clients in the entertainment and telecommunications industries with obtaining site-blocking injunctions where their copyright content has been illegally streamed.

She has a real interest in emerging technologies and how these can be properly exploited through the enforcement of IP rights, and is particularly curious about the intersection between generative AI and copyright law, having written various publications on the topic.

She is always looking to innovate and improve how the team supports and delivers services to clients, and takes pride in her client-friendly, collaborative approach.

She originally trained and practised as an IP solicitor in Sydney, Australia, at one of the “Big Six” law firms.