Patents

Overview

Rapid advances in new technologies have led to a host of unique and unprecedented challenges when protecting your innovations. To stake a claim and mitigate long-term risk, you need a highly-skilled team of patent lawyers with extensive experience and an established track record of successfully protecting and enforcing intellectual property rights worldwide.

Our full-service law firm is home to international patent professionals with expert-level strength in prosecution, enforcement, litigation and transactional work across global sectors. We serve a range of clients from startup innovators, universities and research institutes to multi-national corporations. From our offices in Canada, China, Europe and the UK, the Middle East and Singapore our patent team works to protect, commercialise and enforce patents and industrial designs in a wide range of areas, as well as maximise your patent strategy across the globe. With one of the largest patent drafting and prosecution practices, we also provide direct patent filing in Canada, China, Singapore & UAE and manage large global patent portfolios for many of our clients. In UK and Europe we work with an established and extensive network of experienced attorney firms to provide filing services for both national and European patents as well Unitary Patents. 

With many of our professionals holding advanced scientific, medical and engineering degrees, we have an unrivalled reputation for unique industry insight. We provide tailored solutions across a spectrum of technologies, including biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, electronics, semiconductor manufacturing, consumer products and energy.

Patent services

Meet our international team

Find out more about our patent work in our key jurisdictions.

Canada

Our Canadian IP team is home to award-winning patent professionals. Whether you're looking to file, commercialize or enforce your patents and industrial designs, our renowned patent group can advise on the right protection strategy. They regularly co-ordinate and direct the prosecution of patent applications – where necessary by involving our extensive network of international associates - worldwide. We frequently represent leading national and global companies before the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO).

Our practice also boasts extensive capabilities in IP transactions, both domestic and cross-border. We advise clients with respect to standard essential patents and FRAND, patent mining and mapping (landscaping), licenses and agreements, and the IP aspects of corporate transactions.

Our services cover the entire lifecycle of innovation. From market clearance, initial drafting and filing of patents to complex enforcement matters, through to the management and monetization of large international portfolios. In addition, our team provides comprehensive trade secret and confidential information strategies to cover your assets.

Client work

Awards and recognition

Gowling WLG's Patent team exemplifies professionalism, flexibility and a favourable quality-cost ratio.

IAM Patent 1000

We are proud to be recognised by the top legal directories including the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory, The Legal 500, and Chambers Canada, as well as Chambers Global, IAM, Managing IP.

We were named 'Patents Disputes Firm of the Year' at the MIP Americas Awards 2023.

Contact our team

To find out more about how we can support you throughout the lifecycle of your innovation, contact a member of our team.

John D. Harris
Partner, Patent Group Lead

France

Our team in France boasts legal experience in all fields of intellectual property law. Our Patent team works across a comprehensive range of sectors including technology, luxury goods and retail, health and pharmaceuticals, automotive, and manufacturing.

With longstanding experience, we advise on patent strategy and enforcement, licensing and related contracts, providing wide-ranging risk management advice on protection and management of our clients' intellectual assets and trade secrets.

Appearing regularly before the French courts, we have a reputation for excellence, speed, and determination. Our professionals have a deep knowledge of French patent litigation procedures. We are recognised as a major player in the market for patents and handling complex pan-European litigation and disputes, particularly those concerning the internet.

Our experience in the management and enforcement of IP rights also allows us to support our clients in all aspects of non-contentious IP.

Client work

Some of our past projects include:

Prolific on both the contentious and non-contentious sides, the outfit's French outpost regularly makes its mark in industries as varied as biotechnology and consumer goods.

- IAM Patent 1000

Our team is regularly recognised in top legal directory rankings including The Legal 500 and IAM Patent 1000.

Contact our team in France

For further information on how we can help you with patents and IP, please contact our team.

Céline Bey
Partner

Germany

We represent clients when their patent rights are infringed or when they are accused of infringing third-party patent rights. We enforce these rights in legal proceedings before the competent German and European courts.

We cover many areas of litigation and arbitration including preliminary injunctions, and all aspects of non-contentious IP including matters with regards to employee invention, utility models, trade secrets and confidential information, licensing, cooperation and other commercial agreements.

UAE

Research and development is one of the fastest areas of commercial growth in the Middle East and the North Africa (MENA) region. As governments look to move towards innovation driven knowledge-based economies, protecting patents and innovation in the MENA region is crucial in order to obtain and maintain your commercial advantage.

Our UAE IP team can help you to confidently stake a claim and mitigate long-term risk, handling patent matters throughout the MENA region, including work before the GCC Patent Office (GCCPO).

Our professionals can help to successfully file, prosecute and enforce your patents and industrial designs. They can also assist you to establish technology transfer processes to commercialise your patents and innovations to see an impact from your investments in research and development.

Our team works closely with our award-winning group of patent professionals in Canada, China and Singapore for patent drafting. With the support of our international patent team, we cover all technical areas of potential interest.

Client work

Awards and recognition

Our team is highly commended by top legal directories including The Legal 500 and IAM Patent 1000.

We were proud to be named 'UAE Intellectual Property Law Firm of the Year' in the Chambers Middle East Legal Awards 2022.

Contact the team

For more information on how we can help you maximise your assets and build your patent strategy, contact a member of our team.

Jon Parker
Partner

UK

We are proud to advise some of the most sophisticated and exacting innovators in the world. Our deep industry knowledge allows us to understand your business at a different level and help you realise the full value of your IP assets.

Our full suite of patent services covers all technology areas, including biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, electronics, semiconductor manufacturing, consumer products and energy. Our team complements this knowledge with previous academic attainments and earlier careers in biochemistry, physics, engineering, advertising, IT and microbiology. These backgrounds, combined with regular client secondments, ensure a greater insight into the competing priorities and parameters that our clients face every day. Current top in-house priorities cover trade secrets, Supplementary Protection Certificates, FRAND, artificial intelligence and the Unitary Patent system.

Our UK Patents team is recommended for its work in patent litigation (acting for both claimants and defendants), patent strategy and non-contentious advice.

Client work

Awards and recognition

We are proud to be recognised by a host of legal directories for our work in the market. We are highly commended in the IAM Patent 1000 for litigation and transactions.

We received 'European Cross-border Patent Litigation Team of the Year' and 'Impact Case of the Year' for our work with InterDigital at the MIP EMEA 2022 Awards.

Contact the team

To develop your strategy for patent protection and maximise the value of your assets, contact a member of our team.

Huw Evans
Partner, Head of Patent Litigation (UK)

Alexandra Brodie
Partner, Co-chair of Global Tech

Gordon Harris
Of Counsel

China

China is the world's fastest growing marketplace for IP filing and protection. Our Chinese patent professionals assist international clients doing business inside China as well as Chinese businesses pursuing investment opportunities outside of China (e.g. Canada, the UK, Europe, Africa, Singapore, Latin America).

Members of our team are fluent in English, German, French, Mandarin and Cantonese. We have experience in all aspects of IP matters across diverse sectors spanning manufacturing, technology, engineering, aviation, automotive, fast-moving consumer goods and more.

With many years of experience working with China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) our IP team will support you throughout the lifecycle of your IP portfolio, from evaluating the right protection strategy (patents vs. utility models vs. trade secret and others), search reports and freedom to operate opinions, to IP filing and prosecution.

We are at the forefront of high-tech and life sciences matters. We serve global clients in these sectors, advising on patent filing and prosecution. Familiar with the business aspect of IP exploitation, we also regularly conduct IP transactional work including licensing, assignment, and pledges. We have experience working with local counsel and investigative agents in China, both on the prosecution and enforcement of IP rights.

Client work

Awards and recognition

The whole Gowling WLG team feels like an 'extension of our in-house team'.

IAM Patent 1000 2022

We are proud to be recognised by a number of global IP awards including MIP Stars, IAM and World Trademark Review.

Contact our team

To find out more about how we can support you with your cross-border patent strategy, contact us.

Jian Xu
Head of IP Prosecution (China)

Elliot Papageorgiou
Head of IP Strategy (China)