Nick Cunningham

In the course of a long career Nick has advised on all areas of intellectual property guiding clients to a successful resolution of their disputes whether through litigation, mediation or arbitration. Nick has gained experience across a wide range of sectors including engineering and manufacturing, automotive, telecoms, aviation, heavy plant, food technology, toxicology, software and computing, oil rig design, wind farms, mining, building and land development, retailing, housing associations, hospitals, forensic science, architecture, graphic design, photography, clothing, further education, regulatory bodies of various kinds, local government, museums and galleries, and charitable and not for profit bodies.

Nick has litigated before the UK courts, the UK IPO, and the EPO. He is well versed in multi-jurisdictional disputes and is particularly skilled at creating global strategies working harmoniously with client teams and networks of lawyers across the globe. He has been engaged in law changing cases such as Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd v Premium Aircraft Interiors UK Ltd, Nokia Corp v Interdigital Technology Corp, and Lillie & Reed v Newcastle City Council. Most recently he was part of the Gowling team engaged in the InterDigital v Lenovo FRAND dispute which saw the team secure the first appellate level FRAND valuation judgment and secure payment for all past infringing use under a licence stretching back over a decade. Nick is currently focussed on the commercial and policy issues arising from SEP/FRAND litigation and is a regular attendee at the ETSI IPR Special Committee. He also assists clients with outreach to the European Commission and Parliament on policy issues concerning SEP FRAND most recently the draft EU SEP Regulation.

In tandem with his focus on patent matters Nick leads the Gowling defamation team, which regularly provides advice to corporate and public sector clients on issues affecting their reputation. The past few years have seen a focus on the construction industry, and on advice in the context of tertiary education, but his work encompasses reputational issues in all sectors. The team also provides defamation advice on a pro bono basis to clients campaigning in the charitable and not-for-profit sector.