11 South Square > London, England > Set Profile

Chambers of Iain Purvis KC
11 South Square
GRAY'S INN
LONDON
WC1R 5EY
England

Email firm Visit website 020 7405 1222 020 7242 4282

London Bar > Intellectual property Tier 1

11 South Square is well-known for its work on leading IP cases in first instance trials and appeals, and its members are well-versed in appearing before the European Patent Office, General Court, and Court of Justice of the European Union. Iain Purvis KC has an all-encompassing IP practice, from patents to trade marks, and Michael Silverleaf KC is notable in cases involving complex technical facts, including monoclonal antibodies, medical devices, drug delivery systems, automotive catalysts, and wind power generation. Of recent note, he acted for the claimant in Original Beauty Technology Company & Others v G4K Fashion & Oh Polly, which concerned claims of passing off and infringement of design rights. With his scientific background, Mark Vanhegan KC is regularly instructed by high-profile clients across all levels of courts and tribunals, and he successfully represented Philips in a trial concerning the validity of two of its patents. The set is also home to patent expert Piers Acland KC, and Hugo Cuddigan KC, who has substantial experience in the music and entertainment industries.

Rising stars

Kyra Nezami – 11 South Square

Ranked: Tier 1

Mitchell Beebe – 11 South Square ‘Mitchell is extremely responsive, personable, and intelligent.'

Ranked: Tier 1

Edward Cronan - 11 South Square

Ranked: Tier 1

Leading Silks

Iain Purvis KC – 11 South Square

Ranked: Tier 1

Michael Silverleaf KC – 11 South Square

Ranked: Tier 1

Mark Vanhegan KC – 11 South Square ‘Mark is a class act. He is calm and thorough in court and he is often the difference between winning and losing a case.'

Ranked: Tier 1

Piers Acland KC – 11 South Square

Ranked: Tier 2

Benet Brandreth KC – 11 South Square ‘Benet is an exceptional, classic advocate who is known for his comfortable and flawless presentation even in difficult technical cases. He is also a formidable cross-examiner and his opponents have been known to completely abandon their factual and expert evidence mid-trial following his careful deconstruction of their case.’

Ranked: Tier 3

Hugo Cuddigan KC – 11 South Square

Ranked: Tier 3

Brian Nicholson KC – 11 South Square 'Brian is one of the top silks at the IP bar. He is superb on his feet and a delight to work with.'

Ranked: Tier 3

2024 Silks

Anna Edwards-Stuart KC – 11 South Square

Leading Juniors

Kathryn Pickard – 11 South Square 'Kathryn is always calm and unflappable, and has a deceivingly razor-sharp mind. She thinks on her feet very quickly and her advocacy is brilliant - she has a calm yet forceful nature to her advocacy, and she has a lot of credibility with the bench.'

Ranked: Tier 1

Chris Aikens – 11 South Square ‘Chris is a clear thinker and is able to articulate strategy well to solicitors and clients. His advocacy is cool and well-paced, and he is able to win against more senior, grandiose, and flamboyant opponents.'

Ranked: Tier 2

Heather Lawrence – 11 South Square

Ranked: Tier 2

Christopher Hall – 11 South Square ‘Christopher is one of the leading juniors at the IP Bar; he is a great all-rounder and an excellent advocate who can hold his own against more senior barristers.’

Ranked: Tier 3

Tom Alkin – 11 South Square ‘Tom has first-rate judgment and an ability not to lose sight of the big picture.'

Ranked: Tier 3

David Ivison – 11 South Square

Ranked: Tier 3

Jacqueline Reid – 11 South Square ‘Jacqueline gives clear and direct advice to both solicitors and clients alike. She is very robust and will fight the client’s corner, and she is well-prepared and always knows the case well.’

Ranked: Tier 4

Adam Gamsa – 11 South Square ‘A thorough junior who is easy to work with.’

Ranked: Tier 4

Testimonials

‘The clerks at 11 South Square are very helpful and engaged with matters to ensure smooth running. Ashley Carr is fantastic and always on hand if listing or availability issues arise and is very keen to smooth things over if unexpected availability issues do happen from time to time.’

‘Jordan Foley and Sam Fullilove are the best IP clerks.’

‘A strong set and among the strongest for IP.’

‘They are leaders in the field.’

‘The barristers at 11 South Square have a broad range and depth of experience and they instil confidence that they can resource any IP issue.’

‘The clerking at 11 South Square is second to none. They are extremely responsive and flexible when the need arises.’

‘The clerks do a brilliant job.’

‘The clerks are responsive and friendly.’

London Bar > Media and entertainment Tier 2

11 South Square houses a number of highly regarded barristers who act in media and entertainment cases concerning copyright infringement, brand protection and use of goodwill cases, frequently for clients in the music industry. Hugo Cuddigan KC is instructed by digital radio aggregator TuneIn concerning the hyperlinks to international radio stations it provides to its users in Warner Music & Sony Music v TuneIn Inc.

Leading Silks

Michael Silverleaf KC – 11 South Square ‘Excellent at getting into the details, listening to the ideas of the team, putting the right arguments forward forcefully, being available when needed, embedding as part of the wider team.’

Ranked: Tier 2

Hugo Cuddigan KC – 11 South Square

Ranked: Tier 2

Mark Vanhegan KC – 11 South Square ‘Highly client-friendly, and gives clear and robust advice. Both written and oral advocacy is very good indeed and pitched perfectly to the tribunal he is addressing.’

Ranked: Tier 2

Leading Juniors

Tom Alkin – 11 South Square ‘A pleasure work with and a great team player. Consummate advocate. Clear, calm, incisive, and immensely persuasive.’

Ranked: Tier 3

Testimonials

‘Ashley Carr, Sam Fullilove and Jordan Foley are all experienced and user friendly.’

‘Ashley Carr is great to work with, responsive and accommodating to client’s needs, while being realistic about timescales.’

’11 South Square’s clerks are excellent, responsive, clear and will always go the extra mile.’

‘Excellent clerks.’

‘Very strong set with strength in depth. There is always someone appropriate to take on a given case.’

Work highlights

London Bar > IT and telecoms (infrastructure and contracts) Tier 3

Members at 11 South Square have extensive experience in high-level technology disputes and are frequently instructed to act in disputes at the intersection of IP and IT law. With a combination of decades of experience in the field and technical backgrounds, members are particularly well-placed to handle complex disputes acting for high-profile technology clients. Mark Vanhegan KC appeared for LzLabs in IBM UK Limited v LzLabs, a dispute relating to alleged breaches of agreements pertaining to mainframe computer systems and raising issues about software copyright and reverse engineering.

Leading Silks

Michael Silverleaf KC – 11 South Square

Ranked: Tier 1

Mark Vanhegan KC – 11 South Square ‘Very on the ball. Cooperative. Able to ask the key questions in cross-examination.’

Ranked: Tier 1

Brian Nicholson KC – 11 South Square

Ranked: Tier 3

Testimonials

Set

‘Excellent’

‘One of the top IP chambers. Always on my list of ones to look to for high quality advocates.’

Work highlights

Dispute resolution > Mediators Tier 5

Michael Silverleaf KC – 11 South Square 11 South Square‘s Michael Silverleaf KC is 'personable and technically excellent, but also direct in his manner. This allows him to cut through the noise and connect with clients. Michael is not afraid to challenge a party's position where appropriate, which is especially useful in a difficult dispute where parties are entrenched'. A member of the Nominet Dispute Resolution Service Expert Panel since 2008, Silverleaf QC is a go-to mediator for IP-related disputes.

11 South Square is a leading set, specialising in intellectual property law, additionally well-known for its media and information technology work. With many recent cases setting precedents in all areas of IP law, 11 South Square has continued to be highly regarded in the field. Members are often singled out for the excellent quality of advice and advocacy provided.

The set: 11 South Square was founded in 1923 by Sir Stafford Cripps. Chambers currently has 16 members, five of whom are King’s Counsel, headed by Iain Purvis KC. In 2015 Henry Carr was appointed as a High Court Judge sitting in the Patents Court. He joins the long list of former members recently called to the Bench including current Patents Court Judge Mr Justice Arnold, presiding Judge of the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court Richard Hacon, current Court of Appeal Judge Lord Justice Floyd, as well as the late Lord Justice Pumfrey.

Types of work undertaken: Members of 11 South Square regularly appear before the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal and the High Court as well as the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court and the UK Intellectual Property Office. In addition, barristers from 11 South Square have appeared before the European Patent Office in Munich and also the General Court and the Court of Justice of the European Union.

Representation and advice in patent matters is an important part of chambers’ work. The command and conduct of such cases requires a thorough understanding of the science and technology involved. Due to their technical expertise, many members act in complex computer software and IT disputes.

11 South Square has been involved in many of the recent important cases in the areas of performers’ rights, copyright, trade marks, confidential information and also the developing law of privacy, personality and celebrity endorsement. The creation of an unregistered design right and database right has greatly expanded the work in this area, with members frequently appearing in leading cases.

Some members have particular expertise in disputes which involve the Data Protection Act and have appeared extensively in cases before the Information Tribunal.

Recent cases include: Wobben Properties GmbH v Siemens Public Ltd Company & Ors, Teva (UK) Ltd v Gilead Sciences Inc, Property Renaissance Ltd (t/a Titanic Spa) v Stanley Dock Hotel Ltd (t/a Titanic Hotel), Victoria Plum Ltd (t/a Victoria Plumb) v Victorian Plumbing Ltd, Generics (UK) Ltd (t/a Mylan) v Warner-Lambert Co LLC, Nicocigs Limited v Fontem Holdings Limited, Meter-Tech Llc & Anor v British Gas Trading Ltd, Koninklijke Philips NV v Asustek Computer Incorporation & Ors, Cartier International AG & Ors v British Sky Broadcasting Ltd & Ors, Napp Pharmaceutical Holdings Ltd v Dr Reddyâs Laboratories (UK) Ltd and Sandoz Ltd, Sony v SSH, Idenix Pharmaceuticals Inc v Gilead, Abraxis Bioscience LLC v Comptroller General of Patents, Ap Racing v Alcon Components, IPCom v HTC & Brightpoint, Edwards Life Sciences v Boston Scientific, Nicocigs v Fontem Holdings, British Gas v Meter Tech, Nap Pharmaceuticals v Dr Reddy’s & Sandoz, Varian v Elekta.

Department	Name	Email	Telephone
Members of Chambers	PURVIS KC, Iain (1986)
Members of Chambers	SILVERLEAF KC, Michael (1980)
Members of Chambers	VANHEGAN KC, Mark (1990)
Members of Chambers	ACLAND KC, Dr Piers (1993)
Members of Chambers	CUDDIGAN KC, Hugo (1995)
Members of Chambers	LAWRENCE, Dr Heather (1990)
Members of Chambers	REID, Jacqueline (1992)
Members of Chambers	BRANDRETH, Benet (1999)
Members of Chambers	NICHOLSON, Dr Brian (2000)
Members of Chambers	EDWARDS-STUART, Dr Anna (2002)
Members of Chambers	PICKARD, Kathryn (2001)
Members of Chambers	ALKIN, Tom (2006)
Members of Chambers	AIKENS, Chris (2005)
Members of Chambers	HALL, Christopher (2010)
Members of Chambers	IVISON, Dr David (2014)
Members of Chambers	GAMSA, Dr Adam (2015)
Members of Chambers	VAVER, Prof David*
Members of Chambers	BENTLY, Prof Lionel (2009)**
Members of Chambers	* Associate member
Members of Chambers	** Door tenant

Name	Position	Profile
Dr Piers Acland	Experience in all types of contentious intellectual property work. He has a…	View Profile
Chris Aikens	Chris’ practice covers all areas of intellectual property law as well as…	View Profile
Tom Alkin	Barrister specialising in intellectual property and related fields. Recent cases include: Philip…	View Profile
Prof Lionel Bently	Professor Lionel Bently has gained invaluable experience and knowledge in all areas…	View Profile
Benet Brandreth	Barrister practising in all areas of intellectual property law, as well as…	View Profile
Hugo Cuddigan	Specialist in intellectual property (patents, trade marks, copyright). Recent significant cases include:…	View Profile
Dr Anna Edwards-Stuart KC	Barrister specialising in intellectual property. Recent reported cases include: Original Beauty Technology…	View Profile
Christopher Hall	Barrister established in all intellectual property disciplines, and in commercial disputes with…	View Profile
Dr Heather Lawrence	Barrister specialising in intellectual property matters including: patents, trade mark, registered designs,…	View Profile
Dr Brian Nicholson	Senior barrister specialising in all areas of intellectual property and related fields…	View Profile
Kathryn Pickard	Barrister specialising in intellectual property law. Recent cases include: AutoStore Technology AS…	View Profile
Iain Purvis	Barrister specialising in intellectual property. Recent notable cases include: Abbott Laboratories Limited…	View Profile
Jacqueline Reid	Barrister dealing with intellectual property, including: trade marks, design right, copyright, passing…	View Profile
Michael Silverleaf	Barrister in many leading intellectual property cases involving: patents, trade marks, passing…	View Profile
Mark Vanhegan	Barrister dealing with all aspects of intellectual property law, media and entertainment…	View Profile