Will James

Will is a patent and IP specialist with extensive expertise in two distinct sectors – life sciences and technology, with a particular interest in the application of artificial intelligence to both - which allows him to draw on his scientific training in biotechnology and neuroscience.

Heading up Osborne Clarke’s UK Life Sciences and Healthcare sector, Will offers strategic IP services to biotech, pharmaceutical and medical device clients, helping them navigate complex landscapes of patent and IP issues. In this, his scientific specialism means he’s well-equipped to advise on the most cutting-edge tech. Will has advised on patents protecting fundamental biotechnologies and blockbuster antibody therapies, and more recently he has advised on medical diagnostics technology employing AI and machine learning for various applications including the diagnosis of heart arrhythmias and the prediction of heart attack risk.

Will’s expertise in technology is equally far reaching. With a technical understanding of the issues relating to telecoms and software, he has advised on global patent litigation issues involving GPS tracking systems, video on demand, electronic program guides, RFID technology and air traffic control systems. He also has a specialism in copyright and database right matters, proprietary data and trade secrets, acting for software engineers and book publishers, architects and database owners. Will has been involved in a number of multi-jurisdictional commercial matters, including complex worldwide securitisations of future patent royalty streams and other patent-focussed deals.

Will is a solicitor advocate with Higher Rights of Audience and has been involved in IP litigation at all levels of the UK courts, often as part of an integrated team of specialists from European countries in a co-ordinating role for international clients.

Always a champion of innovation, Will advised Drs Kelly and Chiu against GE Healthcare on the first-ever successful employee inventor compensation claim in the UK and continues to advise clients, both employer companies and employee inventors, in this area.

Will is a prominent figure in the wider UK life sciences community, sitting on the BioIndustry Association's IP Advisory Committee and its sub-committee on AI, and is also an active member of the European Patent Lawyers Association (EPLAW) and the AIPPI.

Will is a ranked lawyer in all of the key legal directories – Legal 500, Who's Who Legal for 'pharma and biotech' as well as 'patents', IAM Patent 1000, Juve Patents and is also an MIP IP Star.

‘Will James is a warm and thoughtful leader of a litigation team. He is always on top of the technical detail, and making excellent contributions to the right strategy, but at the same time clearly feels able to trust his team to an appropriate degree to allow the client’s money to be spent most efficiently. It is impressive to watch."

Legal 500