JUVE Comment

EIP has been one of the most expansive firms on the London patent litigation scene in recent years. However, 2024 saw the firm’s expansion slow in terms of new hires and offices outside the UK. In London, the firm has ensured a smooth transition from former senior partner and star litigator Gary Moss to the next generation around Robert Lundie Smith.

This generational shift has proven successful, as the litigation team remains highly active in mobile communications and FRAND cases. This mirrors its previous work under Moss with NPE clients such as Unwired Planet, Conversant and Optis, which significantly impacted the UK patent market. Optis continues to wage intensive litigation against Apple in the UK courts with Moss. However, it is now clients like Nokia driving the practice’s development under the younger partners’ leadership. Nokia has not only transferred a major dispute with Amazon to the litigation team but is also increasingly instructing the patent attorney team for prosecution work. Additionally, an EIP team worked alongside Osborne Clark to defend Avanci in a landmark Court of Appeal case where carmaker Tesla sought a FRAND-rate determination for a pool licence.

The litigation team maintains a stable presence in life sciences, albeit with lower market visibility. The ongoing defence of Amgen against claims from Pfizer, Regeneron and Janssen-Cilag remains EIP’s headline client in this sector. Patent attorney Monika Rai’s work for Moderna in EPO opposition proceedings against a CureVac mRNA patent is also notable, as is the patent attorney team’s work for a medical device manufacturer in EPO oppositions. Despite such progress, EIP has not yet reached the level of Powell Gilbert and Bird & Bird’s hard-hitting practices in this segment. However, EIP’s involvement in two UPC cases concerning diagnostic devices suggests potential for growth in this area.

European set-up

Over recent years, EIP has established a pan-European practice with an integrated approach between lawyers and patent attorneys to position itself for UPC litigation. Beyond its UK base, the firm has built a well-positioned litigation team in Germany and a six-strong patent attorney team in Stockholm.

When the UPC launched in 2023, EIP quickly secured semiconductor cases for key client Broadcom/Avago against Tesla and Realtek. The German team leads these cases. The same team also co-counsels with Carpmaels & Ransford for Curio Bioscience against 10x Genomics over diagnostic devices at the Düsseldorf local division. However, the London team remains active in UPC litigation, with a mixed German-UK team handling cases in Düsseldorf and Milan for Labrador Diagnostics against bioMérieux regarding diagnostic devices.

In 2022, EIP and French firm Amar Goussu Staub formed an alliance for UPC work under the name EIP Amar. However, this cooperation has not yet resulted in any major UPC cases.

Strengths

Litigation in the mobile telecommunications sector, especially for NPEs.

Recommended individuals

Gary Moss, Robert Lundie Smith, Kathleen Fox Murphy; patent attorneys: Jerome Spaargaren (digital communication, electronics), Monika Rai (pharma and biotechnology)

Team

18 lawyers, 47 patent attorneys, 2 dual qualified

Partner moves

Xiaofan Chen (from AWA patent in 2024), Alex Morgan (to Paul Hastings in 2024)

Clients

Litigation: Nokia against Amazon over video-related technologies; Optis Cellular against Apple over 3G and 4G patents; Avanci against Tesla over FRAND rate for pool licence; ThroughPuter against Microsoft over programmable gateway arrays (settled in 2025); Amgen against Pfizer, Regeneron and Janssen-Cilag regarding bispecific molecules used in treating multiple myeloma; Merck Serono against Comptroller General over SEP application regarding multiple sclerosis drug cladribine/Mavenclad; Moderna against CureVac in EPO opposition regarding mRNA patent (public knowledge). Advice: Sandoz regarding litigation strategy in the UK.