Our History

A Manchester Intellectual Property firm built on decades of experience protecting innovation

Hanna & Bird is a firm of Chartered and European Patent Attorneys based in Manchester, working with engineering, electronics, software and manufacturing businesses across the North West and beyond. It was founded on a straightforward belief: ambitious companies deserve IP advice that is rigorous, commercially grounded, and delivered by experienced attorneys who handle the work themselves.

That belief is backed by real pedigree. Between them, our founders bring experience across private practice, industry and international IP work, and a track record of protecting innovation and defending it when larger competitors push back.

Why we founded Hanna & Bird

The firm grew out of a long professional relationship between Sam and John and a shared way of working. We set out to bring a depth of experience drawn from decades of patent, trade mark and litigation work and from senior roles inside industry, to ambitious businesses here in Manchester and across the North West.

We built Hanna & Bird for ambitious companies, particularly start-ups and scale-ups, that need IP advice tied directly to commercial goals: protecting what matters, attracting investment, and generating revenue through licensing. That means senior attorneys doing the work themselves, costs you can plan around, and strategy shaped by people who have sat on the client's side of the table as well as the adviser's. 

What we stand for

A patent, trade mark or registered design is only as valuable as the thinking behind it. We build protection that fits each client's commercial goals, we are straight about what is worth pursuing and what is not, and we bring rigour and attention to detail to everything we draft and file.