Somerville Associates
Fast approaching 100
EPO oral proceedings
Andrew Somerville’s practice is devoted almost entirely to EPO opposition and appeal work. His experience includes extensive appearances before the EPO Boards of Appeal — a level of concentrated contentious practice that is exceptional among European patent attorneys.
01
Opposition & appeal strategy
Identifying the issues, attacks and procedural choices most likely to determine the case.
From technical detail to oral advocacy
Technical analysis, written advocacy and preparation for oral proceedings.
02
Claim & prior-art analysis
Detailed analysis of claim construction, disclosure, amendments and prior art, including where relevant the implications of claim scope for infringement.
03
Written advocacy
Clear, structured submissions developing the technical and legal case with precise support in the evidence and record.
04
Oral proceedings
Focused preparation and advocacy before EPO Opposition Divisions and Boards of Appeal.
Selected EPO opposition & appeal matters
Selected examples from Andrew Somerville’s wider EPO opposition and appeal practice.
EP 2 072 027 · HVR Cardio v Edwards Lifesciences. Andrew Somerville represented the opponent, Edwards Lifesciences. Patent revoked.
EP 3 316 820 · Boston Scientific Scimed v Edwards Lifesciences. Andrew Somerville represented the opponent, Edwards Lifesciences. Patent revoked after the proprietor withdrew all pending requests.
EP 3 395 296 · HVR Cardio v Edwards Lifesciences. Andrew Somerville represented the opponent, Edwards Lifesciences. Maintenance ordered in amended form on auxiliary request 1.
EP 3 332 743 · Symetis v Edwards Lifesciences. Andrew Somerville represented the opponent, Edwards Lifesciences. Both appeals dismissed; maintenance in amended form stood.
EP 3 260 085 · Abbott Cardiovascular Systems v Edwards Lifesciences. Andrew Somerville represented the patentee on appeal and obtained a favourable preliminary opinion that the opposition had not been validly filed because the opposition fee had not been paid on time. The opponent subsequently withdrew its appeal.
EP 2 240 121 · St Jude Medical v Edwards Lifesciences. Andrew Somerville represented the opponent, Edwards Lifesciences. Patent revoked.
EP 2 413 842 · UCL Business v Edwards Lifesciences. Andrew Somerville represented the opponent, Edwards Lifesciences. Patent revoked.
EP 2 806 829 · Medtentia v Edwards Lifesciences. Andrew Somerville represented the opponent, Edwards Lifesciences. Patent revoked for insufficient disclosure.
People
Andrew Somerville
British Chartered and European Patent Attorney
Representative before the Unified Patent Court
Andrew Somerville specialises in contentious EPO opposition and appeal proceedings, particularly in the medical device field and with a substantial focus on prosthetic heart valves. His technical background includes electromechanical engineering, signal processing and computer-implemented inventions, including 3GPP/LTE standard-essential patents.
Before establishing Somerville Associates, Andrew worked at British and German intellectual property firms, including in London and Munich, serving American and Japanese corporate clients. He holds M.A. and M.Eng. degrees in Engineering from the University of Cambridge and a Certificate in Intellectual Property Law from Queen Mary, University of London.
Maria Grevengoed
Maria is responsible for Somerville Associates’ business management and accounting. She studied business management and marketing in the Netherlands and has experience supporting businesses in the UK, Germany and the Netherlands. She speaks Dutch and English with native proficiency and has a working knowledge of German.
Business and Finance Director