Imperfect Harmony – different approaches to Inventive Step across Europe

Gwilym Roberts, Honorary Secretary, CIPA

Gwilym Roberts advises clients on all aspects of the patent process including IP audit and capture, IP filing strategies and patent portfolio management techniques. He acts for a range of clients including individuals, SMEs, Universities, and spin outs through to multi-nationals and handles a broad and diverse range of cases before the UK Patent Office, EPO and WIPO.

Kai Rüting, VOSSIUS & PARTNER

Dr. Kai Rüting is attorney since 2005 and partner of the firm since 2015. He advises clients in patent infringement litigation, technology-related arbitrations, and licensing matters. He specializes in national and cross-border patent litigation. Kai has comprehensive litigation experience, in particular in the areas of standard-related patents, electronics, medical technology, chemistry and life sciences. He also has broad experience advising international clients on strategies relating to enforcement of IP rights in Europe.

Kai passed his two German legal state exams in 2002 and 2004 in Augsburg and Munich. Afterwards, he studied at the Boston University and obtained his LL.M. in Intellectual Property in 2005. Kai’s Ph.D. work explored the validity of restrictions in software contracts under German and U.S. patent and copyright law.

Kai publishes regularly and lectures on current issues of patent and procedural law. He is inter alia co-author of the widely acclaimed “Cepl/Voß, Prozesskommentar zum Gewerblichen Rechtsschutz” (commentary on German procedural law in IP), 2nd edition published in 2018.

Kai is recommended in Chambers Global 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 “Germany – Intellectual Property” as “Foreign Expert for USA”. Managing IP describes him in Patent Editorial 2018 as “brilliant litigator whose solutions are all very well-considered”. According to JUVE, Kai is “technically competent and success-oriented” (Patent Litigation 2018), “highly professional” with “excellent expertise” (Patent Litigation 2019), “well thought-out and structured” (Patent Litigation 2020) as well as “experienced, pragmatic, good” (Patent Litigation 2021). He is also named as being among the world’s leading patent lawyers (Who’s Who Legal: Patents 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022). Who’s Who Legal recommends him also for the categories Life Sciences (2020, 2021, 2022), IP (2021), Patent Litigation (2022) and “Thought Leaders Germany” (2021). IAM Patent Ranking ranks him in the category “infringement” (2020). Furthermore, he is listed in IAM Strategy 300 (2019, 2020, 2021) as being among “The World’s Leading IP Strategists”. Kai has been selected by Best Lawyers in Germany for Intellectual Property Law (2020, 2021, 2022). Legal 500 recommends him in the sectors Electronics, Medical Devices and Life Sciences.

Prior to joining Vossius & Partner, Kai was a member of the patent litigation team at an international law firm in Düsseldorf.

Dominic Adair, Bristows

Dr Adair is a partner in the patent litigation group at Bristows LLP in London. He has a science background to PhD level which gives him an excellent grounding in the technical aspects of patent disputes.

He has extensive experience of cross-border litigation in and beyond Europe and has worked on all aspects of the product life cycle in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sector: from freedom to operate analyses and early stage risk assessments of generic and biosimilar competition to end-stage litigation on patents, term extensions and anti-trust issues.

Dr Adair writes regularly on reported patent cases in the UK and at the EPO. He is a member of the European Patent Lawyers Association, an associate member of the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys and holds office as Honorary Secretary and Vice-President of AIPPI UK.

Jean-Hyacinthe de Mitry, GIDE LOYRETTE NOUEL

JEAN-HYACINTHE de MITRY is a Partner at Gide Loyrette Nouel in Paris, France.  He specializes in contentious and non-contentious matters in all areas of industrial property (patents, trademarks, designs), as well as unfair competition and trade secrets.  He is a lecturer at Sciences-Po Paris and at the Paris Bar School.  He graduated from Sciences-Po Paris in 2001 and from Université Paris II – Assas in 2003 and was admitted to the Paris Bar in 2005.

Daniela Ampollini, Trevisan & Cuonzo

With more than 20 years of experience in IP, partner Daniela has advised and assisted both Italian and international clients in the exploitation and protection of innovation using all tools contemplated by IP law.  Her experience covers both contentious work (including cross-border and multi-jurisdictional litigation), and non-contentious work, including clearance analysis and the negotiation and drafting of commercial agreements concerning the exploitation of industrial and intellectual property rights, also in the context of complex commercial agreements.

Daan de Lange, Brinkhof

Gregory Bacon, Bristows

Greg Bacon is an experienced IP lawyer with a particular focus on patent litigation in the life sciences sector.

Greg’s extensive scientific background gives him a valuable understanding of technical issues that can underlie IP matters, particularly in the life sciences field. He has advised and represented clients on small molecule pharmaceuticals, biologics (originators and biosimilars), medical devices, as well as in the cosmetics, chemicals, technology and shipping sectors.

Greg has represented clients in many cases before both the English High Court and Court of Appeal. In addition, Greg has extensive experience of strategic multinational litigation through multiple global pharmaceutical product coordination projects.