Potter Clarkson has secured prominent placing in IAM Patent 1000: The World's Leading Patent Professionals 2021 - a prestigious guide that identifies the top patent professionals in key jurisdictions around the globe, following a rigorous research process.
Experts from the firm feature in all three tables, including prosecution, transactions, and litigation.
With a stellar reputation for patent prosecution, the firm is well-represented in this area by Richard Bassett, Craig Brownlie, Charlotte Crowhurst, Ian Dee, Peter Finnie, Saiful Khan, Fiona Law, Caroline Marshall, Stephen McNeeney, Stephanie Pilkington, Rob Pugh and Ray Charig.
Oliver Laing and Mark Snelgrove both secure a place in the transactions table. Oliver and Richard Roberts also feature in the litigation table.
The guide states: "The star of Potter Clarkson remains firmly on the ascendant, despite the travails that have beset the market in the pandemic age. Home to both patent attorneys and solicitors, the hybrid outfit tackles contentious and non-contentious mandates of all flavours with verve, though EPO oppositions are a particular forte."
The publication went on the describe the calibre of the firm's experts: "In 2020 it landed two big names in the form of Peter Finnie and Fiona Law, who have both since played crucial roles in establishing the firm’s newly minted IP consultancy division and recently assisted German medtech venture capital company Earlybird with IP due diligence. Telecommunications, software and AI expert Finnie builds commercially oriented patent strategies for European start-ups; while the “diligent, professional and perseverant” Law is a chemistry and pharmaceuticals specialist with an affinity for SPC and second medical use issues. Joining her in the life sciences division are patent attorneys Charlotte Crowhurst, Stephen McNeeney, Ian Dee, Richard Bassett, Rob Pugh and Stephanie Pilkington. Crowhurst is a percipient IP strategist and EPO advocate who has done much to advance the firm’s Asian business development, acting for corporate titans from China and Korea. Organic chemist McNeeney is a trusted guide to pharmaceutical clients based overseas, especially in Sweden, and also advises on US court proceedings. Dee has wrapped up more than 150 EPO hearings during his tenure and brings research experience at a chemical multinational to his broad practice; while Bassett has appeared in some 200-plus oppositions on behalf of major leaguers such as Baxter Healthcare, Eli Lilly and AstraZeneca. Pugh is “consistently responsive, paints a clear strategic picture for clients and quickly understands both the technical and business aims”; while PhD molecular biologist Pilkington is hailed as “amenable, scientifically astute, flexible, prompt and conscientious”.
"On the electronics side, Craig Brownlie and Saiful Khan recently advised Douglas Scientific on its worldwide patent strategy. Brownlie’s solid-state physics PhD informs his “reliable commercial advice” in the nanotechnology sector; while the “responsive, sharp and honest” Khan’s stint in-house at Nokia proves invaluable to his broad multinational electronics and computing practice. “Dedicated, strategic and commercially minded” textiles specialist Caroline Marshall can be found in the engineering and designs group - her knowledge base is as broad as it is wide, and she acts as a European IP adviser to renewable electricity group UK Grid Solutions.
"Contentious nous is supplied in abundance by Richard Roberts, Mark Snelgrove and Oliver Laing. With impeccable academic credentials in chemistry, Roberts shines in particular at the interface between civil and criminal IP enforcement. Snelgrove and Laing both have silky transactional skills: Snelgrove’s experience in disputes means he always keeps the potential contentious angle in mind; while Laing has multi-jurisdictional collaboration and licensing agreements within the life sciences realm sewn up. He is also an engine of the firm’s thriving Scandinavian business and brings insight from a secondment at a world-leading health and beauty group.
"Guiding the firm’s activities in a consultancy role is Ray Charig, a talented physicist who draws on 25 years of experience working with successful start-ups to build multi-dimensional patent strategies that tick every box."
