Powell Gilbert LLP > London, England > Firm Profile
Powell Gilbert LLP Offices
85 FLEET STREET
LONDON
EC4Y 1AE
England
Powell Gilbert LLP > The Legal 500 Rankings
TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Intellectual property: patents (contentious and non-contentious) Tier 1
Powell Gilbert LLP is praised as one of the ‘friendliest and most relaxed top level firms in London’ with ‘fantastic litigation skills’ and experience at the forefront of high-level UK and multi-jurisdictional patent litigation. Excellent in the life sciences sector, the team advises on a number of strategically and technically complex patent disputes, with Simon Ayrton, Zoë Butler and Tom Oliver continuing to lead on a global dispute in the field of automated warehouse technology on behalf of FTSE 100 company Ocado Group. Biotechnology and pharmaceuticals patent litigation expert Penny Gilbert
leads the practice, with recent instructions including representing Biogen in relation to its biosimilar portfolio. Telecoms, electronics, and IT mandates are the purview of Ari Laakkonen, whose extensive technical knowledge focuses on electronics patent litigation and licensing disputes. Solicitor advocate Tim Powell is also highly experienced, regularly representing clients in all levels of English courts and the European Patent Offices and European Court of Justice, and Bethan Hopewell is active in international mandates. Joel Coles and Tess Waldron were recently promoted to the partnership; both have strong pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and healthcare practices. Siddharth Kusumakar, Peter Damerell and Tim Whitfield are also recommended, recently acting in high-profile matters related to therapeutic antibodies, non-smoking tobacco and digital distributed antenna systems respectively.Practice head(s):
Penny Gilbert
Other key lawyers:
Testimonials
‘Penny Gilbert has a wonderful strategic overview and calm hand. She gives considered opinions in any discussion after listening to what everyone has to say.’
‘In depth knowledge and experience throughout the team, which is efficiently staffed and not over resourced. Very technology savvy team with a broad experience across sectors.’
‘Ari Laakkonen is very dedicated to the details of the case, extremely hard working.’
‘Powell Gilbert showed an attention to detail in the preparation and presentation of our case for trial that is rarely matched by other firms. They also showed a good understanding of the concerns of the client over how the litigation should be approached. They were a pleasure to work with as they treated us as part of a team rather than feeling we were just another client.’
‘Zoë Butler was extremely knowledgeable and pragmatic. Unlike in some larger firms, Zoë was involved in all discussions on the proceedings throughout. She identified the crucial issues at an early stage of the litigation and made excellent choices of counsel to represent different aspects of the case.’
‘Tess Waldron has extensive technical knowledge with an eye for detail and is very good at ensuring that all details of the case were thoroughly investigated.’
‘The friendliest and most relaxed top level firm in London. Fantastic litigation skills including in-depth understanding of the commercial, legal and technological aspects. Excellence in life sciences patent litigation, with key leaders and very promising new talent.’
‘All of the many members of the firm I have worked with are superb. Smart, strategically savvy, dedicated to their client, and a pleasure to work with. They see courses of action to achieve client objectives that others do not and they are willing to devote whatever time is necessary whenever to achieve client objectives.’
Key clients
Ocado Group plc
Philip Morris International
Illumina, Inc
Edwards Lifesciences
Actavis UK Limited
Biogen Idec Inc
BioNTech
MED-EL
Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co Ltd
Royalty Pharma
NuCana plc
Oxford University Innovation
Saint-Gobain Corporation
Access Advance LLC (previously HEVC Advance LLC)
Lenovo
Commscope
Promptu Systems Corporation
Shenzhen Carku Technology Co,. Ltd
AIM Sport Vision
Cook Medical
Work highlights
- Representing Ocado in patent infringement, validity and entitlement proceedings against rival robotic warehousing operator AutoStore concerning the fast-growing business of automated warehouse storage systems.
- Representing PMI in its global patent dispute with BAT relating to heated tobacco/e-cigarettes.
- Representing Biogen in litigation over its biosimilar of AbbVie’s blockbuster drug Humira.
Industry focus > Life sciences and healthcare Tier 3
IP boutique Powell Gilbert LLP is a go-to name in the market for IP litigation and advisory work and excels in life sciences patent litigation. The team is active before the UK Patent Courts and also has experience handling matters before the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court; it recently successfully represented Biogen in the High Court and Court of Appeal in a claim against Abbvie relating to its biosimilar Imraldi. Penny Gilbert leads the practice, which also fields highly regarded patent litigator Tim Powell.Practice head(s):
Penny Gilbert
Other key lawyers:
Key clients
Illumina, Inc
Edwards Lifesciences
Actavis UK Limited
Biogen Idec Inc
BioNTech
MED-EL
Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co Ltd
Royalty Pharma
NuCana plc
Oxford University Innovation
Coloplast A/S
UCB & Research Corporation Technologies
Cook Medical
Work highlights
- Representing Biogen in litigation over its biosimilar of AbbVie’s blockbuster drug Humira before the UK High Court and Court of Appeal.
- Acting for Actavis in a claim for damages resulting from Pfizer’s unsuccessful assertion of its patent protecting the use of pregabalin for the treatment of pain.
- Assisting BioNTech in relation to its SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, COMIRNATY.
TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Intellectual property: trade marks, copyright and design Tier 4
Praised for its ‘exceptional client service and cooperation’, Powell Gilbert LLP fields a well-known specialist IP litigation and advisory practice, which has continued to grow with the addition of a number of practitioners at the senior associate and of counsel level. The team’s expertise is trusted by clients across a wide range of sectors, including the life sciences, telecoms, electronics, consumer goods, media, and entertainment industries. The practice is led by Simon Ayrton, who is a trade mark, passing off, copyright and design litigation specialist, who has broad expertise across the entertainment, publishing, confectionary, fashion, and luxury goods industries.Practice head(s):
Simon Ayrton
Other key lawyers:
Tom Oliver; Peter Damerell
Testimonials
‘360, analytic and commercially realistic advisory work that can actually be put into practice.’
‘Extremely reputable team successfully handling IP cases for some of the biggest clients in the world.’
‘Peter Damarell and Tom Oliver are extremely experienced and reliable lawyers, having a deep knowledge of IP law and litigation.’
‘Outstanding and efficient way of approaching the legal support.’
‘The team with whom we have worked has provided exceptional client service and cooperation. They understand the full breadth of the legal issues facing the client, analyse them rigorously, communicate them to client and co-counsel exceptionally, but then also focus on the business needs of the client and the best strategy for those needs. Overall, an exceptional holistic service.’
‘They are all extremely rigorous in their analysis, but also able to communicate very effectively and interact effectively.’
Key clients
The Procter & Gamble Company
Gillette Company LLC
Ocado
SCUK IP Limited
Prada
Fast Fashion Brands GmbH
ScreenSource GmbH
Work highlights
- Advising the Procter & Gamble Company on multiple actions against various traders in counterfeit, parallel traded, and lookalike goods.
- Advising Prada in respect of a range of IP issues including an intended claim for trade mark infringement (and design right infringement, copyright infringement and passing off) against River Island in respect of lookalike products.
- Advising Ocado in respect of an intended claim for trade mark infringement and passing off against a supplier of fruit and vegetable products under a similar brand name.
Powell Gilbert LLP > Firm Profile
Powell Gilbert LLP is a specialist London-based IP law firm dedicated to advising clients across the full spectrum of knowledge-driven industries, from cutting-edge tech and life sciences companies to creative and brand-driven businesses. The firm is one of the largest, most innovative and most highly regarded IP teams in the UK, with unrivalled patent litigation experience and a blue-chip brands practice.
The firm advises clients across all technologies and all IP rights, including advising on IP licence disputes and providing freedom-to-operate assessments.
The firm includes some of Europe’s leading patent litigators and the technical expertise at PG is second to none. Almost all lawyers have technical backgrounds, including many with PhDs or master’s degrees in relevant scientific disciplines. The firm also has a dedicated and highly experienced litigation support team.
The PG team appears regularly in cases before the UK patents courts at all levels, including on appeal before the UK Supreme Court, where it has successfully represented clients in a number of precedent-setting cases in recent years.
With a wealth of experience gained from acting in multi-national disputes, PG is frequently involved in devising European patent litigation strategies, acting as co-ordinating counsel and working with local teams to develop cases, prepare evidence and put strategies into effect,thereby ensuring consistency of approach across jurisdictions.
Practice areas: The firm advises across the full spectrum of IP rights, including patents, brands, design rights, copyright, passing off, confidential information and plant variety rights. Its experience in patent litigation ranges across all technical fields, from acting in the earliest biotechnology patent cases to involvement in the smartphone wars and leading cases on FRAND licensing disputes. It has appeared in many of the most technically complex and legally challenging cases in the UK patent courts and has also represented clients in referrals to the European Court of Justice and the European Free Trade Area Court in relation the requirements for the grant of SPCs. The firm also represents clients in smaller claims before the UK IP Enterprise Court.
Although focused on litigation, the firm is also experienced in alternative dispute resolution, including mediation and arbitration, particularly in relation to patent and technology licences.
International experience: A distinguishing feature of PG is the expertise and experience of its lawyers in coordinating complex cases and successfully guiding clients through multinational patent litigation, devising and coordinating pan-European strategies.
The firm has played a central role in cases before many overseas courts, including in continental Europe, Scandinavia, the United States (district court and International Trade Commission proceedings), Australia, China, Korea and Japan.
The firm also frequently represents clients in European Patent Office opposition proceedings and in other registry proceedings, including representing clients before the UK IPO.
With an eye to co-ordination strategies, the lawyers at PG are familiar with the opportunities, and the potential threats for the unwary, that litigation in the Unified Patents Court (UPC) offers. The PG team can assist clients in devising and implementing strategies for litigating in the UPC, and/or European national courts, bearing in mind the forum shopping opportunities that arise and available evidence gathering procedures.. Members of the firm were actively involved in commenting on the rules of procedure of the UPC and have contributed to training materials for UPC judges, including participation in mock trials.
Languages: Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese), English, Finnish, French, German and Punjabi
Main Contacts
| Department | Name | Telephone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intellectual property (general) | Simon Ayrton | simon.ayrton@powellgilbert.com | +44 (0)20 3040 8000 |
| Intellectual property (patents) | Tim Powell | tim.powell@powellgilbert.com | +44 (0)20 3040 8000 |
| Intellectual property (patents) | Alex Wilson | alex.wilson@powellgilbert.com | +44 (0)20 3040 8000 |
| Life sciences | Dr Penny Gilbert | penny.gilbert@powellgilbert.com | +44 (0)20 3040 8000 |
| Life sciences | Dr Bethan Hopewell | bethan.hopewell@powellgilbert.com | +44 (0)20 3040 8000 |
| IT/telecoms/electronics | Ari Laakkonen | ari.laakkonen@powellgilbert.com | +44 (0)20 3040 8000 |
| IT/telecoms/electronics | Zoe Butler | zoe.butler@powellgilbert.com | +44 (0)20 3040 8000 |
| Healthcare regulatory | Tim Whitfield | tim.whitfield@powellgilbert.com | +44 (0)20 3040 8000 |
| ADR | Alex Wilson | alex.wilson@powellgilbert.com | +44 (0)20 3040 8000 |
| Engineering | Alex Wilson | alex.wilson@powellgilbert.com | +44 (0)20 3040 8000 |
| Engineering | Ari Laakkonen | ari.laakkonen@powellgilbert.com | +44 (0)20 3040 8000 |
| Clean technology | Peter Damerell | peter.damerell@powellgilbert.com | +44 (0)20 3040 8000 |
| Life sciences | Dr Tess Waldron | tess.waldron@powellgilbert.com | +44 (0)20 3040 8000 |
| Life sciences | Dr Joel Coles | joel.coles@powellgilbert.com | +44 (0)20 3040 8000 |
| Life sciences | Siddharth Kusumakar | Siddharth.Kusumakar@powellgilbert.com | +44 (0)20 3040 8000 |
| Engineering | Tom Oliver | Tom.Oliver@powellgilbert.com | +44 (0)20 3040 8000 |
Lawyer Profiles
| Photo | Name | Position | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Mr Simon Ayrton | Partner specialising in intellectual property litigation. Work covers advising on full range… | View Profile |
 | Zoë Butler | Specialises in contentious intellectual property matters; practice covers full range of IP… | View Profile |
 | Dr Joel Coles | Partner specialising in intellectual property litigation. He is an experienced patent litigator… | View Profile |
 | Peter Damerell | Partner specialising in advising clients in complex patent disputes and co-ordinating parallel… | View Profile |
 | Dr Penny Gilbert | Partner specialising in advising on IP rights including patent litigation, licence disputes… | View Profile |
 | Dr Bethan Hopewell | Partner specialising in contentious intellectual property matters; practice covers full range of… | View Profile |
 | Mr Siddharth Kusumakar | Partner specialising in patent litigation in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical devices… | View Profile |
 | Ari Laakkonen | Specialises in electronics patent litigation and IT disputes, as well as advising… | View Profile |
 | Mr Tom Oliver | Specialises in intellectual property litigation. Advising across the range of intellectual properties… | View Profile |
 | Tim Powell | Partner and solicitor advocate specialising in intellectual property litigation and healthcare regulatory… | View Profile |
 | Dr Tess Waldron | Partner specialising in intellectual property litigation who has represented clients in front… | View Profile |
 | Tim Whitfield | Partner advising on contentious IP matters, with a focus on patent litigation… | View Profile |
 | Alex Wilson | Partner specialised in intellectual property; extensive experience of developing strategies for, and… | View Profile |
Staff Figures
Number of UK partners : 13 Number of other UK fee-earners : 30Languages
Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese) English Finnish French German PunjabiMemberships
AIPLA AIPPI CIPA EPLAW INTA LES MARQUES PTMG ChIPs IPLA LSLA Support IP InclusiveDiversity
Diversity
Our people are our most significant strength and we firmly believe that fostering an inclusive work environment, with equal opportunities, is key to our ongoing success. We aim to maximise the potential of every member of the team, promoting mutual respect and ensuring that they are seen as an individual first and foremost. They are supported and empowered to achieve, regardless of gender, ethnic origin, nationality, marital or civil partner status, sexual orientation, religion or belief, age, disability or socio-economic background. The gender ratio across the firm as a whole is approximately equal. The Partnership is also diverse, in terms of gender, sexual orientation and ethnicity. Our staff are invited to participate in a Diversity Survey on an anonymous and voluntary basis. The data, based only on those individuals who completed the survey, can be found here. We are proud to support IP Inclusive, which is dedicated to improving diversity in the IP professions. We also support ChIPs, a non-profit organisation that advances and connects women in technology, law and policy, with partners and associates being members of the ChIPs London Chapter Committee. This commitment to diversity and equality is central to our recruitment process: we recruit on merit.
CSR
The firm takes Corporate Social Responsibility seriously, working in partnership with Queens Park Community School and Careers Academies UK to provide mentoring to students aged 16 to 19 years. The firm provides pro bono legal advice to DACs (the Design and Artists Copyright Society – a leading UK copyright and collecting society for artists and visual creators). We work with the society by providing pro bono legal services to artists caught up in copyright and licensing disputes. At this year’s networking event we used The Clink Catering company which provides prisoners with training and experience in event catering to equip them with qualifications and skills for the future.
Charities
Whether it’s dressing up, baking cakes for Great Ormond Street, raffles, quizzing or putting our running shoes on, we’re always keen to get involved and raise money for charity. This year the members of the firm have been supporting “Cancer Research UK” as its chosen annual charity. We have also participated in a range of other fundraising events including, the Law Society Legal Walk, “wear pink day” for Breast Cancer Now, Royal Parks half marathon and the London Winter Run . Last year the firm raised over £16,000 for Together for Short Lives (the firm’s chosen charity for 2021). Most recently a team from PG took part in the Bacchus 10km run through a vineyard in fancy dress.
Client Testimonials
“The firm has exceptional breadth of experience and technical know-how – both legally and in the TMT sector. there are very few firms in the UK which have the breadth of experience and quality of personnel” – Legal 500
“Quite simply – you cannot go wrong instructing Powell Gilbert and they will work exceptionally hard and with considerable talent and expertise to secure the best outcome for their clients” – Legal 500
“extensive advice in all IP-related matters – a wide cooperation network in Europe and worldwide – outstanding expertise – outstanding partner availability” – Legal 500
“The breadth of expertise and experience is unique…” – Legal 500
“They have a wealth of sector expertise, legal excellence at all levels and consistently go the extra mile for their clients. A real class act” – Legal 500
“The Powell Gilbert team have become our in-house IP litigation team. They are trusted advisors who accept the commercial realities of any situation and understand that risk mitigation and preparedness are of paramount importance to industry. They combine this with a wealth of legal knowledge, humour and availability! I could not do my job without them” – Legal 500
“Powell Gilbert LLP is noted for its top-class IP offering, where it handles high-value and complex litigation relating to patents” – Legal 500
“outstanding experience in the coordination and planning of complex international patent litigation” – Legal 500
“absolutely superb in every way” – Legal 500
“Powell Gilbert LLP fields a ‘high-end team’: ‘superb’, ‘outstanding’ and ‘for patent work, there is no firm better’” – Legal 500
“Powell Gilbert is ahead simply because every single person there is excellent” – Legal 500