JUVE Comment

It is unusual to read any UK High Court judgment without seeing a named barrister from this set, and 3 New Square’s highly visible members frequently appear on the claimant side. Its large selection of QCs and juniors are especially active in complex pharmaceutical and life sciences proceedings, with its barristers’ impressive credentials apparent in the UK Court of Appeal’s 2021 judgment list. Of the seven cases so far heard by the court, six involve barristers from the set. Five Three New Square barristers are involved in two potentially major pharmaceutical disputes concerning pneumococcal vaccines and anaemia medication, respectively.

But the visibility of the set’s barristers in life sciences does not obscure their work in other areas. Other Court of Appeal cases range from mechanical patents for railway trackbed technology between Fiberweb Geosynthetics and Geofabrics, to the omnipresent Stuart Baran’s turn for the Comptroller General of Patents in the AI-centred Dabus case. “A true rising star; clever, and light with it,” says one client of Baran. This globally-significant case, which has recently seen other judgments in South Africa, Australia and Germany, showcases how 3 New Square’s barristers can adopt to new forms of technology. Similarly, back at the High Court, four of the set’s barristers – including the highly-recommended Tom Mitcheson – work for Latvia MGI in the complex case against Illumina regarding DNA sequencing technology.

However, 3 New Square remains less visible than its neighbours 8 New Square or 11 South Square in high-profile FRAND disputes. Since the latter has carved out a speciality in electronics cases, this is perhaps not surprising. However, some of 3 New Square’s barristers do appear in cases involving multiple trials over telecommunications patents. For example, senior QC Guy Burkill works on the side of Apple in its wide-ranging dispute with non-practising entity Optis, including a recent judgment from the Court of Appeal. In InterDigital vs. Lenovo, barristers Joe Delaney, Thomas Hinchliffe, Jeremy Heald and deputy and IPEC judge Douglas Campbell lead the counsel list. The FRAND case in this dispute, which is scheduled for early 2022, could provide further opportunity for the set to demonstrate expertise in this area.

On the other hand, the set remains prominent in its contribution to the wider UK patent landscape, with the Competition Appeal Tribunal recently appointing silk Justin Turner as chairman. Along with other senior barristers such as Douglas Campbell holding deputy judge positions in the UK judiciary, 3 New Square barristers continue to demonstrate their flexibility across all areas of patent law. A bench of highly-capable juniors such as Katherine Moggridge and Miles Copeland ensure the set will retain its reputation, especially in pharmaceutical litigation, for years to come.

Recommended individuals

Andrew Waugh (“hard working, great team player and modern in approach”, “very engaged with all aspects of a case. Works hard to understand the detail and as a result is extremely effective in cross examination. Clients appreciate that he is such a strong team player,” both competitors), Guy Burkill, Joe Delaney (“very good, acts beyond years of call”, competitor), Justin Turner, Katherine Moggridge (“extremely capable junior who works very well with clients and QCs. Bright and engaged in the technical issues. Very responsive”, “hard-working and diligent junior, with particularly good team management skills to help marshal her leaders”, both competitors), Stuart Baran (“an extremely diligent junior”, “ahead of his years and great on his feet. A strong junior comfortably able to take on cross examination”, “a true rising star: clever, and light with it”, all competitors), Thomas Hinchliffe (“clever and easy to work with. Has good judgment points”, competitor), Tom Mitcheson (“very bright and extremely clear in his legal submission and advocacy. Combines that with a very good client manner. He is also a great supporter of diversity initiatives”, “Tom is successfully maintaining a very busy practice which reflects not only his ability but his excellent client service”, “extremely skilful advocate, including considerable and proven experience before the highest courts, including both the UK Supreme Court and CJEU”, all competitors)

Team

8 QCs, 14 juniors

Clients

Court of Appeal: Vodafone (respondent, Tom Mitcheson) against IPCom over access rights; Fiberweb (appellant, Justin Turner, Geoffrey Pritchard) against Geofabrics over railway trackbeds; Merck Sharp Dohme (respondent, Thomas Hinchliffe, Katherine Moggridge) against Wyeth over pneumococcal vaccines; FibroGen (appellant, Tom Mitcheson, Joe Delaney) and Astellas (appellant, Justin Turner) against Akebia and Otsuka over anaemia treatment; Comptroller General of Patents (respondent, Stuart Baran) against Stephen Thaler over Dabus; Apple (respondent, Guy Burkill) against Optis/Unwired Planet over licensing. High Court: Salts Healthcare (defendant, Douglas Campbell, Tim Austen) against Coloplast over ostomy bags; Latvia (defendant, Tom Mitcheson, Thomas Hinchliffe, Miles Copeland, Alice Hart) against Illumina over DANN sequencing technology; Neurim/Flynn (claimant, Andrew Waugh, Katherine Moggridge) against Generics/Mylan) over insomnia medication; Alcon (claimant, Andrew Waugh) against Actavis and Accord (defendant, Justin Turner) over glaucoma treatment; Sandoz (claimant, Alice Hart) and Teva (claimant, Justin Turner against Bristol-Myers Squibb/Pfizer (defendant) over apixaban; ADD2 (claimant, Guy Burkill, Charles Brabin) against dSPACE over electronic control units; Optis (claimant) against Apple (defendant, Guy Burkill) over FRAND licensing; Insulet (claimant) against Roche (defendant, Andrew Waugh) over diabetic insulin monitoring device; Anan Kasei and Rhodia (claimant, Tom Mitcheson, Miles Copeland) against Neo Chemicals over damages; Fiberweb (claimant, Geoffrey Pritchard, Alice Hart) against Geofabrics over railway track beds; Interdigital (claimant, Douglas Campbell, Joe Delaney) against Lenovo (defendant, Thomas Hinchliffe, Jeremy Heald) over telecommunication standards licensing; Neurim/Flynn (claimant, Andrew Waugh) against Generics/Mylan over insomnia medication; Abbott (claimant, Tom Mitcheson, Tim Austen, Georgina Messenger) against Dexcom over medical devices; Advanced Bionics (claimant, Thomas Lunt) against Med-El Elektromedizinische over cochlear implants; Bayer (defendant, Tom Mitcheson) against Teva over sorafenib; Neurim/Flynn (claimant, Justin Turner) against Generics/Mylan; Dr Reddy’s, Actavis and Teva, NHS England, Wales and Northern Ireland (co-claimants, Alice Hart), NHS Scotland (co-claimant, Douglas Campbell), Ranbaxy, et al. against Warner Lambert and Pfizer (defendants, Tim Austen, Thomas Lunt) over compensation for cross-undertaking in damages in pregabalin trial.