Areas of specialism
EIP is a leading IP law firm advising on high-value and complex patent matters. Our multidisciplinary team combines patent attorneys, litigators and commercial IP lawyers, and we operate in three of the world’s main patent markets - Germany, UK and USA, and now also in the Nordics through our recent expansion into Sweden.
The benefit of combining attorneys and litigators is well illustrated by EIP’s successful representation of clients in high-stakes patent litigation before the UK High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court, and before the German district and federal courts.
Aside from the more mainstream drafting and prosecution practices, EIP’s patent attorneys work closely with the litigation team in the United Kingdom and Germany, providing additional technical expertise on large-scale international patent litigation matters.
EIP is increasingly involved in advisory and strategic project work in relation to the enforcement of patent rights, including portfolio analyses, infringement and validity analyses and claim charting, as well as strategic IP advice such as due diligence related to acquisitions and joint ventures. Team members often counsel clients on strategic patent portfolio management and development matters, and EIP has been retained to assist in developing high-level IP strategies for some of the world’s largest companies.
To complement the high-value patent advice we already provide to our clients we provide commercial advice on the exploitation and use of Intellectual Property Rights and ancillary issues arising in relation to data protection and rights of privacy.
EIP has represented clients in hundreds of oppositions before the EPO over the past two decades and represent clients in person at hearings at the EPO in Munich, The Hague and Berlin, as well as via videoconference hearings.
The firm’s integrated team of patent attorneys, litigators and paralegals can act in national court litigation alongside EPO opposition proceedings for a seamless, consistent and effective service.
Clients
EIP has a diverse international client base advising blue-chip companies through to SMEs. Clients include VISA, Airbus, A.P. Moller-Maersk, Pulpex, Sonos, Broadcom, and Optis.
Clients choose EIP for their commercial outlook, in-house experience, honest opinions, and pioneering approach to dealing with patents. Our attorneys and lawyers have considerable technical knowledge in the areas of high tech, advanced engineering, chemistry, life sciences, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, medical technology, and energy.
Firm overview
EIP was established in 2000 and has rapidly grown to be a leading IP firm with 26 partners and more than 170 staff practising from its four UK offices in Bath, Cardiff, Leeds and London, its US office in Denver, Colorado, its German office in Düsseldorf, and its recently opened Sweden office in Stockholm.
In 2022 EIP was named “European Firm of the Year - Patent Contentious” at Managing Intellectual Property EMEA awards which followed winning “Firm of the Year for Patent Litigation” for four years in a row from 2018 to 2021. EIP is a Legal 500, Chambers & Partners, IAM Patent 1000, IP Stars, and JUVE recommended firm as well as being recognised in the FT list of Europe’s Leading Patent Law Firms.
Notable cases
EIP has built an enviable reputation in patent litigation and has won the following high-profile cases for clients:
- EIP secured a landmark victory in the UK Supreme Court for its clients Unwired Planet and Conversant Wireless, in Unwired Planet v Huawei and Conversant Wireless v Huawei & ZTE, which have been the most eagerly anticipated telecoms cases in years. This ruling defines the licensing of patented technology considered essential to the international standards for previous and future generations of wireless telecommunications technology.
- EIP secured a significant victory for client Conversant Wireless in Germany. EIP successfully asserted a Standard Essential Patent (SEP) for Conversant against Stuttgart carmaker Daimler in a dispute that will have repercussions across the sector.
- EIP obtained a victory in the Düsseldorf District Court for its client Conversant Wireless in two patent infringement decisions against Huawei and ZTE. The Court affirmed infringement of two 3G-related Standard Essential Patents (SEPs) by Huawei and ZTE products. Subject to enforcement, it awarded inter alia an injunction against both companies, confirming a previous but non-accepted license offer by Conversant as fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND).
