Intellectual Property

Brexit will have no consequence on UK membership of the European Patent Organisation (EPO), nor on the effect of European patents in the UK. Accordingly, CMS European patent attorneys based in the UK will continue to be able to represent applicants before the EPO.

Intellectual Property rights are commonly bought, sold or licensed as part of a corporate deal or transaction, and often represent a key element of a due diligence process. Our team of specialist solicitors, patent attorneys and trade mark attorneys are able to provide a commercially valuable assessment of an IP portfolio, either as part of deal process or as a stand-alone ‘health-check’. 

Legal and regulatory frameworks are constantly evolving in the life sciences sector to keep up with innovative therapies, diagnostics and other medical technologies, as well as increasing services provision by manufacturers and other suppliers. In such a highly regulated and much scrutinised sector we understand you need a legal team who can proactively advise on your legal and regulatory risk.

Our large patent attorney team is made up of specialists in a range of technical areas with a particular emphasis on the High-Tech field and Life Sciences field. Our attorneys have degrees and PhDs in areas such as artificial intelligence, communications, and physics through to genetics, biology and pharmacology, to name a few.  We also have cross-disciplinary expertise in areas such as AI and Life Sciences.

The freedom to operate process generally comprises an in-depth search and review of publically available patent documents that relate to your commercial/pipeline products. The purpose is to identify whether a third-party owns any patent rights that may stop you from placing your product on the market.

Granted patents may be opposed by third parties, and our team is often sought out for their advice and representation in post-grant oppositions at the European Patent Office (EPO). We also launch appeal proceedings on behalf of our clients when they have been adversely affected by patent office decisions. A number of our attorneys have been involved in both defending and attacking commercially important patents in multi-party proceedings at the EPO. Often these proceedings have run alongside national litigation proceedings.  We also represent clients at hearings at the UK IPO.

The CMS team is at the forefront of SPC practice. We can provide strategic filing advice, benefitting from many years’ experience of managing large SPC portfolios.

We are prepared for the Unitary Patent and Unified Patent Court whenever they might come into effect. All CMS European patent attorneys, including those based in the UK, will be able to represent applicants before the EPO and to obtain national patents or Unitary Patents granted via the European Patent Office, even after Brexit. Our team of lawyers and patent attorneys will have rights of audience before the new Unified Patent Court.