Rebecca Lawrence

Partner

Rebecca Lawrence is an excellent litigator, with a wealth of experience in life sciences and other technical litigation. She always makes good strategic and tactical decisions and provides an excellent standard of client care and service.

— Legal 500, 2025

Emailrebecca.lawrence@dlapiper.com

Call+44 (0) 20 7349 0296

London

About

Rebecca Lawrence is a patent litigator with over 20 years’ experience of litigating multi-jurisdictional, high value and technically complex actions in patent validity, infringement and entitlement. Rebecca is Head of the UK Life Sciences Sector and co-leads the International Life Sciences Patents team.

With particular expertise in the life sciences sector, Rebecca’s background in biological sciences (MA Biological Sciences, Oxford University) enables her to get to the heart of technical patent issues and provide comprehensive advice. She has litigated numerous patents covering pharmaceutical and biotechnological inventions and medical devices. Her experience also covers a range of other technologies including electronics, telecoms (Standard Essential Patents), and engineering, which makes her well placed to advise on patents relating to diverse areas of medical technology, as well as greentech and consumer goods.

Beyond patent infringement and validity disputes, Rebecca has litigated issues relating to entitlement to patent rights, securing the correct ownership of misappropriated research. She also has experience of Supplementary Protection Certificates, both litigation (including before the Court of Justice of the European Union) and advisory work. Rebecca also litigates Registered Design cases.

Liaising with UK border control authorities, Rebecca has successfully secured the detention of allegedly patent infringing products at their point of entry into the UK.

Alongside her contentious practice, Rebecca carries out strategic patent portfolio analysis and advises on freedom to operate, providing opinions on patent validity and infringement.

Rebecca advises on trade secrets and confidential information and is a visiting lecturer on the subject at Oxford University.

With a special interest in AI and the law, Rebecca regularly writes and speaks about patentability issues relating to AI-related and AI-derived inventions.

Recognising the increasing importance of genomics across a range of different industries, Rebecca founded and chairs DLA Piper’s Genomics Working Group which is working in partnership with a leading university on a project which aims to assist in the development of legal services to address the risks and challenges resulting from genomics.

Areas of FocusLife Sciences Intellectual Property Patent Litigation Life Sciences Intellectual Property Trade Secrets

Professional QualificationsSolicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales

EXPERIENCE

Acting for numerous pharmaceutical companies in patent litigation relating to, for example, proton pump inhibitors, bronchodilators, chemotherapy, anti-psychotics and immunosuppressants.
Advising in relation to a dispute as to payments due under a Patent Revenue Sharing Agreement. This involved working with the inventor to gain a detailed understanding of the scientific research leading to the pharmaceutical invention claimed in the patent, as well as analysis of a complicated factual scenario and complex contractual provisions.
Advising an innovator pharmaceutical company in relation to pre-action strategy and availability of preliminary injunctive relief, working with colleagues in numerous jurisdictions to provide coordinated pan-European advice.
Infringement analysis and advice relating to patents for classifying tumours on the basis of genetic markers.
Providing counsel to a specialty pharmaceutical company in relation to market access strategies.
Advising in relation to a patent dispute and mediation concerning a medical device.
Acting for a major agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology company in a multi-jurisdictional patent dispute relating to genetically modified crops. As part of this action, I worked with UK border control to secure the detention of a shipment of products derived from GM crops at its point of entry into the UK.
Acting for a prestigious technology transfer company in a referral to the Court of Justice of the European Union on a question concerning the scope of a Supplementary Protection Certificate relating to chemotherapy.
Acting for a medical devices company in a patent dispute relating to breast implants.
Representing a major global manufacturer of bar code scanning products in offensive and defensive multi-jurisdictional patent infringement and validity actions.
Acting for one of the world’s leading companies in the wind energy industry in a multi-jurisdictional patent dispute relating to wind turbine technology.
Acting for a leading telecommunications and consumer electronics company in a multi-jurisdictional patent dispute relating to SIM card technology.
Acting for an American technology company in a multi-jurisdictional patent dispute relating to set top box technology.
Acting for a leading supplier of safety products in a dispute relating to access platforms, successfully obtaining a finding of validity and infringement of 3 patents. The case also included 3 registered designs, with the validity of the designs being successfully upheld by the Court of Appeal.
Defending a leading supplier of building and engineering products in a patent infringement and validity action, under the High Court Shorter Trials Scheme.