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Prosecution outfit Haseltine Lake made headlines in 2019 when it merged with litigation practice Kempner and Partners, and the resultant outfit has been going from strength to strength ever since, winning new clients constantly thanks to its truly comprehensive IP offering. The group is distinguished by its relationships with patrons, its direct patent drafting work, and its ability to adapt its services to the needs of businesses. In addition, its UK practice is enhanced by its fast-growing German presence, with star attorney James Ward running a thriving Munich office. In the words of one happy customer: “HLK provides fantastic legal service. They have the experience and legal expertise across the European region to provide top customer service and high-quality work product. I work with many law firms around the world for a multinational corporation and I can state that HLK is one of the best.” At the heart on the litigation side is namesake Richard Kempner, who has this past year gone out to bat for Tesco in relation to its clothes hangers – his is a well-known name thanks to the 30 years he has already spent litigating patents. At the fore on the prosecution side are the likes of Simon Rees, Alex Rogers, Caroline Day, and Joe Lenthall. Rees – who manages many of the ensemble’s major client relationships – has been drafting electronics and telecommunications patents for over 20 years and brings insight from the seven years he spent as an examiner at the UK Intellectual Property Office, while chemistry and life sciences ace Rogers is a force of nature before the EPO and counts Mars and The Royal Mint among his clients. Day leads the firm’s longstanding relationship with HP Inc. and combines pragmatism and business-mindedness with a zest for the technical side; Lenthall, on the other hand, splits his time between managing vast patent portfolios and winning cases before the EPO, largely in the pharmaceutical space. Other top-drawer practitioners are David Hammond and George Tebbutt – Hammond holds academic credentials in chemistry and DNA technology, rendering him capable of advising on both the healthcare and chemical and materials sides, and his freedom-to-operate work for the UK Atomic Energy Authority represents one recent success. The eagle-eyed Tebbutt is an engineering expert and counts the likes of Rolls-Royce and Nike among the relationships he has built and maintained.
Alex Rogers is a partner in Haseltine Lake Kempner LLP’s Chemistry and Life Sciences team and has over 20 years’ experience in the patent profession. He has the pleasure of advising some of the most well-known, innovative companies across the globe. He advises clients across a broad spectrum of patent matters, from drafting and filing applications to disputes and freedom-to-operateopinions.
In recent years, Mr Rogers has been deeply involved in European Oppositions and Appeals, defending clients’ valuable patents and helping them attack their competitors’ patents. He is recognised in the profession for his advocacy skills before the European Patent Office and has an enviable record of success in contentious matters. Mr Rogers takes pride in getting to know his clients’ businesses – from both commercial and technical sides – so that the IP advice he gives is in line with their strategic and commercial aims and maximises the chances of success for hisclients.
He works for a range of clients, including large multinationals, SMEs, start-up companies and universities. His clients include a number of world-renowneduniversities.
Mr Rogers handles a wide range of chemical subject matter, from materials and chemical physics applications to those in the medical arena. He heads up the firm’s Materials Science group. His specialisms include electrochemistry, inks, nanocarbon materials, semi-conductor processing, photovoltaic devices, plasma techniques, fuel additives, drug delivery systems, organic synthesis techniques, hydrogel and hydrocolloid skin adhesives, and food chemistry. He also handles medical device applications. He has a first-class honours chemistry degree from the University ofOxford.
“Alex Rogers is technically excellent, very responsive, and knows our business needs very well.” – Legal 500
“Alex Rogers is a thorough and persuasive EPO oppositions ace.” – IAM Patent 1000, 2021
Haseltine Lake Kempner LLP (HLK) is one of the largest independent IP firms in Europe providing a full suite of IP services across the entire IPR Lifespan™ in all technical and scientific disciplines. With offices in London, Munich, Bristol, Leeds, Glasgow, Sittard-Geleen (Netherlands) and Guangzhou (China), HLK provides IP services globally.
The firm advises on the strategy, identification, protection, opposition and appeal, exploitation, enforcement and litigation of IP rights (patents, trademarks, designs, copyright, trade secrets), and defends its clients from allegations of infringement.
HLK’s team of litigators, headed by Richard Kempner, works closely with the team of patent attorneys – it is rare to have this combination under one roof in the United Kingdom. The litigation team regularly handles high-profile cases before the United Kingdom’s High Court and Intellectual Property Enterprise Court, with clients entrusting HLK with their important patent and trademark litigation cases. HLK also has a strong oppositions and appeals capability with a proven track record before the European Patent Office (EPO), consistently outperforming the EPO averages, particularly on behalf of opponents.
All the firm’s resources and expertise are exclusively dedicated to IP protection: safeguarding the inventions, creative designs, brand identities and other innovations of its clients. HLK is privileged to work with some of the most exciting and forward-looking businesses in the world, which are at the cutting edge of innovation and product development in their various spheres.
The majority of the firm’s clients are large corporate entities, but it also works with universities and research institutes, and with SMEs. HLK currently has clients in over 50 countries, including the United States, China, Japan and all major European countries.
HLK’s clients include many household names such as Ericsson, Ford, Tesco, Nomad (Birds Eye Foods etc), Chevron, Nike, HP Inc, Mars-Wrigley, Rolls Royce, Honeywell, Molton Brown, Oxford University Innovation Ltd, and University College London.
HLK is in the top 10 firms for both patent prosecution before the EPO and trademarks prosecution before the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO). It has built a strong international reputation for top-quality advice across a wide range of technologies and industry sectors. Many of its clients have worked with the firm for decades.
Partners at HLK take an active and leading role in the sector’s professional bodies, driving positive change and influencing policy: Daniel Chew is vice president of the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys; Simon Rees is president of the UK chapter of the British Association of the International Federation of Intellectual Property Attorneys; and Brian Whitehead was appointed as a recorder in the courts in 2022, having previously been appointed as an appointed Person’ before the UK IPO in 2020 – the first (and only) appointment of its kind in a private practice IP firm in the United Kingdom.
As one of the founding members of IP Inclusive, an industry-wide group aiming to raise awareness and improve equality, diversity and inclusivity in the IP community, HLK has an unwavering commitment to diversity and maintaining an inclusive working environment in which everyone can fulfil their potential and maximise their contribution.
HLK is a signatory to UN Global Compact – the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative with a mission to “unite companies to align their strategies and operations with universal principles on human rights, labour, environment, anti-corruption and take shared responsibility for a better world”.