Rt.Hon. Professor Sir Robin Jacob

Recent work

Sir Robin is very active in IP matters across the world, acting as an expert witness for proceedings in other countries (most recently in the USA, Japan, Canada, Malta, India, the European Trade Mark Office and France). He has been cross-examined as an expert witness on English law in New York and San Francisco arbitrations and in the High Court of Delhi. He was an ICC appointed panellist for “community objections” to top level domain names and is a panel member of SIAC, the LCIA, HKIAC and KLRC. He undertakes advisory work provided it is compatible with the other work he does.

Sir Robin’s judicial experience is often called upon where he is engaged to sit as a “mock” judge at a “mock hearing” organised by a party in a case about to take place at all levels of the court system. The party’s actual counsel appears for the party and a barrister or solicitor appears for the other side. The purpose is to gain an outsider’s opinion of the strengths and weaknesses of the party’s case. He has conducted about 20 such hearings which are proving increasingly popular in high value litigation.

He is also regularly instructed to act as a mediator in substantial actions and is interested in early neutral evaluation.

He is a member of the following arbitral bodies: SIAC, HKIAC, KLIAC, LCIA, CIArb and the International Arbitration Centre in Tokyo. He undertakes work as an arbitrator. Two substantial arbitrations (one in Zurich the other in Kuala Lumpur) have gone to final awards. Others to which he was appointed have settled mainly but not always at an early stage. He is currently chairing a major arbitration in Hong Kong. He was a judge of the Astana International Financial Centre Court in Kazakhstan until 2020. He continues to be a member of the panel of arbitrators of that Centre.

He was appointed by the Chinese Competition Authority (MOFCOM) as one of two “Trustees” to monitor the compliance of Nokia of its commitment to MOFCOM not to change its licensing policy under its Standard Essential Patents, a requirement of MOFCOM’s approval of Nokia’s sale of its mobile phone handset business (but not the relevant patents) to Microsoft. That appointment was extended to compliance by Alcatel-Lucent when that company was acquired by Nokia. The appointments expired in in 2022 when the monitoring periods expired.

Legal career

Career as a High Court Judge and Court of Appeal Judge (1993 – 2011)

When Sir Robin was appointed as a High Court Judge in 1993 he became one of only a small number of specialist designated Patents Court Judges.

In October 2003, he was appointed a Lord Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal, the second most senior court in the UK legal system. During his time as a Judge, Sir Robin wrote many leading judgments in intellectual property law cases and is regarded as one of the UK’s, and Europe’s, leading intellectual property judges of recent times.

In 2011, his fellow European Judges elected him President of the Intellectual Property Judges’ Association, an association of European patent judges. He continues to be President even though he has formally retired from being a Judge. He is regularly consulted on IP matters by the UK government and, until Brexit, the European Commission.

Until the UK decided not to participate in the Unified Patent Court he was Chairman of the Advisory Panel to the Preparatory Committee (the main function of this was to advise on judicial appointments and training) and a member of the Preparatory Committee’s Expert Panel. He was a member of the European Commission’s Expert Group on the development and implications of patent law in the field of biotechnology and genetic engineering until the Group reported in May 2016.

He was a Governor of the Expert Witness Institute from its foundation until 2004 and is now a Governor again. He was Treasurer of Gray’s Inn in 2007. He was awarded the Outstanding Achievement in IP award by MIP in 2012. He was a member of the Scientific and Advisory Board of the European Patent Office during its existence and is regularly consulted on IP matters by the European Commission and the UK government.

Sir Robin formally retired from the Court of Appeal in May 2011 in order to become the Sir Hugh Laddie chair at UCL, occasionally sitting again in the Court of Appeal on cases where additional IP expertise was required, up until 2016.

Legal career as a barrister (1965 – 1993)

From 1976 to 1981 he was the Junior Counsel for the Comptroller of Patents and for UK Government departments in intellectual property. He was appointed Queen’s Counsel (“QC”) in 1981. His practice often took him abroad and he practiced as an advocate or legal adviser in Hong Kong, Singapore, the USA, Australia and in several European countries, as well as before the European Patent Office.

Sir Robin was a member of the leading intellectual property set, 8 New Square, from 1965 – 1993 until his appointment as a High Court Judge.

Academic Studies and early legal career (1960 – 1967)

Sir Robin read Natural Sciences (physics) at Trinity College Cambridge (1960 to 1963) and then law at the London School of Economics (1963 to 1967). He was called to the Bar in 1965. At the Bar, as a barrister and trial advocate, he practiced mainly, but not exclusively, in all types of intellectual property law.

Academic career

Sir Robin retired from the Court of Appeal to take up the Sir Hugh Laddie Chair of Intellectual Property Law at University College London.

Sir Robin currently holds the following academic and professional positions:

Sir Hugh Laddie Chair of Intellectual Property Law at University College London;
Director of the Institute of Brand and Innovation law (IBIL) at University College London;
Member of the Scientific and Advisory Board of the European Patent Office. Hon. Fellow of the London School of Economics;
Governor of the London School of Economics;
Hon. Fellow of St Peter’s College, Oxford University;
Hon. LLD of the University of Wolverhampton;
President of the Intellectual Property Institute;
Hon. President of the UK branch of the Licensing Executive Society;
Hon. President of the Association of Law Teachers;
Member of the Advisory Board of the European Law Centre of King’s College London;
Governor of the Expert Witness Institute from its foundation until 2004 and is again Governor.

Sir Robin was awarded the Outstanding Achievement in IP award by Managing Intellectual Property magazine in 2012.

Publications

Books

Sole author “IP and other Things” Hart, 2015

In collaboration with others

A Guidebook to Intellectual Property (7 editions from 1970 to 2022)
Kerly’s Law of Trade Marks and Trade Names (1972, 1983 and 1986 editions, editor; 2001, 2005 and forthcoming editions, consulting editor)
Encyclopaedia of UK and European Patent Law (from 1977 onwards)
The White Book (once the Supreme Court Practice, now Civil Procedure) Sweet and Maxwell, editor of sections on intellectual property for many years from 1970 to 1993, Supervisory Editor thereafter.
Bullen & Leake & Jacob Precedents of Pleadings for many editions author of the various parts concerned with Intellectual Property, currently Consulting Editor
Atkin’s Court Forms. Editor of the sections concerned with Intellectual Property in the 1970s and 1980s

Articles & lectures

Contact Rt.Hon. Professor Sir Robin Jacob's clerks