JUVE Comment

Osborne Clarke’s UK patent practice has established itself as a rising force in the London market. The firm has made particular strides in life sciences and, through its representation of Amgen, demonstrates its capability of handling complex, high-volume biosimilar and pharmaceutical cases.

The team has earned even greater recognition for its expertise in SEP litigation, particularly concerning FRAND issues. A prime example is the practice’s representation of Avanci in Tesla’s challenge over its 5G pool licence.

The team has experienced consistent growth over several years, regularly attracting talent from competitors. This aligns with Osborne Clarke’s explicit growth strategy to develop a comprehensive IP practice specialising in telecommunications, technology, and life sciences. However, achieving this goal requires securing more new clients for major proceedings.

European set-up

At the European level, the London team lacks sparring partners in its continental European offices. While Osborne Clarke maintains IP lawyers in Germany, France, Belgium, and Poland, these teams have not accumulated the same depth of patent litigation experience nor achieved the same market impact as their UK counterparts.

It is therefore unsurprising that the UK team’s first significant UPC case sees it acting alongside other firms in a co-counsel role for Amgen, under Bardehle Pagenberg’s leadership. Nevertheless, strong relationships with firms such as Bardehle Pagenberg and df-mp in Germany and Brinkhof in the Netherlands help ensure the London patent litigation team maintains its connection to continental developments.

Strengths

Telecommunications cases, especially regarding FRAND and competition law.

Recommended individuals

Tim Harris (“great in coordinating Europe-wide litigation”, competitor), Will James, Arty Rajendra

Team

15 lawyers

Clients

Litigation: Amgen against Alexion over anti-C5 antibody eculizumab; Amgen against Janssen Biotech over inflammatory disease biosimilar of the anti-IL12/IL23 antibody ustekinumab/Stelara; Avanchi against Tesla over 5G pool licence; PanOptis (co-counsel with EIP) against Apple regarding mobile phone standards including SEP and FRAND.