Geoffrey Pritchard KC
Called to the bar 1998 Took silk 2025 Silk
Summary
Geoffrey is a Silk with a practice covering all aspects of intellectual property, information technology and non-IP but technically heavy commercial disputes. He prides himself as being an approachable modern advocate who enjoys working as part of a team.
Geoffrey appears in the UK Courts, the EPO, in national and international arbitrations, and as an accredited mediator. Geoffrey’s experience has been broadened by sitting as an Appointed Person (hearing appeals from the UK Registrar of Trade Marks) and as a Recorder sitting in both the Business and Property Courts and (in criminal matters) in the Crown Court.
Geoffrey has a very strong scientific and technical background, with a PhD in Theoretical Geophysics from Cambridge University. He has acted in cases covering subject matter including AI (for companies such as Cambridge Quantum Computing (now part of Quantinumm)), pharmaceuticals (for companies such as AstraZeneca, Novartis, Samsung Bioepis, Fujifilm, GSK, Bayer and Abbott), mobile-telephones and FRAND (for companies such as Thomson/Vantiva, Qualcomm, Access, NEC, RIM, InterDigital and IPCOM), computational physics, polymers, computer software (various languages), electronics, bio-medical devices, chemistry, optical fibres, exploration geophysics, scientific apparatus, and mechanical engineering.
Geoffrey has an equally strong practice in soft-IP acting for clients such as the Swatch Group, H&M, Cartier, Monsoon, Rolex, Jaguar and David Lloyd Leisure. He specialises in cases involving trademarks, confidential information, design rights and copyright. His trademark practice has been broadened by the experience he has gained sitting as an Appointed Person.
Many of Geoffrey’s cases relate to European rights and he has recent experience of complex cross-border enforcement and EU competition issues. He is also frequently instructed in cases which involve co-ordinating the UK trial with cases in the USA, Europe and/or Asia.
As well as appeal and trial work, Geoffrey also has a great deal of experience of interim relief applications (especially in pharmaceutical cases), counterfeiting, online enforcement, internet domain names and franchising. He is also instructed in arbitrations and mediations, as a result of which he was invited as a guest lecturer on FRAND to students taking the “Arbitration of International Intellectual Property Disputes” module of the LLM at the Dickson Poon School of Law, Kings College, London.
Geoffrey is a member of the senior editorial team for Terrell on Patents.
SOME RECENT CASES
The following are a list of some of Geoffrey’s recent cases. Geoffrey’s clerks can provide further details of his experience and a full list of the matters in which he has previously been instructed.
Amazon & othrs vs InterDigital, Thomson Vantiva & Othrs. Geoffrey assisted in extracting Thomson Vantiva from this high value FRAND dispute. The case engaged issues as to the extent of the FRAND obligation, and the construction of various patent assignment documents.
David Lloyd Leisure v David Lloyd. Concerns the rights to use the David Lloyd name, the scope of the own name defence in trade mark law, and issues of contractual construction.
Slee Blackwell v Porter Dobson. Concerned the extent of the right of a solicitor to use keep using precedent documents he had written whilst employed by another firm.
Fujikura Ltd & Anor v Sterlite Technologies Ltd. A high value patent case concerning novel blown optical fibre technology, with complex issues arising from insufficiency, experimental evidence, and infringement.
AstraZeneca AB & Anor v Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Europe Ltd. An important interim injunction application, concerning a vastly valuable drug dapagliflozin.
Battlekart Europe SA v Chaos Karts 1 Ltd & Ors. Concerned complex augmented reality technology, combining karting, video games effects and computer control.
Orderly Mind Ltd v Queue-It Aps. A patent for online queuing involving complex computation techniques.
Ensygnia IP Ltd v Shell UK Oil Products Ltd & Ors. Concerned the computation and communication technology that allows Shell’s pay at pump system to work.
Samsung Bioepis UK Ltd v Janssen Biotech Inc. Part of the global ustekinumab litigation, Samsung Bioepis successfully invalidated Janssen’s ulcerative colitis treatment patent in the UK.
Montres Breguet SA & Ors v Samsung Electronics Co Ltd & Anor. Swatch successfully sued Samsung to prevent the use third-party apps in Samsung’s app store that allowed users to download digital replicas of luxury Swiss watch dials.
Heraeus Noblelight Ltd v First Light Lamps Ltd. Concerned scientific glass blowing. A case where Geoffrey successfully argued that “not greater than” could, as a matter of infringement by equivalence, include something that was “greater than”. The Defendant largely abandoned its own expert’s evidence after that expert had been cross-examined by Geoffrey.
Teva UK Ltd & Anor v Novartis AG. Involved determination of the scope of the Arrow declaration jurisdiction.
Geofabrics Ltd v Fiberweb Geosynthetics Ltd. Concerned a novel method of preventing subsidence of railway track
International Pipeline Products Ltd v Ik UK Ltd & Ors. Concerned the alleged theft of documents and confidential information.
APPOINTMENTS
Geoffrey was appointed as a Recorder in 2018 and as an Appointed Person in 2021.
EDUCATION
Cambridge University
PhD Theoretical Geophysics
Shell Scholar in Geophysics
- awarded to the most promising incoming graduate applicant in the Department of Geophysics
J. T. Knight Prize in Mathematics
- awarded for the best research essays in mathematics and theoretical physics submitted by Cambridge graduate students who had completed their undergraduate degrees elsewhere
Bristol University
BSc Physics (1st Class)
Inns of Court School of Law
Stanley Levy Prize for Intellectual Property
First in year in International Trade exam
Queen Mother Scholarship of the Middle Temple
De Montfort University
Dip. Law (distinction)
Queen Mother Scholarship of the Middle Temple
PERSONAL INTERESTS
Adventure travel, restoration of a Victorian orchard, pianist, occasional pilot.
Privacy Notice
Geoffrey Pritchard’s privacy notice can be found here.
“Geoffrey Pritchard KC is excellent. He was really well prepared at trial. His cross-examination of the opponent expert was a masterclass. He annihilated the evidence”
Chambers & Partners, 2026
“Geoff is my go-to counsel. He is unstuffy and very commercially aware. He is excellent with clients and pragmatic in his approach”
“Geoffrey Pritchard KC is noted for his pragmatism, client service and strong courtroom presentation, as well as a superb intellect.”
Chambers & Partners 2025)
More‘Geoffrey Pritchard KC is noted for his pragmatism, client service and strong courtroom presentation, as well as a superb intellect. He has experience handling trade mark and patent infringement cases, with additional abilities in EPO opposition proceedings. He acts for the holders of patents and other rights in a variety of industries, such as pharmaceuticals and engineering, including in claims that have complex jurisdictional issues.’
“Geoff had an excellent grasp of the technology and the arguments on our side and, perhaps more importantly, understood and exploited the weaknesses in the arguments and evidence on the other side.”
Chambers & Partners, 2026“Geoffrey is very good with clients and gives clear advice.”
‘Technically strong, good with clients and commercially focused.’
Legal 500, 2026
‘He has experience handling trade mark and patent infringement cases, with additional abilities in EPO opposition proceedings. He acts for the holders of patents and other rights in a variety of industries, such as pharmaceuticals and engineering, including in claims that have complex jurisdictional issues.’
“One of my go-to barristers – Geoffrey really cares and gets great results.”
“Geoff’s advocacy is very strong and integral to the client’s success.”
Chambers & Partners, 2025
‘Geoffrey is an experience barrister and works well as part of a wider team. He is responsive and commercial too.’
Legal 500, 2025
‘Geoffrey is a deep thinker and believable in front of a judge. He is one of the most hardworking juniors and he gets his points across because of a fundamental honesty of demeanour.’
Legal 500, 2024
“Geoffrey Pritchard is excellent on his feet. He provided very pragmatic insights, and knows what’s coming down the line so he’s very well prepared.”
CHAMBERS & PARTNERS, 2023
‘The ability to convey difficult legal concepts in an easily understandable way for clients, which is such a benefit to have in a legal team. Geoffrey’s technical knowledge is also very good, and he is of great assistance in strategy discussions. Very easy to work with and strongly defends clients’ rights.’
Legal 500, 2023
“He explains things clearly and takes a sensible and tailored approach to litigation.” “A hard worker who is always responsive and hands-on.”
Chambers & Partners 2020
‘Great brain, gets stuck in and goes to the nub of an issue quickly.’
Legal 500, 2020
“Noted for his pragmatism, client services and strong courtroom presentation, as well as a superb intellect. ……”Very detailed-oriented and a pleasure to deal with.” “A great analyst.”
Chambers & Partners 2019
“Noted for his pragmatism, client services and strong courtroom presentation, as well as a superb intellect…. He is incredibly hard working, user-friendly and easy to get on with…. He gives clear, straightforward and user-friendly advice.”
Chambers & Partners 2017
“His friendliness and charm really make him a pleasure to work with.”
Legal 500 2017
“Excellent on highly technical patent matters”.
Chambers & Partners 2016
“A highly regarded practitioner … known for his expertise in technically complex patent disputes, particularly those relating to mobile telecoms”.
Chambers & Partners 2012
“Very Capable in Court and with Clients”
Chambers & Partners 2015
“He has good judgment … a real worker who truly gets stuck into a case”
Chambers & Partners 2012
“An accomplished junior credited by sources for his intellectual and technical skill”
Chambers 2014
“Excellent attention to detail”
Legal 500 2012-2013