Jowanna is an expert intellectual property and information technology lawyer. She has over eight years’ experience advising organisations on the best ways to protect their intellectual property (IP) from creation through to exploitation. Jowanna works with businesses on their IP portfolios covering trade marks, copyright, design rights, and patents.
After training and qualifying at large regional firm Stevens & Bolton, Jowanna moved to join the large south-west firm Stephens Scown and became known for her practical approach and commercial knowledge. Whilst there she commenced her specialism in transactional IP. Jowanna’s expertise in this area covers the full range of IP from transfers and assignments of IP, licencing, collaboration agreements, joint ventures, marketing and sponsorship arrangements.
Jowanna takes pride in partnering with companies from start-ups and SMEs up to large multi-national corporations on projects such as bespoke software development including cross-border work, platform creation, software licencing, value-added reseller agreements, systems integration agreements and full IT outsourcing. She has particular expertise in agile working for software developers and reflecting this in their commercial agreements and business terms and conditions.
Jowanna has additional expertise in data protection. She has worked with some national names on complying with their data protection obligations, particularly around sub-contracting with data processors, and working with controllers on data sharing arrangements.
Jowanna is also a trusted advisor on high-value corporate deals, advising on the IP, IT and data protection aspects of mergers and acquisitions to ensure that clients’ brands and products are protected on transfer. She has a wealth of experience in advising on government and local authority contracts as well as procurement and funded projects.
Jowanna works with a wide range of organisations from tech companies, creative businesses, non-profit organisations including charities and social enterprises, healthcare businesses and suppliers to the NHS, boutique businesses in the beauty and luxury goods industries, hospitality, food and drink, and leisure and tourism.
Jowanna is recognised in the Legal 500 as a Key Lawyer in both “Intellectual Property” and “IT and Telecoms” sectors.
Recent experience
- Acting for a high-end jewellery designer on a luxury goods licence of trade marks and registered design rights to Japan.
- Negotiating the IP aspects of a multi-million pound manufacturing agreement with a famous confectionary company particularly around improvements to recipes and indemnities against IP infringement claims.
- Advising a large regional charity on a collaboration agreement with an education provider for a conservation project covering ownership of the project IP and compliance with Big Lottery funding.
- Successfully negotiating an agile software development agreement on behalf of an international client in the aviation services industry for creation of a new app to survey airline users.
- Advising a large regional landowner on a tripartite data sharing agreement with the local authority and a large utility company on the sharing of customer data under an government directive.
