Andrew Bowler > Bristows LLP > London, England > Lawyer Profile

Bristows LLP
100 VICTORIA EMBANKMENT
LONDON
EC4Y 0DH
England

Living Wage

Work Department

Patent Litigation, IP

Position

Andy is joint head of patent litigation at Bristows. Andy’s advice covers the full range of intellectual property rights, with a particular emphasis on patents, trade marks, registered designs and trade secrets.

Andy has experience in representing high profile clients in IP disputes, including complex mechanical and FMCG products, pharmaceuticals, mobile phones, automotives, electronics and medical devices. He has conducted several successful mediations of IP disputes and regularly provides freedom to operate and validity opinions. Frequently, he is asked by clients to coordinate cross-border litigation. He also has experience of making discovery applications to UK courts pursuant to letters of request/letters rogatory issued by foreign courts.

Andy’s cases include the Unwired Planet/Conversant case in the High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court on SEP/FRAND licensing [2020] UKSC 37 on behalf of ZTE. Other clients include Siemens, Samsung, Kennametal and Heineken.

Andy is frequently asked to comment and lecture on IP issues and is a regular speaker at international conferences on strategic considerations for European and international patent litigation. He regularly provides comments to the national press on intellectual property issues. He is on the Lexis Nexis IP & IT Editorial Board.

Recent cases include:

  • Unwired Planet v Samsung (acting for Samsung).
  • Heineken v Anheuser–Busch (acting for Heineken).
  • Wobben v Siemens (acting for Siemens, also on appeal).
  • Sandvik v Kennametal (acting for Kennametal).
  • Conversant v ZTE (acting for ZTE in patent trials concerning standard essential patents, anti-suit injunction hearing, and hearings up to the Supreme Court on jurisdiction issues concerning FRAND licensing).
  • Jushi v OCV (acting for Jushi in leading Court of Appeal case relating to overlapping ranges).
  • Alcon Pharmaceuticals v Pharmathen (acting for Alcon in preliminary injunction proceedings).
  • Allergan v Ipsen (acting for Ipsen in case involving Swiss-type and EPC 2000 claims).
  • BAE v Thales (acting for Thales).
  • Kenilworth v Blackberry and Microsoft (acting for Kenilworth).
  • Siemens v Seagate (acting for Siemens in Northern Irish proceedings).

Career

Trainee at Bristows 1997-1999
Associate 1999 – 2008 (including secondment in Paris)
Partner 2008

Languages

French (conversational)

Memberships

IPLA: AIPPI
EPLAW
Associate membership of CIPA

Education

St Paul’s School, Barnes
University of Manchester (1995 BA Geography)
University of Bristol (Diploma in IP Law and Practice 2002)

Leisure

Travel, sport

Lawyer Rankings

London > TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Intellectual property: patents (contentious and non-contentious)

Praised by clients as an ‘extremely experienced and very well-established’ team, Bristows LLP’s one-stop shop is notable for its capabilities in handling technology, life science and consumer products. The team is involved in cutting-edge work in SEP/FRAND cases, alongside pharmaceuticals, including important biologics and antibodies cases. On the transactional side, the team routinely handles IP deals including settlements, high value research collaboration and licensing deals, and IP aspects of corporate and JV transactions. Andrew Bowler and Myles Jelf jointly lead the patent litigation practice, the former is well-versed in coordinating global litigation and the latter is noted for his expertise in telecommunication and high tech matters. Matthew Warren leads the transactional side of the practice, his most notable work includes a landmark research collaboration and licence agreement between Oxford University Innovation and AstraZeneca. Claire Smith is another name to note on the transactional side. Liz Cohen’s strengths lie in the realm of life sciences, while James Boon is sought after by clients in the telecoms and high-tech sectors. Other patent litigation specialists include Gemma BarrettRichard Pinckney, Robert Burrows, Dominic Adair and Brian Cordery.