Patents
Allen & Overy’s top tier patent litigation team acts for the world’s leading companies in the most complex patent disputes.
A&O acts in multi-jurisdictional and national patent disputes across a range of sectors, particularly specialising in life sciences and technology. We represent clients in the many different courts and tribunals worldwide, leveraging the full range of dispute resolution methods to deliver commercial outcomes for clients.
We advise on the most significant and complex cases, including advising on some of the first disputes examining Standard Essential Patents and FRAND terms. We have also advised on cases involving Supplementary Protection Certificates and Second Medical Use.
A firm technical understanding is crucial to success. Many of our team members have technical backgrounds and industry experience and can advise with confidence in cases involving the most complex technologies.
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Our experience
Eli Lilly
in the defence of its patent on Cialis for the treatment of erectile dysfunction.
Samsung
in its French litigation adverse to Technicolor’s licensing arm on patents concerning 4G, video coding, and various smartphone features.
A multinational pharmaceutical company
in the complex enforcement of a patent relating to a valuable medicinal product. The patent covers the second medical use of a known active substance and the proper interpretation of patent claims is crucial to managing this litigation in Poland.
News & insights
Blog Post: 15 SEPTEMBER 2021
Fibrogen v Akebia: Court of Appeal judgment on sufficiency of functional claims
The Court of Appeal (Birss LJ, Floyd LJ and Phillips LJ) handed down its judgment in Fibrogen v Akebia on 24 August 2021, overturning Arnold LJ (another Court of Appeal judge) on his judgment on…
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Publications: 09 JULY 2021
German Federal Constitutional Court paves the way for the UPC
As an international treaty the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (UPCA) provides for the establishment of the Unified Patent Court (UPC). As a joint Court of the Contracting Member States, the UPC…
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Publications: 09 JUNE 2021
Process patents – paper tigers or effective protective rights?
Thoughts on “sufficient likelihood” in the sense of section 140c German Patent Act (PatG).
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Publications: 14 JULY 2020
Webinar: Beyond Covid-19: Implications for intellectual property
In the second and final webinar in our series, our IP team discusses the future global impact of Covid-19 coronavirus on IP from a transactional, litigation and regulatory perspective.
Read moreAwards and accolades
- Winner: IP Firm of the Year: Biologics/Biosimilars and IP Firm of the Year: Biotech, LMG European Life Sciences Awards 2020
- Winner: European Patent Litigation Firm of the Year, MIP EMEA Awards 2019
Recognition of our work
'It was a stellar team performance and we benefited from the pure value contributed,' a source reports, adding: 'There were no inefficiencies, it was seamless.
Chambers 2020 Life Sciences: IP/Patent Litigation
Allen & Overy remains a bellwether on the UK patent litigation market. Its all-star group ‘benefits from exceptional support provided by the wide full-service international firm’, and has been going from strength to strength of late.
IAM Patent 1000 2020
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