Carpmaels & Ransford LLP > London, England > Firm Profile
Carpmaels & Ransford LLP Offices

ONE SOUTHAMPTON ROW
LONDON
WC1B 5HA
England
Carpmaels & Ransford LLP > The Legal 500 Rankings
TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > PATMA: Patent attorneys Tier 1
Carpmaels & Ransford LLP integrated its growing materials practice into its wider chemistry team under the lead of Gillian McGuire to advise on matters at the intersection of the two specialisms, often for consumer product clients. In Gary Small‘s engineering and technology team, the caseload increasingly includes AI and machine learning patents. The well-known medical device practice has remained a core area for the team. In the life sciences, a key area of expertise for the firm, the practice saw the biggest organic growth, with biotechnology practice head Mark Chapman and pharmaceuticals practice head James Warner raising two attorneys each to senior associate level and life sciences expert Anna Leathley and Isobel Barry, who focuses on pharmaceuticals patents, joining the partnership in July 2021. John Brunner is also active in technology issues. Across the teams, the practice advises on the entire life cycle of a patent, starting with invention mining, EPO opposition matters, and ending with enforcement matters for which clients can draw on the firm’s team of solicitors. Hugh Goodfellow is the firm’s managing partner; former post-holder Richard Jackson retired in June 2020. In July 2020, solicitor and biotechnology and pharmaceutical specialist Jennifer Antcliff made partner.Practice head(s):
Hugh Goodfellow; John Brunner; Gary Small; Mark Chapman; James Warner; Gillian Phillips
Other key lawyers:
James Warner; Harvey Adams; Edward Oates; Daniel Wise; Susan Kirsch; Bruce Cockerton; Anna Leathley; Isobel Barry; Chris Hoggett; Cameron Marshall; Matthew Georgiou; Paul Bettridge; Stephen Duffield; Jennifer Antcliff; Hazel Turner
Testimonials
‘I have worked with a dozen European patent firms and none can match the synergy of the people (partners and associates) of Carpmaels. Their expertise, their dynamism, the energy to tackle problems and find solutions, and their ability to achieve success is incomparable to other firms. Exceptional use of technology. Exceptional collaboration with the client. Carpmaels offers and produces exceptional advice and outcomes.‘
‘Carpmaels has a terrific team of partners and others with wide and deep experience in pharma. We not only benefit from their knowledge in prosecuting patents, but also rely on their advice relating to general strategy, opposition proceedings, and regulatory issues. Carpmaels has a team dedicated to national validations that we employ regularly. Carpmaels also has a team dedicated to SPC’s which we also take advantage of. Rarely is there a need to seek advice elsewhere.‘
‘Carpmaels & Ransford has a strong IP litigation team. The team is experienced in both UK and EU litigation matters. In particular, I would engage Carpmaels for multi-jurisdiction litigation involving both US and UK. In addition to having a global view, and the team has a solid understanding of US legal procedures.‘
‘I have mostly worked with James Warner and Hazel Turner, both of whom are outstanding in their knowledge and service. James, despite being a busy partner, always has time for our questions and personally communicates with us regularly. Hazel has a depth of knowledge that we tap into constantly regarding pharmaceutical patents.‘
‘John Brunner is a rising star with in depth knowledge in pan-European patent matters. John has delivered consistently positive outcomes.‘
Key clients
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Barclays Bank Plc
Incyte
Roche
Biogen Inc.
Johnson & Johnson Vision
Align Technology
Novartis
Vertex
Dupont Teijin Films
Gilead
Johnson & Johnson, with Boston Scientific
Jazz Pharmaceuticals
CSL
LifeScan, Inc.
Ethicon Inc. & Ethicon LLC
McNeil AB
Acorda Therapeutics
Biosense Webster
Abbott Laboratories
Raytheon Technologies Corporation
Janssen Pharmaceuticals
LEO Pharma
Afiniti, Ltd.
Work highlights
- Represented Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in a successful offensive opposition at the EPO Boards of Appeal regarding a patent covering anti-PCSK9 antibodies, owned by Amgen and which had been used to initiate litigation against Regeneron and Sanofi across Europe.
- Took on the management of Barclays’ entire global patent portfolio in early 2020.
- Acted for Novartis with a cross-practice team comprising patent attorneys and patent litigators in prosecution and opposition work before the EPO; supporting national enforcement and validity actions and providing legal opinions.
TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > PATMA: Trade mark attorneys Tier 2
Carpmaels & Ransford LLP has strategically shifted its practice towards a high percentage of contentious matters, including litigation for which the team joins forces with the firm's dispute resolution practice. The strong EPO oppositions and appeal practice is a stand-out practice in the market and a core pillar of the wider trade mark practice that ranges from clearance searches and filings to licencing, customs and transactional matters. Practice heads Roger Lush and Jonathan Day, who is dual-qualified as a trade mark attorney and solicitor, are also well versed in steering clients through design and copyright matters.
Practice head(s):
Roger Lush; Jonathan Day
Other key lawyers:
Lara Elder
Key clients
Allergan
Marvel
Lucasfilm
National Geographic
20th Century
Penguin Random House
DN Management Ltd
Motorsport UK
Manzanita Capital
Bear Grylls Ventures LLP
Align Technology, Inc.
Deere & Company
Xeros Limited
Blue Prism
Rajinder Sharma, Recup Ltd
Byredo
Umarex GmbH
Celgene/Bristol-Myers Squibb
4D Pharma
Aphria
Compass Pathways
Takeda/ Shire Pharmaceuticals
Biogen
De Beers
Space NK
Eve Lom
Diptyque
Malin + Goet
Kevyn Aucoin
Susanne Kaufmann
Iris Nation
McArthurGlen
Belron
Polaroid
McIlhenny Company
Western Digital
Total
GAM Limited
RektGlobal, Inc
Cara Therapeutics
Kalvista
Pacific World Corporation
Work highlights
- Acted for the world’s largest entertainment company on its brand protection, including clearing the names of new blockbuster films and representing the client in a high number of disputes.
- Acted for Allergan on the protection of its BOTOX trade mark in the EU, including in proceedings before the CJEU and in a global trade mark and unfair competition dispute.
- Advised Bear Grylls Ventures LLP on the expansion and defence of the brand, including general counselling, portfolio management and prosecution of brand extension-related filings pursuant to commercial partnerships and licence agreements.
Industry focus > Life sciences and healthcare Tier 4
Carpmaels & Ransford LLP specialises in IP, with the firm employing numerous patent and trade mark attorneys specialising in life sciences. Work encompasses prosecution, opposition and litigation for patents and trade marks, as well as transactions and counselling advice. David Wilson leads the dispute resolution team and is highly experienced in the pharmaceutical sector; James Warner is head of pharmaceuticals while Mark Chapman is head of biotechnology. Managing partner Hugh Goodfellow has an extensive prosecution practice, while Jake Marshall leads the IP transactional group.
Practice head(s):
David Wilson; Jake Marshall; Hugh Goodfellow; James Warner; Mark Chapman; Roger Lush
Testimonials
‘The Carpmaels team is very thorough in their approach to matters and consistently provided high quality work product. Their strong attention to detail and hard work allowed them to develop a strategy quickly and refine it as the matter progressed.’
‘David Wilson – strong technically and strategically.’
‘Excellent and approachable team of down-to-earth litigators who have picked up some very impressive instructions over the last year or so.’
Key clients
FibroGen
BMS (formerly Celgene)
Gilead
Vertex
Harbour BioMed
Janssen Pharmaceutica (part of the Johnson & Johnson group)
Biogen Inc.
Jazz Pharmaceuticals
Amgen Europe GmbH (via Marshall, Gerstein & Borun LLP)
CSL
Work highlights
- Represented Akebia and GSK in a large (three week trial) patent case involving the defence of seven patents against a revocation claim, a declaration of non-infringement against two of them (sought by GSK), as well as advancing counterclaims for infringement of certain patents.
- Defended BMS’ interests against attack from more than 5 different generic pharmaceutical manufacturers.
- Obtained licence and collaboration agreement for Harbour BioMed for the use of the 47D11 antibody to treat COVID-19.
TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Intellectual property: patents (contentious and non-contentious) Tier 4
Carpmaels & Ransford LLP applies the vast scientific and technical knowledge of its patent prosecution practice to complex litigation. In the life sciences sector, the ‘thoughtful, pragmatic and astute‘ Ian Kirby secured patent infringement victories on behalf of a number of medical devices and blockbuster drugs companies, while David Wilson took the lead on opposition proceedings before the EPO. Also focusing on life sciences, Jake Marshall leads the advice to clients on IP transactions and commercial agreements. Owing to a high degree of successes in life sciences litigation, Jennifer Antcliff made partner in mid-2020.Practice head(s):
Hugh Goodfellow; David Wilson; Jake Marshall
Other key lawyers:
Ian Kirby; Jennifer Antcliff; Camilla Balleny; Simon Llewellyn; Sarah Johnson; Simon Keevey-Kothari; Chloe Taylor
Testimonials
‘With fantastic support from the patent attorney team, who have often clocked up years of experience with the cases in the EPO and beyond, this is one of the best all round European patent litigation teams in London.‘
‘David Wilson is enormously experienced on the life sciences side. Ian Kirby is a very canny litigator.‘
‘Jennifer Antcliff is a new partner with huge potential.‘
‘Ian Kirby is a thoughtful, pragmatic and astute litigator.‘
‘We were highly impressed with both the breadth and the depth of the experience of the team.‘
‘The Carpmaels team is very thorough in their approach to the matters and consistently provided a high-quality work product. Their strong attention to detail and hard work allowed them to develop a strategy quickly and refine it as the matter progressed.‘
‘Carpmaels has a large team in the pharmaceutical/life sciences space that is very knowledgeable about the industry. Carpmaels does a very good job of keeping on top of their matters and communicating with the client to ensure the client is aware of important issues and deadlines.‘
‘Camilla Balleny does an excellent job of overseeing a large team responsible for running a large contentious pharmaceutical patent litigation/enforcement program on a pan-EU basis.‘
Key clients
FibroGen
BMS (formerly Celgene)
BISSELL Homecare, Inc.
Johnson & Johnson, subsidiary AMO Development, LLC
Penguin Random House
Johnson & Johnson, subsidiary Ethicon, Inc.
Harbour BioMed
Amgen Europe GmbH (via Marshall, Gerstein & Borun LLP)
Ceva Santé Animal Health SA
Janssen Pharmaceutica (part of the Johnson & Johnson group)
Janssen Biotech, Inc.
Work highlights
- Represented Fibrogen in a three-week patent trial involving the defence of seven patents against a revocation claim, a declaration of non-infringement against two, as well as advancing counterclaims for infringement of certain patents involved against Akebia and GSK.
- Conducted UK and international patent litigation and strategy for BISSELL Homecare.
- Advised Harbour BioMed on a licence and collaboration agreement for the use of the 47D11 antibody to treat Covid-19.
Carpmaels & Ransford LLP > Firm Profile
Carpmaels & Ransford LLP is a leader in the European IP market, having driven innovation in the industry for over 200 years. The firm advises clients on all aspects of intellectual property including drafting, filing and prosecuting patent and trade mark applications, drafting and negotiating licence agreements and other commercial IP agreements, advising on the transfer of property rights, assisting clients with patent restoration matters and conducting enforcement and revocation litigation.
The firm has one of Europe’s largest intellectual property teams serving blue-chip clients across the globe, including Johnson & Johnson, Celgene, Novartis, Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Mars, Micron, Gilead, Raytheon, Regeneron, Takeda, Allergan and Xeros. The firm’s attorneys have considerable technical knowledge, bringing together experience from industry-leading companies, academic research at leading universities, and extensive patent expertise in the areas of engineering and tech, chemistry and materials, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, supplementary protection certificates and information communications technology and standards.
Through the firm’s fully integrated dispute resolution and transactions teams, the firm is able to provide a holistic service for clients which supports their IP needs from inception to commercialisation. The dispute resolution team, comprised of experienced solicitors, barristers and patent attorney litigators, represents clients at all levels of the European Patent Office (EPO).The team is also adept at conducting enforcement litigation and revocation actions before the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) and patent, copyright, trade mark and other IP litigation in the English courts and the Court of Justice of the European Union, often advising in cases where parallel or related litigation is ongoing in courts across Europe or in the United States.
The transactions team is another key part of the firm’s integrated IP offering. As well as advising on the acquisition and licensing of IP rights, and other IP focused agreements, (such as development and collaboration agreements), the team manages multi-jurisdictional patent/trade mark assignment recordal projects, provides specialist advice on the transfer of priority rights and assists clients with the restoration of registered IP rights around the world.
Main Contacts
Department | Name | Telephone | |
---|---|---|---|
Managing partner | Hugh Goodfellow | ||
Chemistry | Gillian McGuire | ||
Dispute resolution | David Wilson | ||
Engineering and technology | Gary Small | ||
Life sciences | Hugh Goodfellow | ||
Trade marks | Roger Lush | ||
Transactions | Jake Marshall |
Lawyer Profiles
Photo | Name | Position | Profile |
---|---|---|---|
![]() | Harvey Adams | Harvey is a partner focussing on the Life Sciences and Chemistry sectors.… | View Profile |
![]() | Jennifer Antcliff | Jenny is a partner in the firm’s Dispute Resolution team. Her patent… | View Profile |
![]() | Camilla Balleny | Camilla is a partner in the Dispute Resolution team. She has focussed… | View Profile |
![]() | Isobel Barry | Isobel advises innovator pharmaceutical companies through all stages of the pharmaceutical product… | View Profile |
![]() | Paul Bettridge | Paul sits within our Engineering and Tech teams, predominantly working within the… | View Profile |
![]() | John Brunner | John has extensive experience working within the tech sector, with one of… | View Profile |
![]() | Mark Chapman | Mark leads the Biotechnology team at Carpmaels & Ransford. Mark’s impressive Biotech-only… | View Profile |
![]() | Bruce Cockerton | Bruce’s chemistry practice covers both industrial and medicinal chemistry, encompassing polymer chemistry, apparel… | View Profile |
![]() | Jonathan Day | Jonathan is dual-qualified as a solicitor and trademark attorney. His background in… | View Profile |
![]() | Stephen Duffield | Stephen’s work has a particular focus on biological therapies, often contentious and… | View Profile |
![]() | Matthew Georgiou | Matthew is a Partner in the Life Sciences group. Matthew spends the… | View Profile |
![]() | Hugh Goodfellow | Hugh is the Managing Partner at Carpmaels & Ransford and a Partner… | View Profile |
![]() | Chris Hoggett | Chris’ practice is in the pharmaceutical area of life sciences. He handles… | View Profile |
![]() | David Holland | David is a partner in the Life Sciences group and has a… | View Profile |
![]() | Mr Ian Kirby | Ian is a Partner in the Dispute Resolution team and focuses on… | View Profile |
![]() | Dr Susan Kirsch | Susan is a Partner in the Chemistry team at Carpmaels & Ransford.… | View Profile |
![]() | Anna Leathley | Anna’s area of expertise is in biotech. She has a current focus… | View Profile |
![]() | Roger Lush | Roger’s extensive and varied practice covers the full trade mark life-cycle, from… | View Profile |
![]() | Jake Marshall | Jake specialises in transactional and advisory matters involving intellectual property and technology.… | View Profile |
![]() | Cameron Marshall | Cameron focuses exclusively on the biotechnology and pharmaceutical fields, with an extensive… | View Profile |
![]() | Gillian Mcguire | Gill leads the Chemistry team at Carpmaels & Ransford. Gill has a… | View Profile |
![]() | Edward Oates | Ed practises in the life sciences field, with a particular focus on… | View Profile |
![]() | Dr Gary Small | Gary leads the Engineering and Tech groups at Carpmaels & Ransford. He… | View Profile |
![]() | Chris Tunstall | As a partner within the Engineering and Tech groups, Chris handles a… | View Profile |
![]() | James Warner | James leads the Pharmaceuticals team at Carpmaels & Ransford. His practice focuses… | View Profile |
![]() | David Wilson | David leads the Dispute Resolution team at Carpmaels & Ransford and has… | View Profile |
![]() | Daniel Wise | Daniel specialises in biologics and pharmaceuticals, with particular expertise in protein therapeutics,… | View Profile |
Staff Figures
Number of UK partners : 27 Number of other UK fee-earners : 96- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > PATMA: Patent attorneys