Marcus is an intellectual property lawyer at Marks & Clerk Law who advises clients on a wide range of IP rights, with a focus on patent litigation in the life sciences sector.

Before moving into law, Marcus worked for five years in pharmaceutical market research, developing and managing national and international projects in various medical fields.  This experience, combined with Marcus’ biotechnology and genetics background, allows him to quickly grasp the key technical and commercial issue of disputes and transactions seen in science-based industries.

Marcus trained and qualified as a solicitor at a leading international law firm and joined Marks & Clerk Law in September 2016. Outside work, Marcus’ interests include rugby, global politics, geocaching and cooking (much to his family’s delight).

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Key Cases

• Regeneron v Kymab Limited & Novo Nordisk (High Court)
• Blue Bio v Secretary of State for Health (High Court)
• International Stem Cell v Comptroller General of Patents (CJEU)
• Unwired Planet v Huawei (High Court)
• Fujifilm Kyowa Kirin Biologics v AbbVie (High Court & Court of Appeal)
• Chugai v UCB (High Court)
• Pfizer v Roche (High Court)
• Teva & Regeneron v Pfizer (High Court)
• Pfizer v GSK & ID Biomedical (High Court)

Experience

• Patent and regulatory disputes: Marcus has acted for clients across the electronics, telecommunications, pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors; including litigation before the High Court and the Court of Appeal. He also has experience in the co-ordination of multi-jurisdictional IP matters involving IP specialists across the world, and protecting pharmaceutical clients’ data and marketing exclusivity rights across European markets.
• Brand protection and designs: Marcus has advised on contentious matters relating to trade mark, copyright and designs infringement and passing off; predominantly at the pre-action stage, assisting rights holders and alleged infringers in resolving disputes early. 
• Commercial IP: Marcus has assisted clients across a broad range of sectors in monetising their IP assets by means of assignments and licensing agreements, the negotiation of new terms with existing commercial partners, and addressing the IP elements of outsourcing agreements.

Marcus Riby-Smith works in the following sectors

Electronics

Biotechnology

Mechanical Engineering

Pharmaceutical

Telecommunications