Home / People / Nick Beckett

Nick Beckett

Managing Partner
Managing Director of Lau, Horton & Wise LLP in Association with CMS Hasche Sigle, Hong Kong LLP and Global Co-Head of CMS Life Sciences & Healthcare Group

Picture of Nick Beckett

Nick Beckett

Managing Partner
Managing Director of Lau, Horton & Wise LLP in Association with CMS Hasche Sigle, Hong Kong LLP and Global Co-Head of CMS Life Sciences & Healthcare Group

CMS China
Beijing Representative Office
Room 1909, China Youth Plaza No. 19 Dongsanhuan North Road
Chaoyang District, Beijing 100026
China
Lau, Horton & Wise LLP, in Association with CMS Hasche Sigle, Hong Kong LLP
Nexxus Building
41 Connaught Road Central
Hong Kong S.A.R.
Hong Kong
CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP
Cannon Place
78 Cannon Street
London
EC4N 6AF
United Kingdom
Languages English, French
Life Sciences & Healthcare

Nick Beckett is Global Co-Head of the CMS Life Sciences & Healthcare Group. In this position, he jointly leads an international team of more than 300 lawyers, patent attorneys, scientists and academics’ across CMS.

Nick is also the Managing Partner of the Beijing Office, Managing Director of Lau, Horton & Wise LLP in Association with CMS Hasche Sigle, Hong Kong LLP  and Head of Asia-Pacific IP. Nick manages a team of dedicated sector specialists covering Life Sciences & Healthcare, Energy, TMC and Financial Institutions across the Asia-Pacific region. Nick is also a Solicitor-Advocate of the English Courts and a Registered Foreign Lawyer in Hong Kong.

Nick has substantial experience in coordinating complex multi-jurisdictional matters, regularly working with colleagues throughout CMS and around the world. His work in the areas of commercial and corporate transactions and disputes, parallel trade, anti-counterfeiting, trade mark and patent opinions and IP infringement particularly spans international borders.

Nick is recommended as a prominent practitioner in his field in the following publications:

  • Chambers & Partners
  • Legal 500
  • Euromoney’s Expert Legal Guide – Life Sciences
  • PLC Lifesciences Handbook
  • Who’s Who Legal Trademarks and Life Sciences (Patent Litigation and Transactional)
  • Who’s Who Legal: Thought Leaders – Global Elite for Life Sciences 
  • Who’s Who Legal ‘China – Patents and Life Sciences’
  • IAM 1000
  • Guide to the World’s Leading Trade Mark Law Practitioners

Nick was awarded ‘Life Sciences Law - Lawyer of the Year in China’ 2017 by Corporate Intl Magazine Global and Corporate LiveWire, ‘Life Sciences Lawyer of the Year in China’ in Leaders in Law - 2020 Global Awards, The Best Lawyers in China 2020 for Intellectual Property Law (International Firms) and ‘IP Professional of the Year’ of Corporate LiveWire Global 2019.

more less

"He has a really sophisticated understanding of life sciences in the Asia-Pacific region. He's very comfortable and savvy talking through the differences in jurisdictions and he has great commercial, regulatory and litigation expertise. He's just a delightful person, really generous and very inspired."

Chambers 2017

‘Dynamic’ practice head Nick Beckett ‘has an unparalleled ability to bring international teams together to deliver the precise expertise that his clients require’

Legal 500

Heavyweight IP, parallel trade and patent litigation capability for an impressive roster of clients.

Legal 500

"He has a really sophisticated understanding of life sciences in the Asia-Pacific region. He's very comfortable and savvy talking through the differences in jurisdictions and he has great commercial, regulatory and litigation expertise. He's just a delightful person, really generous and very inspired."

Chambers 2017

‘Dynamic’ practice head Nick Beckett ‘has an unparalleled ability to bring international teams together to deliver the precise expertise that his clients require’

Legal 500

Heavyweight IP, parallel trade and patent litigation capability for an impressive roster of clients.

Legal 500

Relevant experience

  • Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited on its €9.6 billion (debt-free cash free) acquisition of Swiss drug company, Nycomed A/S.
  • A Japanese pharmaceutical company in a very significant ICC arbitration, with damages of up to $1 billion, concerning a dispute under a worldwide patent licence agreement in the pharmaceutical sector as a result of the wrongful withdrawal of a licensed pharmaceutical product from the market without consent.
  • A global pharmaceutical company on its market entry into China including obtaining relevant licence and setting up a compliance program, establishing its branch company in China and preparing and submitting the legal documents for the registration with the local authorities.
  • A world leading gas supplier on its joint medical institution project in China in cooperation with its domestic partner from various perspectives (corporate, compliance, regulatory and commercial).
  • A leading global pharmaceutical company in a high profile dispute concerning a blockbuster pharmaceutical product. The dispute entailed coordinating litigation in Japan and the UK and jurisdictional issues. Complex pharmaceutical litigation, as well as complicated questions of contract law arose.
  • One of the leading traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) companies in China in its management control dispute relating to a joint venture in The Netherlands.
  • Eli Lilly in a leading pharmaceutical parallel trade repackaging case before the CJEU.
  • A global leading medical device company on a strategically important investigation into a compliance breach within their distribution channels in Indonesia and South-East Asia.
  • A Japanese pharmaceutical company on conducting IP due diligence in respect of 2 anti-depressant compounds the subject of a successful world-wide collaboration agreement.
  • A Tianjin-based biotechnology company specialising in novel HIV biologics on international pre-clinical through to Phase III clinical trial development.  Identifying opportunities and facilitating introductions to potential R&D partners in Europe and North America.  Advising on potential entry into Western pharmaceutical markets and the feasibility of deal structures, including the licensing of intellectual property and establishing joint ventures.
more less

Education

  • 2005 - Advocacy Diploma, The College of Law, London
  • 2000 - Intellectual Property Diploma, Bristol University, Bristol
  • 1996 - LPC Distinction, The College of Law, London
  • 1996 - Professional Skills Course, BPP, London
  • 1995 - CPE Distinction, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester
  • 1994 - BSc Hons Psychology 1st, University of Manchester, Manchester
more less

Memberships

  • Honorary Lecturer - China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, China
  • Lecturer - Peking University, China
  • Lecturer - University of International Business and Economics (UIBE) 
  • Lecturer - China-EU School of Law, China University of Political Science and Law
  • Listed Arbitrator at the Beijing International Arbitration Centre (BIAC) and Beijing Arbitration Commission (BAC)
  • Listed Advisory Expert of the National Advisory Center for Overseas Intellectual Property Dispute Settlement in China
more less

Publications

more less
Dispute Resolution

Nick Beckett is Global Co-Head of the CMS Life Sciences & Healthcare Group. In this position, he jointly leads an international team of more than 300 lawyers, patent attorneys, scientists and academics’ across CMS.

Nick Beckett is also the Managing Partner of the Beijing Office, Managing Director of Lau, Horton & Wise LLP in Association with CMS Hasche Sigle, Hong Kong LLP and Head of Asia-Pacific IP.  Nick manages a team of dedicated sector specialists covering Life Sciences & Healthcare, Energy, TMC and Financial Institutions across the Asia-Pacific region. Nick is also a Solicitor-Advocate of the English Courts and a Registered Foreign Lawyer in Hong Kong.

Nick has substantial experience in coordinating complex multi-jurisdictional matters, regularly working with colleagues throughout CMS and around the world. His work in the areas of commercial and corporate transactions and disputes, parallel trade, anti-counterfeiting, trade mark and patent opinions and IP infringement particularly spans international borders.

Nick is recommended as a prominent practitioner in his field in the following publications:

  • Chambers & Partners
  • Legal 500
  • Euromoney’s Expert Legal Guide – Life Sciences
  • PLC Lifesciences Handbook
  • Who’s Who Legal Trademarks and Life Sciences (Patent Litigation and Transactional)
  • Who’s Who Legal: Thought Leaders – Global Elite for Life Sciences 
  • Who’s Who Legal ‘China – Patents and Life Sciences’
  • IAM 1000
  • Guide to the World’s Leading Trade Mark Law Practitioners

Nick was awarded ‘Life Sciences Law - Lawyer of the Year in China’ 2017 by Corporate Intl Magazine Global and Corporate LiveWire, ‘Life Sciences Lawyer of the Year in China’ in Leaders in Law - 2020 Global Awards, The Best Lawyers in China 2020 for Intellectual Property Law (International Firms) and ‘IP Professional of the Year’ of Corporate LiveWire Global 2019.

more less

"He has a really sophisticated understanding of life sciences in the Asia-Pacific region. He's very comfortable and savvy talking through the differences in jurisdictions and he has great commercial, regulatory and litigation expertise. He's just a delightful person, really generous and very inspired."

Chambers 2017

‘Dynamic’ practice head Nick Beckett ‘has an unparalleled ability to bring international teams together to deliver the precise expertise that his clients require’

Legal 500

Heavyweight IP, parallel trade and patent litigation capability for an impressive roster of clients.

Legal 500

"He has a really sophisticated understanding of life sciences in the Asia-Pacific region. He's very comfortable and savvy talking through the differences in jurisdictions and he has great commercial, regulatory and litigation expertise. He's just a delightful person, really generous and very inspired."

Chambers 2017

‘Dynamic’ practice head Nick Beckett ‘has an unparalleled ability to bring international teams together to deliver the precise expertise that his clients require’

Legal 500

Heavyweight IP, parallel trade and patent litigation capability for an impressive roster of clients.

Legal 500

Relevant experience

  • One of the world’s leading information technology services companies and successfully defending it in China against a top Chinese state-owned enterprise and its subsidiaries in respect of a management consultancy project and an ERP project that our client implemented for them under a global strategic framework agreement.
  • A world-leading supplier of edible coatings to the pharmaceuticals industry in connection with a patent infringement matter spanning a number of jurisdictions, including China.
  • A leading global bed specialist on the highly sensitive and important employment termination of its former management team in China, including its Managing Director and two senior sales leaders based on unsatisfactory performance and serious wrongdoings.
  • Erbe in the first ever UK patent litigation to deal separately with the issues of infringement and validity coordinating with equivalent litigation in Germany, the US and before the EPO.
  • A Japanese pharmaceutical company in a very significant ICC arbitration, with damages of up to $1 billion, concerning a dispute under a worldwide patent licence agreement in the pharmaceutical sector as a result of the wrongful withdrawal of a licensed pharmaceutical product from the market without consent.
  • Asahi Medical in patent litigation in the UK Patents Court and Court of Appeal for a large Japanese medical device company in connection with their blood filtration technology. This also entailed coordinating concurrent litigation across Europe and liaising with the client's Japanese and European patent attorneys.
  • A leading global pharmaceutical company in a high profile dispute concerning a blockbuster pharmaceutical product. The dispute entailed coordinating litigation in Japan and the UK and jurisdictional issues. Complex pharmaceutical litigation, as well as complicated questions of contract law arose.
  • Takeda on successfully opposing the grant of a competitor’s (Bethesda Pharmaceuticals Inc) European patent at the Opposition Division of the European Patent Office.
  • Quinn Group in connection with a branding dispute regarding the rebranding of the Belfry Hotel as part of the De Vere hotel chain.
  • Sports World International in numerous trade mark litigation matters relating to its own and licensed brands including Kangol, Diadora, Puma and Lonsdale.
more less

Education

  • 2005 - Advocacy Diploma, The College of Law, London
  • 2000 - Intellectual Property Diploma, Bristol University, Bristol
  • 1996 - LPC Distinction, The College of Law, London
  • 1996 - Professional Skills Course, BPP, London
  • 1995 - CPE Distinction, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester
  • 1994 - BSc Hons Psychology 1st, University of Manchester, Manchester
more less

Memberships

  • Honorary Lecturer - China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, China
  • Lecturer - Peking University, China
  • Lecturer - University of International Business and Economics (UIBE) 
  • Lecturer - China-EU School of Law, China University of Political Science and Law
  • Listed Arbitrator at the Beijing International Arbitration Centre (BIAC) and Beijing Arbitration Commission (BAC)
  • Listed Advisory Expert of the National Advisory Center for Overseas Intellectual Property Dispute Settlement in China
more less

Publications

more less
Intellectual Property

Nick Beckett is Global Co-Head of the CMS Life Sciences & Healthcare Group. In this position, he jointly leads an international team of more than 300 lawyers, patent attorneys, scientists and academics’ across CMS.

Nick is also the Managing Partner of the Beijing Office, Managing Director of Lau, Horton & Wise LLP in Association with CMS Hasche Sigle, Hong Kong LLP and Head of Asia-Pacific IP. Nick manages a team of dedicated sector specialists covering Life Sciences & Healthcare, Energy, TMC and Financial Institutions across the Asia-Pacific region.  Nick is also a Solicitor-Advocate of the English Courts and a Registered Foreign Lawyer in Hong Kong.

Nick has substantial experience in coordinating complex multi-jurisdictional matters, regularly working with colleagues throughout CMS and around the world. His work in the areas of commercial and corporate transactions and disputes, parallel trade, anti-counterfeiting, trade mark and patent opinions and IP infringement particularly spans international borders.

Nick is recommended as a prominent practitioner in his field in the following publications:

  • Chambers & Partners
  • Legal 500
  • Euromoney’s Expert Legal Guide – Life Sciences
  • PLC Lifesciences Handbook
  • Who’s Who Legal Trademarks and Life Sciences (Patent Litigation and Transactional)
  • Who’s Who Legal: Thought Leaders – Global Elite for Life Sciences 
  • Who’s Who Legal ‘China – Patents and Life Sciences’
  • IAM 1000
  • Guide to the World’s Leading Trade Mark Law Practitioners

Nick was awarded ‘Life Sciences Law - Lawyer of the Year in China’ 2017 by Corporate Intl Magazine Global and Corporate LiveWire, ‘Life Sciences Lawyer of the Year in China’ in Leaders in Law - 2020 Global Awards, The Best Lawyers in China 2020 for Intellectual Property Law (International Firms) and ‘IP Professional of the Year’ of Corporate LiveWire Global 2019.

more less

"He has a really sophisticated understanding of life sciences in the Asia-Pacific region. He's very comfortable and savvy talking through the differences in jurisdictions and he has great commercial, regulatory and litigation expertise. He's just a delightful person, really generous and very inspired."

Chambers 2017

‘Dynamic’ practice head Nick Beckett ‘has an unparalleled ability to bring international teams together to deliver the precise expertise that his clients require’

Legal 500

Heavyweight IP, parallel trade and patent litigation capability for an impressive roster of clients.

Legal 500

"He has a really sophisticated understanding of life sciences in the Asia-Pacific region. He's very comfortable and savvy talking through the differences in jurisdictions and he has great commercial, regulatory and litigation expertise. He's just a delightful person, really generous and very inspired."

Chambers 2017

‘Dynamic’ practice head Nick Beckett ‘has an unparalleled ability to bring international teams together to deliver the precise expertise that his clients require’

Legal 500

Heavyweight IP, parallel trade and patent litigation capability for an impressive roster of clients.

Legal 500

Relevant experience

  • A European automotive manufacturer in its IP licensing and actions to protect its portfolio from alleged infringement in many jurisdictions by several companies, including China.
  • Erbe in the first ever UK patent litigation to deal separately with the issues of infringement and validity coordinating with equivalent litigation in Germany, the US and before the EPO.
  • A world leading IT network company on the coordination of enforcement activity against a Chinese trademark infringer.
  • A leading international agrochemical company for the client's Crop Protection Business on patent infringement, anti-counterfeiting, customs and regulatory dispute work, including coordinating with other CMS offices and bringing together a network to service the client's needs.
  • An art tools manufacturer on the strategic restructuring of its trademark portfolio in China and the implementation of further agreements to bolster the value of its rights.
  • A world-leading supplier of edible coatings to the pharmaceuticals industry in connection with a patent infringement matter spanning a number of jurisdictions. This involved coordinating patent litigation and patent prosecution, as well as advising the client on general commercial strategy.
  • A Hong Kong based biotechnology company on a freedom to operate (FTO) search on a number of its core products across Asia-Pacific.
  • BudejovickyMetanskyPivovar in trade mark litigation with Anheuser- Busch relating to use of the term BUDWEISER.
  • A major US pharmaceutical company in disputes with numerous parallel traders.
  • Quinn Group in connection with a branding dispute regarding the rebranding of the Belfry Hotel as part of the De Vere hotel chain.
more less

Education

  • 2005 - Advocacy Diploma, The College of Law, London
  • 2000 - Intellectual Property Diploma, Bristol University, Bristol
  • 1996 - LPC Distinction, The College of Law, London
  • 1996 - Professional Skills Course, BPP, London
  • 1995 - CPE Distinction, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester
  • 1994 - BSc Hons Psychology 1st, University of Manchester, Manchester
more less

Memberships

  • Honorary Lecturer - China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, China
  • Lecturer - Peking University, China
  • Lecturer - University of International Business and Economics (UIBE) 
  • Lecturer - China-EU School of Law, China University of Political Science and Law
  • Listed Arbitrator at the Beijing International Arbitration Centre (BIAC) and Beijing Arbitration Commission (BAC)
  • Listed Advisory Expert of the National Advisory Center for Overseas Intellectual Property Dispute Settlement in China
more less

Publications

more less

Expertise

Feed

Show only
21 January 2021
APAC Monthly IP Up­date  – Winter 2020/21
China China passed the amend­ments to the pat­ent ex­am­in­a­tion guidelines On 11 Decem­ber 2020, the China Na­tion­al In­tel­lec­tu­al Prop­erty Ad­min­is­tra­tion (CNIPA) passed the An­nounce­ment of Amend­ing the Pat­ent...
Law-Now
11 January 2021
CMS Ex­pert Guide to 5G reg­u­la­tion and law
At the start of a New Year, most people agree that 5G will change our lives for the bet­ter. Un­like earli­er mo­bile gen­er­a­tions, 5G will not only mark a rad­ic­al change in the way we com­mu­nic­ate (low latency...
Expert Guide TMT - Technology, Media & Telecommunications
Comparable
21 December 2020
On the Pulse
Wel­come to ‘On the Pulse’ de­livered by the Glob­al Life Sci­ences & Health­care Sec­tor Group A video/pod­cast series, On the Pulse, brings to­geth­er CMS law­yers and ex­perts to dis­cuss key in­dustry top­ics...
Publication Artificial Intelligence
14 December 2020
CMS Ex­pert Guide to di­git­al health apps and telemedi­cine
Fu­ture fa­cing Di­git­isa­tion is ad­van­cing stead­ily. Its pi­on­eer­ing in­nov­a­tions chal­lenge all parties in­volved. One of the most im­port­ant as­pects in this area is the huge po­ten­tial that lies in the di­git­isa­tion...
Expert Guide TMT - Technology, Media & Telecommunications
Comparable
02 December 2020
APAC Monthly TMC Up­date  – Novem­ber 2020 
Aus­tralia Dis­cus­sion pa­per on na­tion­al in-ser­vice safety law for auto­mated vehicles On 16 Oc­to­ber 2020, the Aus­trali­an Na­tion­al Trans­port Com­mis­sion (NTC) pub­lished a dis­cus­sion pa­per seek­ing feed­back...
Law-Now
27 November 2020
Glob­al Di­git­al Health Fest­iv­al - Vir­tu­al: Di­git­al trends trans­form­ing HealthTech...
Day 4: Break­through di­git­al tech­no­logy show­case me­di­u­mAn amaz­ing ar­ray of break­through tech­no­logy and di­git­al start-ups is trans­form­ing health­care but they all face chal­lenges to real­ise full po­ten­tial...
Publication
24 November 2020
Glob­al Di­git­al Health Fest­iv­al - Vir­tu­al: Di­git­al trends trans­form­ing HealthTech
Join us for our in­aug­ur­al Glob­al Di­git­al Health Fest­iv­al - Vir­tu­al from 23-26 Novem­ber.   Day 1: Is AI still the fu­ture of health­care? No, it’s the present. But can we keep up with it?Con­sid­er­a­tion...
Event Webinar
23 November 2020
15 Asia Pa­cific (“APAC”) Na­tions Sign The Re­gion­al Com­pre­hens­ive Eco­nom­ic...
What is the RCEP? Signed dur­ing this year’s (mostly on­line) ASEAN sum­mit with ne­go­ti­ations hav­ing star­ted in 2012, the RCEP cre­ates the largest free trade agree­ment in the world in terms of gross do­mest­ic...
Law-Now
20 November 2020
APAC Monthly IP Up­date – Oc­to­ber 2020 
China China amends its Pat­ent Law On 17 Oc­to­ber 2020, China’s Na­tion­al People’s Con­gress Stand­ing Com­mit­tee passed amend­ments to the pat­ent law. This re­vised pat­ent law (“2020 Pat­ent Law”) will...
Law-Now
13 November 2020
China’s mar­ket reg­u­lat­or is­sues draft Anti-mono­poly Guide for the Plat­form...
On 10 Novem­ber 2020, Chin­a's State Ad­min­is­tra­tion for Mar­ket Reg­u­la­tion (SAMR) is­sued a draft of the Anti-mono­poly Guidelines (the Guidelines) for the Plat­form Eco­nomy Sec­tor, which is open for pub­lic...
Law-Now
29 October 2020
China amends its Pat­ent Law
On 17 Oc­to­ber 2020, China’s Na­tion­al People’s Con­gress Stand­ing Com­mit­tee passed amend­ments to the pat­ent law, and the re­vised pat­ent law (“2020 Pat­ent Law”) will take ef­fect on 1 June 2021. Since...
Law-Now
22 October 2020
China passes draft law on per­son­al data pro­tec­tion
On 21 Oc­to­ber 2020, Chin­a's Na­tion­al People’s Con­gress pub­lished the Draft Per­son­al Data Pro­tec­tion Law for pub­lic con­sulta­tion, which will be held un­til 19 Novem­ber 2020. Once passed, this le­gis­la­tion...
Law-Now
Load more articles