Yohan Liyanage

Intellectual Property Partner, London

“I advise major corporates and financial institutions on their IP disputes and transactions, drawing on my scientific background to offers clients in technology-driven sectors a deep understanding of their businesses.”

Overview

Professional experience

Education and qualifications

Overview

Yohan advises on all aspects of intellectual property (IP) law, both on IP-related disputes, including cross-border patent litigation, and IP-driven transactions, including M&A, initial public offerings and IP licensing arrangements. He has particular experience in the pharmaceutical, bioscience and technology sectors.

Work highlights
Yohan experience includes advising:

IP disputes
  • Johnson & Johnson on a UK patent litigation dispute relating to a monoclonal antibody product for the treatment Alzheimer’s disease
  • Shire Pharmaceuticals on a UK patent litigation dispute relating to a biotechnology product, including coordinating parallel disputes in Germany, Sweden and the US
  • Nokia on UK patent revocation claims against IPCom relating to telecommunications patents

Transactional IP

  • Siemens on the technology licensing arrangements of its £1bn acquisition of the industrial gas turbines business of Rolls-Royce
  • Takeda Pharmaceuticals on the IP aspects of the disposal of its respiratory drugs business to AstraZeneca
  • J.P. Morgan and UBS on the initial public offering of the Swiss biotechnology company Molecular Partners

Professional experience

Yohan is on the editorial board of Bio-science Law Review. He is a member of AIPPI UK, the UK division of the International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property.

Education and qualifications

Yohan studied Natural Sciences (Biochemistry) at Corpus Christi College, University of Cambridge and obtained a D.Phil. (PhD) in Neuroscience at the Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford. He holds a Diploma in Intellectual Property Law and Practice from the University of Bristol.