Recent cases

Unwired Planet v Huawei and Others26 August 2020The Supreme Court has handed down its landmark judgment in the joined appeals in the Unwired Planet and Conversant cases.  The Supreme Court has unanimously upheld the courts below finding that the UK courts have jurisdiction to determine the terms of a worldwide FRAND licence and that in the circumstances of the Conversant case the […]
F5 Networks v Blizzard Entertainment (IPO) O/358/2022 July 2020Iona Berkeley represented the Trade Mark Applicant, F5 Networks Inc, in this UK IPO Trade Mark Registry Opposition hearing. The trade mark application was for “F5 Overwatch” for “Software as a service (SaaS) providing computer network operators with the ability to monitor and inventory network applications”. This Application was opposed by the owner of the […]
GFS Flex Ltd v Brymec Ltd17 July 2020Martin Howe QC appeared for the defendant, Brymec Ltd, in resisting an application for an interim injunction for alleged passing off by get up of goods, specifically the use of yellow coloured clips on fittings for stainless steel gas pipes. The claimant had been the sole UK supplier of corrugated stainless steel tubing (CSST) products […]
Regeneron v Kymab [2020] UKSC 2724 June 2020Michael Tappin QC, along with Iain Purvis QC, appeared on behalf of the Appellant in this appeal to the Supreme Court involving the patent issue of sufficiency. The Supreme Court allowed Kymab’s appeal by a majority of four to one, holding that Regeneron’s patents were invalid. The patents concerned a new type of genetically modified […]
Les Grands Chais de France SAS v Consorzio di Tutela della Denominazione di Origine Controllata Prosecco [2020] EWHC 1633 (Ch)24 June 2020Fiona Clark appeared for the Respondent (“the Consorzio”) on this appeal against a hearing officer’s refusal to register the sign NOSECCO in respect of non-alcoholic sparkling wine and also at the hearing below. The Consorzio, an association established, inter alia, to protect the well known PROSECCO designation of origin (“the PDO”), had opposed the registration. […]
Teva v Chiesi Farmaceutici [2020] EWHC 1311 (Pat)2 June 2020Charlotte May QC appeared for the defendant in this strike out application. The claimant sought to revoke three patents held by the defendant and the defendant counterclaimed for infringement on a quia timet basis. When the defendant requested disclosure in relation to the allegedly infringing product, the claimant applied to strike out the infringement claim […]
Genentech and MDC -v- The Comptroller General of Patents [2020] EWCA Civ 47531 March 2020Andrew Lykiardopoulos QC appeared for Genentech and Charlotte May QC appeared for Master Data Center (“MDC”) in these two appeals against a decision of Mr Recorder Douglas Campbell QC (sitting as Judge of the Patents Court) refusing to allow the patentee’s supplementary patent certificate (“SPC”) to continue in force beyond the two-year period mistakenly applied […]
Abbott v Edwards Lifesciences [2020] EWHC 513 (Pat)12 March 2020Richard Meade QC, James Abrahams QC, Michael Conway, and Jennifer Dixon appeared for the claimants in this trial concerning the public interest defence to patent infringement. The trial followed the main patent trial in the case (1) Evalve Inc (2) Abbott Cardiovascular Systems Inc (3) Abbott Medical Uk Ltd V Edwards Lifesciences Ltd [2020] EWHC […]
(1) Evalve Inc (2) Abbott Cardiovascular Systems Inc (3) Abbott Medical UK Ltd v Edwards Lifesciences Ltd [2020] EWHC 514 (Pat)12 March 2020Richard Meade QC, James Abrahams QC, Michael Conway, and Jennifer Dixon appeared for the claimants in this patent infringement trial. The case concerned two patents (“850” and “810”) relating to medical devices used to treat mitral valve regurgitations by a transcatheter technique. The claimants (“Abbott”) alleged that the defendant’s (“Edwards”) product, the PASCAL device, infringed […]
ViiV Healthcare Co v Gilead Sciences Inc [2020] EWHC 615 (Pat)10 March 2020Richard Meade QC, Charlotte May QC, and James Whyte appeared for the claimants and Michael Tappin QC appeared for the defendants in this strike out application against part of the claimants’ pleaded case of patent infringement. The claimants’ patent claimed a class of compounds that included their commercial product called dolutegravir (“DTG”) and alleged that […]