Dominic Adair

Partner

Dominic specialises in contentious intellectual property matters, with an emphasis on patent litigation. Reflecting his technical background, Dominic focuses primarily in life sciences disputes, particularly in relation to pharmaceuticals and biotechnology. Dominic has handled cases across the range of tribunals in the UK and the EPO and has coordinated litigation across Europe and the world.

In the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sector, Dominic has worked on all aspects of the drug life cycle, from freedom to operate analyses and early-stage risk assessment of generic competition to complex end-stage litigation, SPCs and anti-trust issues. His extensive experience of cross-border litigation has involved acting for both rights holders and defendants, giving him the broadest possible outlook on strategy and a comprehensive tactical playbook.

Dominic has also handled patent litigation for several household names in the consumer products sector, from triple-blade razors to beer-dispensing apparatus and mechanical cases from bus ramps to printed-circuit board connectors. He also has experience of conducting litigation concerning registered designs and copyright and the issues arising in the publishing, gaming and computer gaming industries.

Dominic writes regularly on reported patent cases in the UK and at the EPO and is a regular conference speaker and presenter. He is a member of CIPA, EPLAW and AIPPI and holds office as the Honorary Secretary of AIPPI UK.

Credentials

  • MA Natural Sciences, University of Cambridge
  • PhD Zoology, University of Cambridge
  • Diploma in Intellectual Property Law and Practice, University of Bristol
  • Qualified 2004
  • Partner 2014

Publications

Patent Review of the Year

Read here

What others say

"His [Dominic Adair] work is always spot-on and exceptional." Chambers and Partners 2021
"He [Dominic Adair] is very pleasant to work with, always approachable, smart and pays attention to the detail." Chambers and Partners 2021
Dominic Adair has an "impressive scientific background." Chambers and Partners 2021
"A seasoned veteran of cross-border disputes." Chambers and Partners 2021
"Dominic Adair is a brilliant leader, creative thinker, and very commercial." Legal 500 2021
Dominic is an “excellent practitioner” for freedom-to-operate analyses and SPC questions IAM Patent 1000 2020
"a natural fit for pharmaceutical and biotech players" IAM Patent 1000 2020
"He is able to contribute information beyond IP such as on regulatory matters and market detail" Who's Who Legal Patents 2020
“Dominic Adair is recognised for his sweeping patents knowledge” Who's Who Legal Patents 2020
"Dom Adair is technically gifted, understands issues quickly and gives great commercial advice." Legal 500 2020
"Dominic Adair did a great job in coordinating all activities of our case. He is very pleasant to work with. He is a bright mind and yet remained very modest. I can highly recommend him for any IP litigation in the UK and will certainly work with him again in the future." Legal 500 2020
"Dom Adair is prompt, highly reliable, and a great pleasure to work with." Legal 500 2020
Dominic Adair "is particularly talented" in his area. Legal 500 2020
...the "exceptionally good" Dominic Adair Legal 500 2019
“Dominic Adair masters the minute details of cases without ever losing sight of the big picture; he advances clients’ strategies beyond the United Kingdom." IAM Patent 1000 2018
"Clients are consistently impressed with Dominic Adair 's "exceptional ability to quickly grasp the key issues of a case", which allows him to "devise optimal international litigation strategies to bring his cases to a successful end". Who's Who Legal 2018

Recommended For

Intellectual Property: Patent Litigation
Chambers and Partners 2021

Intellectual Property: Patents (contentious and non-contentious)
Legal 500 2021

Life Sciences: Patent Litigation
Who's Who Legal Global Elite Thought Leader 2021

Global Leader
IAM Global Leaders 2021

Patent Litigation
MIP, IP Stars 2021

Recommended Individual
Juve UK 2021

Intellectual Property
Legal 500 2020

Patents
Who's Who Legal Global Elite Thought Leader 2020

Patent Litigation
Leaders League UK 2020

Patent Litigation
IAM Patent Global Leaders 2020

Patent Litigation
IAM Patent 1000 2020

Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
Legal 500 2019

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