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  • Contentious Practice group
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• What we do
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Our Contentious Practice group, headed by David Croston, specialises in acting for clients in disputes including litigation in the English Courts, opposition and appeal proceedings at the European Patent Office and appeals from the UKIPO.

In the court matters that we have handled, we have delivered highly cost effective litigation with the additional benefit of a high level of technical knowledge of the subject matter.

Our experience

Specialists in the team have experience of conducting litigation at the Court of Appeal, the High Court and the Patents County Court. We were the first ever Patent Attorney Litigators to win at the Court of Appeal, in Vector Corporation vs. Glatt Air Techniques, Inc. [2008] RPC 10.

We have also successfully appealed UK Patent Office decisions on patentability of computer-related technologies to the High Court, for example in a highly significant case: Symbian Ltd. vs. Comptroller General of Patents [2008] EWHC 518 (Pat). We successfully defended the subsequent appeal filed by the Patent Office (the first time the UKIPO had ever lost on patentability at the Court of Appeal). We have handled numerous other matters before the UK courts.

Our expertise

Three members of the group have Patent Attorney Litigator Certificates and one is a Trade Mark Attorney Litigator.

Our experienced and expert team of European Patent Attorneys has an excellent track record at the EPO, having conducted many oppositions, appeals and oral proceedings on behalf of clients. While statistically it is true that 40% of opposed patents are revoked, some of our colleagues have never lost a patent entirely. We believe our success is due to our extensive preparation, combined with the depth of our industry expertise.

Wider Perspectives

As a group, we keep a watching brief on all that is happening within the courts and regularly maintain contact with a network of contentious IP solicitors. We also have strong relations with the specialist IP chambers at the Bar.

Group members

Dave Croston - leads our Contentious Practice Group. In contentious matters, he has experience before the Court of Appeal, the High Court, the Patents County Court and the UK and European Patent Offices. Dave was the first Patent Attorney Litigator to win a case in the Court of Appeal. In addition to conducting litigation in appropriate cases, Dave regularly liaises with a network of external contentious IP solicitors and has good relations with the specialist IP Chambers at the Bar. Dave's ability to reason quickly on his feet is reflected in an excellent record at the European Patent Office including winning one of the largest cost awards ever made by an EPO Technical Board of Appeal. Dave's background is in Mechanical Engineering with numerous clients in the Aerospace, Automotive, Agricultural and Packaging sectors.

Nick Wallin - trained in private practice before moving in-house to the IP Department of BT in 2001. Since joining Withers & Rogers LLP in 2004, Nick has been involved in a wide variety of contentious matters including actions before the High Court, the Court of Appeal, the Patents County Court and the UK Designs Registry. Nick ran the successful appeal from the UKIPO in the Symbian patentability case. Nick's excellent case management skills facilitate cost effective litigation as does his ability very quickly to assimilate new facts into a case. Nick studied Electronics Systems Engineering and works primarily in the high-technology electronics and software fields, maintaining a strong specialism in signal processing and communications-related technologies.

Peer Watterson - originally trained as a solicitor in South Africa before moving to the UK and qualifying as a UK and European Patent Attorney. Peer gained his UK Patent Attorney Litigator certificate in 2009. While in South Africa, Peer gained a considerable range of experience in litigation matters including copyright and patent litigation, criminal enforcement procedures, interim injunctions, and ADR. In the UK, Peer has been involved in EPO opposition and appeal proceedings and proceedings at the UK Courts on appeal from UKIPO. 

Tania Clark - has undergraduate and postgraduate law degrees and a Diploma in French Law. Tania is qualified as both a Barrister and a Trade Mark Attorney and has a Trade Mark Litigator certificate. Tania has strong communication skills and is adept at negotiating settlements of conflicts. 

Karl Barnfather - has an excellent record of success in inter partes proceedings at the EPO and is an acknowledged expert in software patentability cases. 

Adrian Chettle - is a highly experienced European patent attorney in the mechanical field, with extensive experience of inter partes proceedings at the EPO.

John Dean - enjoys EPO opposition and appeal work, having over 20 years of experience in this area. He takes on cases from a variety of technical fields including aerospace and control systems.

Ben Dempster - has considerable experience of Oral Proceedings at the European Patent Office and also has experience of inter partes proceedings at the UK Intellectual Property Office.

Dave Elsy - has had extensive experience before both the Opposition Division and Technical Board of Appeal of the EPO in the Life Science and Chemistry fields. This has included a number of cases, unusually, extending over the course of several days.

Nicholas Jones - has significant experience of inter partes proceedings at the EPO in pharmaceutical and chemical cases. As a qualified Pharmacist, he has broad expertise in the pharmaceutical field, and has also provided advice in high-profile pharmaceutical litigation in the High Court.

David McWilliams - is the head of our Designs Practice Group and regularly advises on disputes relating to infringement of Registered Designs (UK and Community) and unregistered design right (UK and Community). David's experience includes working closely with IP litigators in infringement proceedings before the Patents County Court as well as patent infringement proceedings in Germany and Italy.