JUVE Comment

Bird & Bird maintains its position among London’s market leaders with an excellent, broad and substantial team that commands client trust across numerous technological fields. A highlight is the firm’s representation of regular clients Nokia and Alcatel Lucent against Amazon concerning multimedia streaming and video codecs. This case attracts public attention not only due to its scale and everyday relevance but also for its symbolic importance in demonstrating how European companies can effectively challenge US internet giants in international markets. It exemplifies the calibre of cases handled by the team around highly recommended Richard Vary in major tech disputes. The team has developed extensive experience in FRAND proceedings which, in conjunction with UPC proceedings, continue to generate substantial litigation in London. The internal appointment of a partner specialising in SEPs reflects the dynamic growth of this already well-established practice.

Bird & Bird also maintains an excellent position in life sciences, effectively leveraging its well-established cooperation across numerous global and European offices for coordinated client representation. As one in-house counsel notes, “They quickly assemble well-organised teams and present complex matters clearly, making it easy for me to brief management.”

European set-up

Bird & Bird ranks among Europe’s leading firms for patent litigation and has made a correspondingly strong entry into UPC work. The UK team participates in significant proceedings, such as representing Dexcom in its dispute with Abbott. The firm is exceptionally well-positioned to play a crucial role in cases spanning UK and UPC jurisdictions, particularly in life sciences and even more so in tech proceedings involving FRAND and SEPs. With its integrated patent litigation team, Bird & Bird maintains an advantage over competitors at other large international firms such as A&O Shearman or Freshfields.

The team continues to represent clients across various technical fields in economically significant proceedings, including classic pan-European disputes such as Teva’s permetrexed case and CureVac’s dispute with BioNTech and Pfizer over mRNA patents.

Strengths

High-profile pharmaceutical cases, especially for generic drug manufacturers. Acting in and coordinating pan-European telecommunications litigation, including FRAND. Strong interoffice cooperation.

Recommended individuals

Toby Bond, Tom Darvill, Zoe Fuller, Neil Jenkins (“experienced”, competitor), Patrick Kelleher (“responsive and high quality”, competitor), Morag Macdonald (“hardworking and high quality”, competitor), Christopher de Mauny, Jane Mutimear, Eleanor Root, Richard Vary, Mark Hilton (“good know-how and large network”, client)

Team

49 lawyers, 4 patent attorneys

Clients

Litigation: CureVac against BioNTech and Pfizer over COVID-19 vaccine patent; Celltrion against Genentech, Novartis, Janssen over monoclonal antibody omalizumab; Dexcom against Abbott over continuous glucose-monitoring device (settled in 2024); Alcatel Lucent and Nokia against Amazon over multimedia streaming services and video codecs; InterDigital against Lenovo and Oppo over mobile communications and FRAND (ended in 2024); ZTE against Lenovo over wireless communications (settled in 2024); the Broad Institute in EPO oppositions over CRISPR/Cas technology; Martin-Baker Aircraft against AMI Industries over ejection seats for aircrafts.