Michael Silverleaf KC > Chambers of Iain Purvis KC > London, England > Barrister Profile
11 South Square Offices
11 South Square
GRAY'S INN
LONDON
WC1R 5EY
England
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Michael Silverleaf KC
Position
Barrister in many leading intellectual property cases involving: patents, trade marks, passing off, copyright and related rights, registered and unregistered designs, computer disputes, breach of confidence, performers rights, entertainment and media law, restraint of trade, trade libel, trade descriptions, related areas of European and domestic competition law; practice in tribunals and courts at all levels up to the House of Lords and European Courts of Justice and the UK and European Patent Offices. Recent cases include:
Advanced Bionics AG v MED-EL Elektromedizinische Gerate [2021] EWHC 2415 (Pat) – (Patents Court)
IPCom v Vodafone [2021] EWCA Civ 205 – (Appeal)
Pliteq Inc & Anor v iKoustic Ltd & Anor [2020] EWHC 2564 (IPEC) – (trade mark infringement/passing off)
Genentech v Comptroller [2020] EWCA Civ 475 – (Appeal)
Lifestyle Equities v Royal County of Berkshire Polo [2019] EWCH 1872 (Ch) Club – (trade mark infringement)
Warner-Lambert Company LLC v Generics (UK) Ltd t/a Mylan and anr [2018] UKSC 56 – (Supreme Court)
Wobben Properties GmbH v Siemens Public Ltd Company & Ors [2017] EWCA Civ 5 – (Appeal)
Victoria Plum Ltd (t/a Victoria Plumb) v Victorian Plumbing Ltd & Ors [2016] EWHC 2911 (Ch) – (Trade mark infringement)
Generics (UK) Ltd (t/a Mylan) v Warner-Lambert Co LLC [2016] EWCA Civ 1006 – (Appeal)
Napp Pharmaceutical Holdings Ltd v Dr Reddy’s Laboratories (UK) Ltd and Sandoz Ltd [2016] EWHC 1517 (Pat) (patent infringement);
Richter Gedeon Vegyeszeti Gyar RT v Generics (UK) Ltd (t/a Mylan) [2016] EWCA Civ 410 (patent validity);
The Sofa Workshop Ltd v Sofaworks Ltd [2015] EWHC 1773 (IPEC) (trade mark infringment, passing off);
JW Spear v Zynga [2015] EWCA Civ 290 (trade mark infringement);
Starbucks v BSkyB (UKSC 2013/0274) (passing off);
Fresh Trading Ltd v Deepend Fresh Recovery Ltd [2015] EWHC 52 (copyright);
Interflora v M&S [2014] EWCA Civ 1403 (Google ad words);
Nokia v HTC (patent infringement, standards essential licensing) (2013-4, settled);
Confidential design arbitration, 32Red of [2013] EWHC 815 (Ch) (damages inquiry);
32Red Ltd v William Hill Gaming (UK) Ltd [2012] EWCA Civ 19 (trade marks);
Football DataCo v Sportradar [2013] EWCA Civ 27 (database right);
Samsung v Apple [2012] EWCA Civ 1339 (registered designs of tablet computers);
Schlumberger Holdings Ltd v Electromagnetic Geoservices AS [2010] RPC 33 (CA) (inventive step, validity, patents);
Abbott v Bayer (EPO anti-TNF alpha human monoclonal antibodies);
Newspaper Licensing Agency Ltd v Meltwater Holding BV [2011] RPC 7 (ChD), [2012] RPC 1 (CA) (copyright licensing schemes, literary works).
Career
Trained Gray’s Inn, qualified 1980; QC 1996; junior counsel to the treasury in patent matters 1991-96; qualified as a mediator 2004 and practises actively in this field; appointed to Nominet DRS Expert Panel member 2008-12. Publications: ‘Passing Off Law and Practice’ (Butterworth’s 2nd ed 1995); also many articles in the legal press and papers delivered at professional conferences and seminars.
Languages
French.
Memberships
Intellectual Property Bar Association; Chancery Bar Association.
Education
King’s College School, Wimbledon; Imperial College, London (1975 BSc Physics); Inns of Court School of Law.
Leisure
Cycling, hockey, walking and reading.
Lawyer Rankings
London > Dispute resolution > Mediators
(Mediators)Ranked: Tier 5Michael 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.
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.
London Bar > Intellectual property
(Leading Silks)Ranked: Tier 111 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.
London Bar > Media and entertainment
(Leading Silks)Ranked: Tier 2Michael 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.’