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Posted: Thu 13th Aug 2026
9 min read
Former litigator David Bloom launched Safeguard IP after 15 years of witnessing the gap between having intellectual property rights and being able to enforce them.
David Bloom spent 15 years as an IP litigator at a number of London law firms including Olswang LLP and Pinsent Masons. The work gave him a front-row seat to a recurring problem: small businesses with legitimate intellectual property rights who couldn't afford to enforce them.
David notes:
"They had done everything right. They had developed something genuinely innovative.
“They had taken legal advice. They had registered their patents and trademarks. And then someone copied them."
The question was always the same: how much will this cost?
"The answer was nearly always more than they had. Sometimes significantly more," says David.
He said businesses would face a choice: settle on unfavourable terms, let the infringement continue, or spend money they didn't have on litigation with no guaranteed outcome.
The issue, David explains, is built into how intellectual property law works:
"A patent or a trademark gives you a right. But rights cost money to enforce.
"Having the rights doesn't automatically mean no one's going to copy you. It just gives you the right to stop those people copying you."
With litigation costs routinely reaching hundreds of thousands of pounds, the financial barrier often proves insurmountable for most small firms. At the same time, IP is becoming more valuable, David says.
"Building a brand and customer loyalty is now more important than ever.
"If someone starts copying your brand, it can be devastating for the business. There's just so much of it flying around," David says.
The plant-based restaurant chain had registered its trademark in the UK and EU, even securing the word "vurger" itself as a word mark. But when the founders filed for US trademark protection in 2017, they discovered another company was filing for the same mark.
Neil proposed a simple coexistence arrangement from the start, which was not accepted, and instead they had to endure an 18-month legal battle that cost both sides over $100,000 each.
In the end, both companies agreed to carry on and tolerate each other.
"Which was the same place that I originally proposed anyway," Neil said.
He added: "You can have all the trademarks you want. If you can't afford to defend your trademark, then people will try it on. The lawyers always win. That's something I've learnt."
"Trademarks are a nightmare," he said. "I really would advocate for more knowledge and more awareness in that space. I think people just assume it won't be an issue. But even for tiny businesses like us, it can be a major problem and very expensive."
Twelve years ago, David investigated IP insurance products for clients but found nothing he could recommend. He decided to try building something himself.
In 2014, he left legal practice and founded Safeguard IP as a dedicated intellectual property insurance broker.
The company acts as an intermediary between insurers and clients, working with specialist insurers including CFC, a managing general agent that underwrites policies on behalf of Lloyd's syndicates.
David explains:
"I worked closely with insurers in the market to help develop policies really for SMEs.
“My view is larger companies can fund litigation themselves, but the companies that really need it are the smaller guys or girls."
The company offers what's known as "before the event" legal insurance. For companies with a turnover of less than circa £7 million, annual premiums typically range from around £1,000 to £5,000 depending on the risk and level of cover. Entry-level limits start at £125,000.
Base cover can provide cover for the legal costs and potential liabilities arising from IP infringement claims, subject to the policy terms and conditions.
Companies can add enforcement cover if they hold IP rights (patents, trademarks, designs, or trade secrets) they may need to enforce.
When a business suspects infringement, they consult their lawyers. If the legal advice confirms reasonable prospects of success and the claim falls within the policy terms, the insurer can fund the action.
David took on early investment but bought out his shareholder 10 months ago.
"Once it's in the budget, companies tend to renew every year," he says. "So, it's quite a nice business model. Every year we grow."
The IP insurance market remains small but is now growing relatively quickly, according to David. As a result, premiums have fallen significantly over the past few years as the market has developed and risk is spread across more clients.
But awareness is still low.
"I suspect most of your members will never have heard of IP insurance. They may not even know it exists." David tells Enterprise Nation. "There are still very few people actively promoting awareness of IP insurance."
Most referrals come from patent and trademark attorneys. When their clients express concerns about being copied, they direct them to Safeguard IP.
Other insurance brokers largely avoid the space, David says, because it requires significant time investment to understand and involves proactive selling rather than inbound demand.
"I think if they had clients knocking on their door saying, we need this, they would invest the time. But I still think the market is at the stage where you have to be proactive," he explains.
"And there's other lines of insurance that might generate more income for them."
Brexit created unexpected regulatory problems for Safeguard IP. The company had overseas clients, but changes to insurance regulation effectively cut off that business.
"As it stands, we can no longer advise EU clients directly on regulated insurance matters,” David says. UK brokers must now introduce EU clients to EU-based brokers. "My big problem was there's no one in the EU that really can do this."
The issue isn't lack of potential clients (millions exist across the EU). But IP represents such a niche area that insurance advisers who don't understand it won't advise on it.
"If you don't understand something, you shouldn't really be advising clients about it, because if you get it wrong, you could be sued," he explains.
Founded in 2014, Safeguard IP is a specialist intellectual property insurance broker, helping businesses arrange insurance for risks relating to patents, trade marks, trade secrets and designs.
For many SMEs, annual premiums typically range from around £1,000 to £5,000 depending on the risk and level of cover required, with policy limits starting from £125,000.
