Kathleen Fox Murphy

Partner, Solicitor
London

Kathleen is highly experienced in multi-jurisdictional patent litigation having acted in some of the most high-profile patent disputes of the last 20 years.

Kathleen’s career in IP includes over 18 years at Taylor Wessing, training there and then joining the patent litigation team on qualification, and three years as head of the London patent litigation team at Browne Jacobson. She is cited as a leading UK patent litigator by the major legal directories.

Kathleen has advised clients across a variety of industry sectors, substantially in the telecoms, electronics, IT, pharma/biotech, engineering and chemical industries. This includes multi-jurisdictional litigation co-ordination, interim injunctions, infringement and validity litigation in the High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court.

Her work in the telecoms, IT and electronics sectors has concerned patents for various aspects of mobile phones, including speech coding and advice relating to standard essential patents (SEPs) as well as encrypted email, bank card security, optics and semi-conductors. She also has considerable experience in advising in relation to competition law FRAND issues arising in patent litigation concerning SEPs.

Kathleen has advised biotech/pharma and medical device companies throughout her career, in relation to large and small molecule drugs, including SPC aspects, and regulatory issues affecting pharmaceutical companies, and has particular expertise in respect of interim injunctions.

Kathleen also has significant experience advising in relation to competition law aspects associated with patents affecting pharmaceutical companies, particularly the European Commission’s pharma sector enquiry into patent settlement agreements. This includes advising on responses to requests for information from the European Commission, “dawn raids” and advising on the consequences of the Commission’s findings in the inquiry.

Kathleen has enjoyed particular success in interim injunctions in UK patent disputes, calculation and recovery of damages due to interim injunctions, and costs recovery.

Experience

  • Sandoz & others v Reckitt Benckiser: Acting for Sandoz in a claim for damages in respect of Gaviscon, following a decision of the OFT finding competition law abuses by Reckitt.
  • IPCom v HTC/Nokia: Acting for third party, Ericsson, in an application for disclosure of licence agreements.
  • Ericsson v ZTE: 4 actions, 7 Ericsson SEPs for GSM and UMTS mobile phone technology. Part of a multi-jurisdictional dispute in UK, Germany, Italy and China. Global settlement.
  • Cephalon v Orchid & Mylan: Modafinil (narcolepsy treatment) particle size patents. Success for Mylan. The first time in 10 years a generic avoided an interim injunction pending trial.
  • Servier v Apotex: First UK judgment on enquiry as to damages due to interim injunction pending trial. Successful Supreme Court hearing on the issue of "ex turpi causa".
  • RIM v Visto
  • Cipla & Neolab v Glaxo: Patent for Seratide (asthma treatment). Successful revocation.
  • Apotex v GSK
  • Nutrinova v Scanchem: Patent for manufacture of sweetener, AcK. Successful findings of infringement. Evidence of the process of manufacture in China was obtained by Letter Request to the New York Court for documents created on an inspection of the plant by a Rabbi from a New York Beth Din for Kosher certification.
  • Kirin-Amgen and Johnson & Johnson v Hoechst Marion Roussel/TKT: High Court, Court of Appeal and House of Lords.

Education and qualifications

  • 1994 — 1996
    CPE & LPC, College of Law, Guildford
  • 1991 — 1994
    BSc Mathematics and Physics, Durham University

Career history

  • 2019 — present
    Partner, EIP
  • 2016 — 2019
    Partner, Browne Jacobson LLP
  • 2014 — 2016
    Consultant, Taylor Wessing LLP
  • 2012 — 2014
    Senior Counsel, Taylor Wessing LLP
  • 1999 — 2012
    Senior Associate, Taylor Wessing LLP
  • 1997 — 1999
    Trainee, Taylor Wessing LLP