Partner Robin Hayes practises in commercial litigation and the firm’s highly ranked intellectual property practice.

He has considerable experience in contentious IP work, including litigation concerning the infringement and revocation of patents as well as trade mark infringement and passing off mandates for clients active in a wide range of industries including pharma, FMCG, fashion and entertainment.

Robin acted for winning plaintiff McCambridge Ltd in Ireland’s leading passing off case before the High Court and the Supreme Court establishing passing off in respect of the plaintiff’s product packaging by a competitor and represented the plaintiff in its subsequent claim in the High Court for an account of the defendant’s profits.

Besides IP disputes, his litigation practice more generally encompasses commercial disputes involving contractual claims, shareholder disputes and defamation. On the non-contentious side he frequently advises on IP licensing agreements of various types and rights clearances.

Examples of reported cases include:

• Acted for plaintiff in High Court (Commercial Division) proceedings relating to a claim for infringement of a registered Community design in respect of a design for protective headgear see here
• Acted for plaintiff in High Court (Commercial Division) trade mark infringement proceedings involving the mark SECURITAS see here
• Acted for plaintiff WaterWipes UC in Commercial Court trade mark infringement and validity proceedings concerning the mark WATERWIPES see here and here
• Acting for Peregrine Technologies, an Irish cleantech firm involved in the recycling of flat panel displays, in patent revocation proceedings (Commercial Court) against University of Limerick see here
• Acting for claimants in UNCITRAL Model Law arbitral proceedings (an international arbitration) concerning failure to pay under a share purchase agreement including challenges to jurisdiction
• Part of Whitney Moore team who acted for client Merck Sharpe & Dohme in landmark Supreme Court judgment concerning the correct approach to the grant of preliminary injunctions; click here to read a summary of the issues and here to read the Supreme Court’s judgment
• Acted for respondent in high profile Commercial Court shareholder dispute relating to a company’s disposal of high value property portfolio, including successful defence of an application for a preliminary injunction; see here and here  for the High Court’s judgment.
• Acted for insurer Allianz in obtaining High Court injunctions to prevent bogus financial services firm from using social media channels to make false claims regarding its insurance status; click here to read more
• Obtaining judgment on behalf of NAMA entity for in excess of €7m and subsequent enforcement procedures including discovery in aid of execution, attachment and committal see here
• Acting for manufacturer of agricultural machinery in defence of claim for infringement of registered Community design
• Represented a chief technology officer in a widely reported breach of privacy dispute with Cubic Telecom. For coverage in ‘The Times’ click here and ‘The Irish Times’ click here
• Represented the Welsh Government in its successful sovereign immunity challenge to jurisdiction relating to alleged copyright infringement involving photographs of poet Dylan Thomas, click here to read some media coverage and here to read a summary of the issues
• Acted for Ireland’s leading supplier of giftware and souvenirs in three sets of High Court (Commercial) trade mark infringement proceedings against competitors who had launched products which were alleged to infringe and amount to a passing off, in each case leading to the defendants’ products being removed from the market; see here , here and here for press coverage on the three actions
• Represented several publishers in their successful jurisdiction challenges in proceedings for alleged copyright infringement carried out online, click here to read more
• Acted for the plaintiff in the first Lariam (mefloquine) product liability case to be settled in Ireland by the manufacturer of the drug. Click here to read more
• Represented the plaintiff in Ireland’s leading passing off case, click here to read a summary of the issues and here for the majority judgment of the Supreme Court
• Represented plaintiff in successful copyright infringement and plagiarism complaint against university lecturer and academic institution see here

Recommendations

Robin is consistently recommended by international legal journals such as The Legal 500 EMEA and Chambers Europe and has been since 2013. Quotes include:

• ‘Robin is massively experienced and very insightful. He does not lose his cool and he has a perfect instinct for litigation.’ – Chambers & Partners 2025
• ‘Robin Hayes is ‘knowledgeable and talented’  and ‘has represented some household Irish brands in IP litigation in Ireland, and is hailed as an expert in this particular field.’ – The Legal 500 2022
• ‘Clients describe him as “an extremely smart and capable lawyer with immense expertise in intellectual property law, and superb technical knowledge and organisational skills.’ – Chambers & Partners 2022
• ‘Robin Hayes wins praise for being “personable, easy to work with, practical and very helpful.’ – The Legal 500 EMEA 2019
• ‘Robin is praised for his “proactive, no-nonsense attitude” and his ability to “provide clear and comprehensive advice.’ – Chambers Europe 2018