About Me

I am head of Bird & Bird's London office and a partner in our Media, Entertainment and Sports team, focusing on litigating disputes relating to content and brands.

My team offers the full range of contentious IP and media law advice, handling complex trade mark and copyright infringement litigation, disputes relating to the dissemination of information (confidential, private, defamatory etc), as well as complaints to UK media regulators including the ASA, IPSO and Ofcom.

I sit on the Copyright and Technology Working Group of the British Copyright Council and am the editor of the International Comparative Legal Guide to Copyright. I appear regularly in the media discussing all aspects of media and IP law, and led the team that created our Digital Marketing App and our content platform, MediaWrites.
Cases
  • Sony Music & Warner Music v Tune-In (test-case on hyperlinking liability).
  • Take-Two Interactive & Rockstar Games v James & others (series of copyright infringement claims against computer modders).
  • Metropolitan International v Google (first UK case on search engine liability for defamatory search results).
  • Meltwater v Newspaper Licensing Agency (Copyright Tribunal on online news licensing + parallel High Court infringement action + CJEU reference).
  • P, Q & R v Quigley (first UK case to uphold right to privacy in false information).
  • BHA & others v PPL (Copyright Tribunal claim in relation to background music royalties).
  • Al Rajhi v Wall Street Journal (High Court & Court of Appeal, leading case on qualified privilege defence).
  • Kenexa v Alberg (breach of confidence claim with complex forensic issues)
  • JW Spear & Mattel v Zynga (Court of Appeal victory in relation to the iconic Scrabble brand).
Education

Studied

  • 1st in Law and French Law (University of Oxford and Universite de Pantheon-Assas)

Admissions

  • Law Society of England & Wales in 1999
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Testimonials

'The team led by Phil Sherrell is super-experienced in the copyright and licensing areas – both at analysing and advising on very technical commercial and legal issues, and also in strategising and leading us through complex disputes.'

Legal 500

'Phil Sherrell is a very knowledgeable expert in copyright and music licensing issues. He is user-friendly and inspires confidence. Phil is a true innovator in the delivery of legal services, devising creative solutions to provide his clients with the service they require and with cost structures that provide certainty and value-for-money.'

Legal 500

'The 'very approachable' Phil Sherrell impresses with his multifaceted and international digital media practice, and acts for publishers and music industry players. He handles contentious and non-contentious media matters, demonstrating particular proficiency in copyright matters. Clients say 'More than simply advocating a legal position, he works with you to think through business issues'.

Chambers UK

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