James is an internationally recognised expert in the field of intellectual property. He has top level experience, spanning 35 years, of helping businesses extract the most value from their intellectual property through enforcement and transactions such as R&D agreements and licensing. In addition to his legal qualifications, he has a Cambridge University science degree, assisting his understanding of client technologies and the best protection mechanisms. James is also a solicitor- advocate, giving him full rights of audience in the higher courts, with an enviable reputation as a fierce practitioner in IP disputes. He has conducted cases all the way to the Supreme Court, and won for a client the highest court award for IP damages in the UK.
Independent commentators have described James as “widely-admired” (Legal 500) and as having a “stunning reputation” acting “for high-profile clients on a national and international scale” being “instructed directly by organisations who require the very highest levels of expertise” (Chambers Directory). His views have also been sought on national television and radio, as well as being quoted in the national and international press such as the FT and the South China Morning Post.
Much of James’ work involves an international element and he has a long record of attending and speaking at international conferences. Committee roles include 10 years sitting on the prestigious Law Society Intellectual Property Law Committee which promotes and lobbies for improvements in intellectual property law nationally and internationally, on the Law Society International Committee and on various UK Intellectual Property Office working groups. He is also an appointed mediator at the CCPIT Jinhua Mediation Centre, China.
Associations:
- Law Society International Committee
- Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys - Associate Member (CIPA)
- Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys - Associate Member (ITMA)
- Licensing Executives Society International (LESI)
- International Trademark Association (INTA)
- Intellectual Property Lawyers Association (IPLA)
- European Patent Litigators Association (EPLIT)
- Life Fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (FRSA)
Experience
Examples of experience include advising:
- Geofabrics, on asuccessful patent infringement action (related to rail track technology), and validity defence, involving multiple hearings in the High Court and Court of Appeal over 5 years, resulting in the largest ever UK court award for IP damages
- DeTect Global in the defence of a High Court and Unified Patent Court patent action relating to the infringement and validity of a European Patent concerning wind turbine and radar technology
- National Grid on the legal framework and contractual terms of a research and collaboration agreement concerning ground-breaking pipeline surveillance technology.
- Department for Business & Trade on the formulation of an intellectual property framework surrounding the government's National Digital Twin Programme (NDTP).
- TomTom, providing advice in connection with patents, other intellectual property, and related contractual matters and transactions, concerning high tech
- Tetra Pak, assisting their in-house trade mark team in relation to trade mark matters, including enforcement, registration and opposition
- Vygon, advising on the intellectual property protection of medical devices, including disputes in the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court and licensing arrangements
- Screen Repair Services, conducting an oil industry patent infringement action through the High Court, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court, the leading case on right to repair patented articles
