J A Kemp

Gold - Firms: prosecution

J A Kemp stands as one of the top patent prosecution practices in Europe, dominating the UK market and making a continental impact via its branch offices in Paris and Munich. It can handle the protection and defence of patents on a pan-European basis, and regularly does so for clients across the sector spectrum, but especially major companies from Japan and the United States. Its high-profile patrons include Amgen, whose medical devices patents Mark Roberts and Patrick Campbell are defending Europe-wide. Roberts heads the medical devices group and has been praised for “his resourcefulness and tenacity in advancing clients’ interests, and the innovative approaches he takes to resolving difficult issues”. Campbell heads the biotechnology and life sciences group and has lately advised on some of the most groundbreaking inventions in the antibody field. GSK has also sought out the firm’s services recently – for prosecution and oppositions – and pharmaceuticals head Ravi Srinivasan has risen to the bar. “Ravi is an outstanding IP legal professional. His insights and attention to detail are second to none. He and his team are efficient and organised.” Also focusing on life sciences are Sarah Roques and Andrew Clark – Roques has been acting before the EPO for 30 years and, like Patrick Campbell, has a fine-grained understanding of antibody issues, while Clark is a chemicals and pharmaceuticals pro whom US clients love. He enters the IAM Patent 1000 this year on account of glowing reviews: “Andrew is simply the best foreign counsel I have worked with in Europe or elsewhere. I send all of my most complicated cases to him, and I wish he could work on all of my cases. He is highly technically proficient and thorough. His prosecution strategies are superior, and have guided us to allowance in many extremely difficult cases.” Also newly entering the guide are Andrew Bentham and Dominic Forsythe: Bentham’s partnership with the firm is approaching the 20-year mark and he leads the plant science and agriculture group; Forsythe is of particular use to university spin-outs. Both receive high praise from interviewees: “We rely heavily on Andy’s prosecution and opposition skills and experience, and also his uncanny ability to manage his talented team, such that working with Andy and his team is a smooth, highly productive and successful operation. Andy is a thoughtful and soft-spoken attorney, and he epitomises the adage, “when Andy speaks, people listen”.” “It is my opinion that Dominic is the best patent practitioner, by a long way, that I have ever worked with for several reasons, including his technical depth of expert knowledge across multiple topics, his ability to understand and translate new ideas into words, and his efficient and quick responses to examiners’ reports.” For IT matters, veterans Nigel Price and John Leeming are available – engineering and IT head Price has been acting in the field for 35 years and “is incredibly well informed in nuances of EU law that are less well understood by others”; Leeming, meanwhile, heads the software practice group and has been drafting patents for 30 years, over which time he has helped many a start-up achievegreatness.

Silver - Firms