Michael Tappin appointed successor to Meade at UK High Court
It was the hottest rumour of the summer in the London IP community. Now it’s official. Michael Tappin, King’s Counsel at 8 New Square, is moving to the UK High Court to succeed Richard Meade. This could see the court’s focus shift slightly away from SEP cases and back towards life sciences.
22 September 2026 by Mathieu Klos
Patent silk Michael Tappin KC has been appointed to the High Court of England and Wales. He will join the Business and Property Division on 1 October 2026, filling the vacancy left by Richard Meade after his recent elevation to the Court of Appeal.
With the appointment of Michael Tappin, the UK judiciary has promoted one of the UK’s best-known barristers specialising in patent disputes to the bench. He currently practises at 8 New Square. Tappin, who will be known as The Honourable Mr Justice Tappin, brings 35 years of experience at the Bar and five years as a Deputy High Court Judge to his new role. He was appointed as a Deputy High Court Judge in 2021 and has sat in the Patents Court in that capacity. His appointment was announced by the Lady Chief Justice this week.
Called to the Bar in 1991, Tappin has practised exclusively in intellectual property law, with a particular focus on patents. Between 2003 and 2008, he served as standing counsel to the Comptroller-General of Patents, Trade Marks and Designs. He took silk in 2009. Furthermore, he was called to the Bar in Ireland in 2018 and can thus represent clients at the UPC.
Initially, Tappin trained as a scientist. He read Chemistry at Oxford University before moving to the biochemistry department, where he gained a doctorate.
Succession at the patents court
Tappin succeeds Richard Meade, who was among seven judges promoted to the Court of Appeal earlier this year. JUVE Patent understands that Meade will move to the Court of Appeal in October, though this has not yet been officially confirmed. Nevertheless, according to London sources, Meade will continue to hear cases at the UK High Court for a while.
At the Court of Appeal, Meade will work alongside Richard Arnold in patent cases. UK Court of Appeal judge Colin Birss was appointed Chancellor of the High Court in November 2025 and, due to his administrative duties, has taken on a reduced caseload while continuing to hear cases both as a senior judge in the Court of Appeal and at first instance in the Chancery Division.
Meade had shaped procedure in some of the most heavily disputed areas of patent litigation during his time as Judge in Charge of the Patents Court. Early cases before him focused on the life sciences sector, including Moderna vs BioNTech and Pfizer over mRNA vaccines. More recently, Meade handled a series of high-profile FRAND and SEP disputes, including Samsung vs ZTE. The InterDigital vs Amazon case has since escalated into a jurisdictional conflict between the UK High Court and the Unified Patent Court, with Meade playing a central role in the exchanges with continental European judges.
Continuity at the specialist Bar
Tappin’s appointment continues the tradition of drawing UK patent judges from the ranks of specialist IP barristers. Five years ago, when the nominations of Meade and James Mellor were pending, many London patent experts had called for a woman to be appointed as patent judge for the first time.
Tappin has already acted as Deputy Judge at the UK High court. Just a year ago, he handed down his judgment in the claims for account of profits under cross-undertakings given by Bayer when obtaining interim injunctions against Sandoz. The case was concerned Bayer’s most important blockbuster Xarelto. Tappin also revoked AstraZeneca’s SPC and patent for diabetes drug dapagliflozin in 2025.
Tappin is primarily known for life science cases. He represented BioNTech in the dispute with Moderna over mRNA patents. He was also recently involved in the Merck Sharp and Dohme vs Halozyme case concerning cancer drug Kaytruda. However, Tappin’s work in the dispute over the SEP portfolio licence between Ericsson and Lenovo demonstrates he is not solely focused on life sciences.
