Carpmaels & Ransford is top ranked again for patent prosecution

Carpmaels & Ransford has once again been ranked in the top tier for patent prosecution in the IAM Patent 1000 rankings. The firm received a gold-tier ranking in the European Patent Office category and a recommendation for transactions.

In addition, 17 partners have received individual recognition in the accompanying editorial which comments on the firm’s status as a leader in the European IP market, and on its long history of innovation.

According to IAM: Carpmaels & Ransford was one of the first outfits to combine the services of patent attorneys and solicitors, a working model that continues to be successful and has been copied by many others in the market. Its EPO opposition practice is one of the largest in the whole of Europe, it steps in regularly to resolve court disputes, and it has a powerful IP transactional group too. In the words of interviewees: “They are very good, hands-on practitioners, who also excel at client management and often have creative suggestions for avoiding litigation. Of all the English firms we have worked with, they provide the most balanced and genuinely helpful advice. The patent attorneys are at the top of their game and provide useful litigation support.” The team on the litigation side is led by David Wilson and includes Ian KirbyCamilla Balleny and Jennifer Antcliff. Wilson and Kirby have each been acting in multi-jurisdictional patent battles for over 25 years – Wilson is especially strong in disputes that arise in the context of licence agreements, while Kirby stands out as an advocate of alternative dispute resolution. Life sciences – and especially pharmaceutical and SPC cases – are the focus of both Balleny and Antcliff, with Balleny benefiting from a degree in genetics and time spent in-house and Antcliff holding a PhD in molecular biology. Handling pharmaceutical work on the prosecution side are the likes of James WarnerEdward Oates and Daniel Wise. Warner leads the pharmaceutical group and is well known for handling multi-opponent oppositions, including rare cases with more than 10 opponents; the same is true of Oates, who has dealt with proceedings with 14 and 15 opponents on behalf of some of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies. Wise, on the other hand, counts vaccine technology and protein therapeutics among his specialisms and has a granular knowledge of SPCs. Heading up the biotechnology team is Mark Chapman, an expert patent drafter and defender whose technical strengths include antisense therapeutics and antibody therapeutics; his fellow biotechnology ace is Cameron Marshall, who works alongside blue-chip clients from the early stages, anticipating then batting away threats. Also on the life sciences side are Harvey Adams and Hugh Goodfellow – Adams has carved a niche defending patents for well-known drugs in abbreviated new drug application litigation, and also deftly handles freedom-to-operate issues, while Goodfellow acts as the firm’s managing partner and life sciences business lead, capably files and prosecutes SPCs, and is frequently seen before both the EPO and European Court of Justice. Captaining the engineering and technology side is Gary Small, who has historically been enlisted by the likes of Hewlett-Packard and Johnson & Johnson. His team includes Chris Tunstall and John Brunner, who have been jointly involved in a set of crucial EPO oppositions for the latter company in relation to laser eye surgery. Also in the engineering and technology teams is Paul Bettridge, who specialises in medical devices patents and works with patrons ranging from innovator SMEs to global healthcare companies. An integral member of the chemistry group, Susan Kirsch recently fought an appeal for Johnson & Johnson in relation to its Tylenol Rapid Release Gels. For transactional issues, the one to go to is Jake Marshall, who brings secondment experience at GSK and Gilead to his practice negotiating high-end deals.

If you would like to read the full results you can find them here.


20th Jul 2022

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