William Cook

Will is an intellectual property lawyer with a focus on the litigation and licensing of patents, copyright and engineering designs.

He advises major corporations and technology companies in the TMT sector, in particular relating to patents covering electronics, semiconductors, telecoms technology, software and related fields. He also advises clients in the mechanical, chemical engineering and life sciences sectors.

Will is an active trial lawyer who handles cases in the Patents Court of the English High Court and the Patents County Court, as well as the Court of Appeal. Most recently, he has acted in 3 separate cases which have gone to full trial in 2009 in the Patents Court, including the high-profile Gemstar v Virgin Media litigation, heard over 3 weeks in June/July 2009. Some of Will’s significant court cases are listed below.

He regularly advises clients in multi-jurisdictional disputes with parallel proceedings in the USA and/or the key other European jurisdictions. He leads or works as a part of integrated teams of IP specialists, to co-ordinate strategic, legal and technical issues.

He also handles EU Customs Border Detention matters and advises on EU Competition Law complaints relating to IP issues. He represents a number of clients in copyright and design disputes in the UK and on a European level. He further advises on the commercial and transactional aspects of IP, including patents, designs, copyright and trade mark issues, as well as the protection of confidential information.

He was recommended by the Legal 500 Directory in 2008 as “outstanding”, and in 2009 as “covering all angles, providing an all-round litigation service”. Chambers UK Guide 2009 describes him as “sought after” for contentious intellectual property matters.

After qualifying as an intellectual property lawyer in 1994, Will practised as an IP lawyer at a major City firm for 17 years, the last 5 of which he was a partner. His first trial (as a trainee) was the seminal case of Biogen v Medeva in 1993, and since then he has been involved as lead partner or associate in dozens of patent trials in the UK, as well as co-ordinating or supporting parallel cases in the USA, Germany, Netherlands, France and elsewhere.

He joined Marks & Clerk Solicitors LLP as a partner in January 2010.

MA Engineering Cambridge University (BA 1987-1990)

Diploma in Intellectual Property Law Bristol University (1995)

Qualified as a Solicitor (1994)

Solicitor-Advocate: Higher Rights of Audience (2003)

Gemstar-TV Guide v Virgin Media

Tyrell v Riemser

Grimme v Scott

Buehler v FP Spomax

Ferag v Mueller Martini

Weatherford v BJ Oil Services

Hynix Semiconductor v Rambus

LG Electronics v NCR

Texas Instruments v Hyundai Electronics

Bayer v Octopharma

Courtaulds v Lenzing (In re: Lenzing judicial review)