Ranked in the top tier for UK patent litigation in all the major directories, Powell Gilbert’s renowned expertise in patent litigation and dispute resolution forms the core of the practice. With a team of lawyers at the forefront of the IP profession in the UK, we have been involved in many of the most high-profile and ground-breaking UK patent cases across a wide range of technologies and industries.
With nearly all of our lawyers having scientific or technical qualifications, including many lawyers with PhDs in disciplines such as computer sciences, molecular biology and immunology, we are extremely well positioned to understand the technical complexities of the issues our clients face. Combined with our high level of legal and commercial understanding and proven litigation track-record, we are ideally placed to assist in challenges over IP rights in the UK.
We are one of the busiest, and most experienced, firms in the UK patents courts, representing clients at all levels, from the IPEC to the High Court and on appeal to the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court, where we have acted in a number of precedent-setting cases in recent years.
These have included:
- Regeneron v Kymab (transgenic mice) – We advised Kymab in this biotech dispute, all the way up to the UK Supreme Court’s seminal judgment on insufficiency
- Warner Lambert v Actavis (second medical use claims) – We advised Actavis in this dispute in which the Supreme Court clarified the law on infringement of second medical use claims and plausibility
- Unwired Planet v Huawei (smartphones/FRAND licensing) – We advised Huawei in this landmark dispute on SEP infringement and FRAND licensing all the way up to the UK Supreme Court
- HGS v Eli Lilly (novel gene sequence) – We advised Human Genome Sciences and GSK in this hard fought dispute, all the way to the UK Supreme Court which considered the issue of plausibility and gave a precedent-setting decision on industrial application. We also acted in a referral to the European Court of Justice on the application of the SPC regulation to functional claims (C-493/12).
As well as being ranked in the top tier for UK patent litigation in Legal 500, Chambers, IAM 1000 World’s Leading Patent Practitioners and Juve Patent, we regularly win awards for our UK patent litigation work, including “UK Patent Litigation Firm of the Year” in IAM’s Global IP Awards (2022, 2020 and 2019), “UK Firm of the Year” in LMG’s European Life Sciences Awards (2022, 2021), “Disputes Boutique of the Year” in the Lawyer Awards (2021) and “UK Patent (Contentious) Firm of the Year” in MIP’s EMEA Awards (2023, 2021, 2019, 2018 and 2016).