Kathleen is highly experienced in multi-jurisdictional patent litigation having acted in some of the most high-profile patent disputes of the last 20 years.
Kathleen’s career in IP includes over 18 years at Taylor Wessing, training there and then joining the patent litigation team on qualification, and three years as head of the London patent litigation team at Browne Jacobson. She is cited as a leading UK patent litigator by the major legal directories. Kathleen is well placed to advise clients on the new Unified Patent Court (UPC) - see further details at EIP Amar, our alliance created to support clients in any litigation before the UPC.
Kathleen has advised clients across a variety of industry sectors, substantially in the telecoms, electronics, IT, pharma/biotech, engineering and chemical industries. This includes multi-jurisdictional litigation co-ordination, interim injunctions, infringement and validity litigation in the High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court.
Her work in the telecoms, IT and electronics sectors has concerned patents for various aspects of mobile phones, including speech coding and advice relating to standard essential patents (SEPs) as well as encrypted email, bank card security, optics and semi-conductors. She also has considerable experience in advising in relation to competition law FRAND issues arising in patent litigation concerning SEPs.
Kathleen has advised biotech/pharma and medical device companies throughout her career, in relation to large and small molecule drugs, including SPC aspects, and regulatory issues affecting pharmaceutical companies, and has particular expertise in respect of interim injunctions.
Kathleen also has significant experience advising in relation to competition law aspects associated with patents affecting pharmaceutical companies, particularly the European Commission’s pharma sector enquiry into patent settlement agreements. This includes advising on responses to requests for information from the European Commission, “dawn raids” and advising on the consequences of the Commission’s findings in the inquiry.
Kathleen has enjoyed particular success in interim injunctions in UK patent disputes, calculation and recovery of damages due to interim injunctions, and costs recovery.
Experience
- Sandoz & others v Reckitt Benckiser: Acting for Sandoz in a claim for damages in respect of Gaviscon, following a decision of the OFT finding competition law abuses by Reckitt.
- IPCom v HTC/Nokia: Acting for third party, Ericsson, in an application for disclosure of licence agreements.
- Ericsson v ZTE: 4 actions, 7 Ericsson SEPs for GSM and UMTS mobile phone technology. Part of a multi-jurisdictional dispute in UK, Germany, Italy and China. Global settlement.
- Cephalon v Orchid & Mylan: Modafinil (narcolepsy treatment) particle size patents. Success for Mylan. The first time in 10 years a generic avoided an interim injunction pending trial.
- Servier v Apotex: First UK judgment on enquiry as to damages due to interim injunction pending trial. Successful Supreme Court hearing on the issue of "ex turpi causa".
- RIM v Visto
- Cipla & Neolab v Glaxo: Patent for Seratide (asthma treatment). Successful revocation.
- Apotex v GSK
- Nutrinova v Scanchem: Patent for manufacture of sweetener, AcK. Successful findings of infringement. Evidence of the process of manufacture in China was obtained by Letter Request to the New York Court for documents created on an inspection of the plant by a Rabbi from a New York Beth Din for Kosher certification.
- Kirin-Amgen and Johnson & Johnson v Hoechst Marion Roussel/TKT: High Court, Court of Appeal and House of Lords.
Recent work
- Acting for Ericsson as co-counsel with Freshfields in the Unwired Planet v Samsung, Google & Huawei battle, specifically in relation to confidentiality and patent aspects in the competition law trial, arising from Ericsson’s sale of patents to Unwired Planet.
- Acting for Sandoz in respect of patent infringement and SPC issues arising from their UK launch of a number of products.
- Ericsson v Apple: Acting for patentee, Ericsson in respect of a number of its standard essential patents (SEPs) relating to speech coding for mobile phones.
- TCT v Ericsson: Acting for patentee, Ericsson over a number of its SEPs relating to speech coding for mobile phones, and multi-jurisdictional co-ordination.
Published articles
Education
-
1994 — 1996
CPE & LPC, College of Law, Guildford -
1991 — 1994
BSc Mathematics and Physics, Durham University
Career history
- 2019 — present
Partner, EIP - 2016 — 2019
Partner, Browne Jacobson LLP - 2014 — 2016
Consultant, Taylor Wessing LLP - 2012 — 2014
Senior Counsel, Taylor Wessing LLP - 1999 — 2012
Senior Associate, Taylor Wessing LLP - 1997 — 1999
Trainee, Taylor Wessing LLP
Awards and recognition
- WIPR Leaders 2024: Recognised individual (link)
- IAM Patent 1000 2024 (link)
- Ranked as 'Top 250 Women in IP 2024' (link)
- Ranked as 'Patent Star 2024' IP Stars (link)
- Recommended in JUVE Patent UK rankings 2024. (link)
- Legal 500, 2024 (link)
- WIPR Leader 2023, Patent Leaders, United Kingdom (link)
- IAM Patent 1000, 2023. 'A major authority in the FRAND/SEP space, Fox Murphy is also instructed by IP Bridge in a dispute related to 4G technology with Huawei, set for trial in early 2023. Alongside her expertise in the telecoms arena, Fox Murphy also advises pharmaceutical companies including aspects of competition law as it relates to their patent portfolios.' (link)
- Ranked as a 'Patent Star', IP Stars 2023
- Recommended IAM Patent 1000, 2022. Kathleen "has special knowledge when it comes to interim injunctions, gained across a 20-year career." (link)
- Ranked as a "Patent Star", IP Stars 2022 (link)
- Legal 500, 2022. (link)
- Recommended IAM Patent 1000, 2021. (link)
- Ranked as a "Top 250 Women in IP 2021", IP Stars 2021 (link)
- Ranked as a "Patent Star", IP Stars 2021 (link)
- Legal 500, 2021
- Ranked as a "Top 250 Women in IP 2020", IP Stars 2020 (link)
- IAM Patent 1000, 2020. Kathleen is a "talented litigator and SEP specialist." (link)
- Ranked as a "Patent Star", IP Stars 2020 (link)
- Ranked as a "Patent Star", IP Stars 2019 (link)
- Recommended in IAM Patent 1000, 2019. "Fox Murphy has over 17 years of complex litigation experience and brings considerable technical versatility to the table." (link)
- Recommended in Legal 500, 2018
- Recommended in IAM Patent 1000, 2018
- Ranked as a "Patent Star", IP Stars 2018
Speaking engagements
- 26 September 2019
MIP European Patent Forum, Munich 2019, Strategic considerations when planning and enforcing your international patents (link) - 24 September 2019
MIP European Patent Forum, Paris 2019, Strategic considerations when planning and enforcing your international patents (link) - June 2018
British-American Business Council Annual Conference, Wearable Technology (link) - May 2018
Women of Wearables, Tech Panel - June 2013
C5 Pharmaceutical Patents conference, Patent Lifecycles - February 2013
Mobile World Congress, General Counsel Summit - November 2012
IBIL (Institute of Brand & Innovation Law at UCL)/Taylor Wessing conference, Patents, Standards FRAND and Injunctions - November 2011
IBC Patents and Standards Conference, Chaired second day