RPC builds up London patent team with EIP partner hire

Matt Jones (47), who has joined international commercial law firm RPC as a partner, moves after nine years as a partner at patent boutique, EIP. His addition will strengthen the RPC patent practice, as well as contributing to its IP capacities in general.

With the addition of Jones, the firm now has 125 partners, nine of whom specialise in IP, across its offices in London, Singapore and Hong Kong, although he is the first UK partner with mostly patent speciality. RPC also has an office in Bristol.

Jones brings mixed trade

Matt Jones

Jones, who has a degree and a PhD in biochemistry, began his legal career as an associate at Taylor Wessing, where he worked alongside EIP chairman Gary Moss, before a three-year stint at McDermott Will & Emery.

Between this and his time at EIP, where he moved to as partner in January 2014, Jones gained in-house experience as a senior counsel at Teva. Thus, he brings both telecommunication and life sciences experience to his new role.

During his time at EIP, Matt Jones was especially visible in his work for Optis against Apple in the high-profile dispute SEPs. Parties are currently waiting for the High Court to confirm its decision on FRAND.

He also worked for Conversant in proceedings against Huawei and ZTE, which ran parallel to the major case between Unwired Planet and Huawei. Here, he was part of the EIP team which appeared at the Court of Appeal to defend a decision of patent invalidity. On the life sciences side, Jones worked for Amgen in recent proceedings against Pfizer.

While at Teva, he worked as in-house senior counsel on UK litigation over MS-treatment drug capaxone, in proceedings regarding molecular weight distribution. Here, the pharmaceutical company saw success at both the High Court and the Court of Appeal.

RPC expands in London

Speaking to JUVE Patent, Matt Jones says, “RPC has an excellent and long-standing reputation for both commercial IP and soft IP, and I am impressed with the firm’s plans to grow its patent litigation practice. Now, as the firm’s new go-to patent partner, I am dedicated to supporting the firm’s wider practice areas and excited to be a part of driving the expansion of its patent and IP expertise.”

Currently, RPC has just one partner with patent experience. The addition of Jones will strengthen its capacity in this area, which could be important given the Unified Patent Court’s launch, which is planned for 1 June. Recently, RPC partner Catherine Percy represented NHS Scotland at the Court of Appeal alongside Warner-Lambert in its case against Dr Reddy’s, in the complex trial over damages claims.

In a press release, RPC’s head of IP and tech, David Cran, says, “We are very excited by Matt’s arrival and the opportunity it presents to expand our offering to clients as we continue to grow our market-leading IP and technology practice. He brings a deep industry knowledge that spans technology and life sciences, and will no doubt prove invaluable to how we can help our clients.”

Expansion elsewhere

While Jones may have left EIP, however, the firm is concentrating on expanding its capacities elsewhere. In November 2022, EIP and Paris-based Amar Goussu Staub joined forces for the UPC, where they will operate as EIP Amar. Mobile communication clients often rely on both firms in national proceedings.

EIP, which now has 22 patent partners across its four UK offices, also has European offices in Germany and now Sweden. In addition, there is a US branch office in Denver. French IP boutique Amar Goussu Staub is based in Paris. Now with a presence spanning Düsseldorf, Paris and Stockholm, the new outfit is thus based in three important UPC locations and combines experience from different jurisdictions.

In addition to its clients in the telecommunication and electronics sectors, EIP is expanding its contacts to pharmaceutical and life sciences clients. In this respect, Jones’ move to RPC could be a blow for the firm, given he was one of the few EIP partners with experience in the life sciences sector. On the other hand, in its expansion in Europe and cooperation with Amar, EIP is laying the foundation for litigating for such companies in the future.