Alex guides clients from a wide range of industries on strategies for exploiting and enforcing of intellectual property rights in national and UPC courts across Europe as well other major markets. He has an international practice, particularly in matters of a multi-jurisdictional character, including arbitration. He is a Representative before the UPC.

Alex has experience of dispute resolution across the full range of IP rights. His scientific background has put him in a good position to handle highly technical and standards related patent cases. He has acted in matters relating to technologies as diverse as pharmaceuticals, semi-conductors, graphics processing, medical devices, biotechnology, explosives, oil and gas, paints and mobile phones.

Alex’s fluency in French and German allowed him to spend periods working in leading law firms in Paris and Düsseldorf. He regularly supports and attends proceedings before a range of national patent courts and is a recognised foreign expert in the German system (Chambers Global). He has also practised as a solicitor in Australia and as an examiner at the European Patent Office for a number of years. 

Alex is a regular conference lecturer and tutor for the Oxford University Diploma in Intellectual Property Law and Practice. He is co-editor of an upcoming international commentary on the Unified Patent Court and is actively involved in teaching legal and technical Judges for the Unified Patent Court. 

He has been a partner at Powell Gilbert since its founding in 2007.

Key Cases

• Philip Morris v Nicoventures (heat-not-burn tobacco)
• Saint Gobain v 3M (ceramic abrasives)
• IPCom v Xiaomi (telecommunications / FRAND licensing)
• Ansell v Reckitt Benckiser (synthetic polyisoprene products)
• IoT IP v Safetonet (Internet of things)
• Oro Agri International v Vivagro (contractual dispute and breach of confidence – biopesticide regulatory data)
• Napp v Dr Reddy’s & Sandoz (buprenorphine transdermal patches)
• Nicocigs v Fontem (electronic cigarettes)
• Wobben Properties v Siemens & Others (wind turbines)
• HTC v Gemalto (telecommunications)
• Fresenius v CareFusion (medical devices)
• Eugen Seitz v KHS Corpoplast and Norgren (PET plastic technology)
• HTC v Apple (smartphones)
• Nichia v Seoul Semiconductor & Others (semiconductors – LED technology) 
• Almirall v Boehringer Ingelheim (pharmaceuticals)
• Nichia v Argos (semiconductors)
• Sandoz / ratiopharm v Napp (controlled release oxycodone formulations)
• Abbott v Evysio (coronary stents)
• Coflexip v Subsea 7 (sub-sea pipelaying)
• Passion for Life v Persee Medical (technology contract dispute – medical devices)
• Banier v News Group Newspapers (copyright – photographs)