Taylor Wessing strengthens Irish offering with first patent-specialist partner

The Dublin office of international firm Taylor Wessing has shored up its pharmaceutical expertise through the hire of Eoin Martyn (38), who joins from national firm McCann FitzGerald. Martyn is its first IP- and patent-specialist partner in the Irish capital, with Taylor Wessing only opening in the location in 2021. Now the firm is in a good position to be actively involved in the Unified Patent Court from another location, should it eventually open a local division in Dublin.

Dublin focal point

Eoin Martyn began his career at the London office of IP boutique Bristows in 2010. He joined innovator drug company Novartis on a secondment where he then stayed for four years, eventually becoming patent litigation counsel at its headquarters in Basel, Switzerland. During his time at Novartis, Martyn worked on the protection of cancer-treatment drug Glivec, for which an SPC had expired.

Martyn then crossed the Pacific to Sydney, Australia as a senior associate at Ashurst. In 2021, he moved back to Dublin to join Irish firm McCann FitzGerald before taking up a partnership position at Taylor Wessing on 13 May 2024.

Speaking to JUVE Patent, Eoin Martyn says, “Joining Taylor Wessing was a real no-brainer, and I am thrilled to be part of a leading European firm for pharmaceutical patent litigation. I am in awe of how it has grown its Dublin office in just a few short years. Given how the patent field is developing across Europe, Taylor Wessing is front and centre to continue leading the charge – especially with regard to the UPC.”

He continues, “Furthermore, one of the firm’s areas of focus is life sciences, which perfectly complements my own experience and interest. There has been a significant increase in IP litigation in Ireland over the past few years and with a specialist sub-list of the Irish Commercial Court dedicated to IP disputes, that momentum will only continue. It’s an exciting time to be part of the patent scene in Dublin.”

Involvement in mRNA

Over the past 14 years, Martyn’s career has strongly focused on patent litigation in the pharmaceutical and biotech space. For example, during his time at McCann FitzGerald, he worked alongside his new firm defending Pfizer against Moderna in the patent battle over mRNA technology used in the COVID-19 vaccine. The proceedings are currently stayed, pending an EPO determination.

Martyn was involved in the Irish chapter of litigation involving Bristol-Myers Squibb’s apixaban blockbuster drug, Eliquis. During his time at Ashurst, he also worked on CRISPR-Cas protection and acted for Samsung Bioepis and Sun Pharmaceuticals on biosimilar products.

Adam Griffiths, head of Taylor Wessing’s Dublin office, says, “Eoin’s appointment represents another significant milestone in the journey of Taylor Wessing Ireland. Eoin brings a wealth of experience from the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors, and his impressive track record will be a great asset to Taylor Wessing in Ireland and across our global platform.”

UPC question

The Irish government had originally confirmed that it would hold a referendum on Ireland’s participation in the UPC system on 7 June 2024. However, on 16 April, Ireland’s minister for enterprise, trade and employment, Peter Burke, confirmed that it had postponed the vote, which was set to coincide with the local and European elections.

In Ireland, a referendum on the country being a UPC signatory is required, since a yes vote would devolve jurisdictional power away from the Irish courts to the UPC. In a statement, Burke said, “While the government continues to believe that joining the UPC is essential and that the referendum should be pursued, it is clear to me that more time is needed for public discourse and engagement on the matter to help inform the debate.”

This is no doubt a blow for patent lawyers in Dublin, and for firms with Irish offerings, who will have hoped for a vote in the affirmative. Nonetheless, the door is not closed for participation. Furthermore, Taylor Wessing’s other European offices are already involved in multiple UPC cases. Most recently, the court’s CMS shows that Taylor Wessing’s Dutch team, led by partner Charlotte Garnitsch, is representing claimant Tandem Diabetes Care against Roche Diabetes Care over EP 1 970 677 at the Düsseldorf local division.