Powell Gilbert LLP

Ari Laakkonen

Specialises in electronics patent litigation and IT disputes, as well as advising on general IP and related competition law matters, FRAND issues, portfolio/licensing analysis and provides general strategic  advice for complex multi-patent, multi-jurisdictional cases. Has huge breadth of experience in electronics, telecoms and other sectors, derived from his in-depth technical knowledge (PhD, Computer Science) and from experience both in-house and independent legal counsel.  Solicitor advocate with rights of audience at all court levels.

Rajvinder Jagdev

Rajvinder advises clients on a range of IP matters, particularly in the electronics, telecommunications and computer software sectors. Rajvinder’s expertise in computer science and electronics means he can quickly grasp and analyse technically complex patents and hone in on the pertinent details. His in-house experience and general commercial knowledge of the IT, electronics and telecommunications sectors assists in providing legal advice in a commercial context. Rajvinder regularly advises on and coordinates multi-jurisdictional matters, in particular where there are parallel proceedings in the German Courts and also in the US (both in the District Courts and before the ITC).  In addition, Rajvinder routinely advises at the pre-action stage on litigation strategy to help formulate efficient and effective IP enforcement campaigns. Rajvinder has worked on patent cases involving Blu-ray laser technology, mobile telephony standards, mobile data streaming and caching, user interface design, networking protocols, medical imaging devices and audio-visual network streaming protocols and codecs.

Siddharth Kusumakar

Partner specialising in patent litigation in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical devices fields. Provides strategic advice in large scale multi-jurisdictional disputes with parallel European, US, UPC and European Patent Office actions, and particularly known for managing and coordinating pan-European litigation strategies for international clients. Has successfully acted in some of the most high-profile patent cases to come before the UK courts in recent years, including in two landmark UK Supreme Court decisions (Warner-Lambert v Actavis and Regeneron v Kymab).  As a UPC legal representative, is currently acting in some of the first cases to be brought before the new Unified Patent Court.

Tim Powell

Senior Counsel and solicitor advocate specialising in intellectual property litigation and healthcare regulatory advice,. particularly large scale patent actions with an international dimension. Acts for a wide range of biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies in disputed IP matters and has had conduct of major cases such as Edwards Lifesciences v Boston Scientific, Illumina v Premaitha and Warner Lambert v Actavis. Also advises clients in industry sectors ranging from petrochemicals to electronics on disputed patent matters. Notable electronics cases include Nokia v Apple, HTC v Apple and Motorola v Microsoft. Has appeared as a solicitor advocate in the High Court, Court of Appeal, House of Lords and CJEU.

Zoë Butler

Specialises in contentious intellectual property matters; practice covers full range of IP rights, acting for clients across a broad range of technical areas and industry sectors, from IT/electronics to biotech/ pharma. Particularly known for her expertise in advising clients in complex patent disputes, with experience before UK High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court, European Patent Office, UK Intellectual Property Office; and extensive experience of co-ordinating parallel litigation in a number of jurisdictions. Also advises on related issues arising from international technology standards, such as patent pools, licensing and FRAND, and counsels on patent litigation strategy, including pharmaceutical lifecycle management, with a wealth of experience in providing freedom to operate and due diligence advice. Teaches on the Oxford University Diploma in IP law and is a contributor to the CIPA Guide to the Patents Act.