Patents

When you need to stake a claim on new technology, patents are your strongest protection. With the patent landscape changing rapidly, our experts can help you find the right approach.

Technological change is moving at an ever-increasing speed and the number of patent applications filed and granted is mirroring that trend. The result? The importance of patents in protecting your business is growing, at the same time as the difficulty of avoiding infringing patents is rising.

We'll work with you and patent attorneys to develop strategies that best meet the needs of your business. We can make sure your licensing agreements enable you to maximise the benefit you get from your patents and those licensed to you.

We'll also help you resolve any disputes in a cost effective way.

Our experience

Our patent experience ranges from licensing deals to litigation to working with businesses to identify the best protection available for the technology they're developing (and, not being patent attorneys, we don't have a vested interest in the decision to patent or not).

Recent examples of our work include:

Devising a patent strategy for a developer of a novel construction of tourist attraction and the potential benefits in an overseas procurement process. We identified and worked with the right patent attorney, and liaised with the patent attorneys and inventors to get applications filed.
Advising a leading university on its complex licensing transactions with a large US crop science company
Intervening in Supreme Court proceedings concerning the infringement test for second medical use patents
Representing an offshore engineering company in High Court infringement proceedings against a Norwegian competitor
Conducting prior art searches for a multinational client threatened with infringement proceedings in relation to a heavy engineering application. We identified prior art missed by the client's previous advisers and working with the client to devise a strategy to use that material in negotiations with the potential claimant.

Did you know?

Leaders

Chambers guide 2019 listed us as national leaders outside London and four of our lawyers were listed as leading individuals.

Supreme Court

We intervened in the Warner-Lambert v Actavis Supreme Court proceedings on infringement of second medical use patents for a pharmacist.

£25 million market

We're advising a multinational business on allegations it infringes a competitor's patent in a market worth £25 million to it.

Our lawyers

We get to understand you and how the right approach to patent law can benefit your business.

What our clients say about us

“The overall level of service is fantastic with rapid response times and well-communicated dates for deliverables; the firm goes above and beyond to ensure the appropriate advice is given. ”

Legal 500 2019

“Known for 'providing practical advice and making complex issues understandable'”

Legal 500

“They provide a superior quality of legal advice and more reasonable prices than London firms”

Chambers