JUNIOR PROFILE

James Whyte

UK Bar 2026

8 New Square

Ranked in 1 practice area

Intellectual Property

London (Bar)

18 years ranked

About

Provided by 8 New Square

UK Bar

Practice Areas

Barrister specialising in intellectual property law, with a particular emphasis on technically complex patent cases in biotechnology and pharmaceuticals. Scheduled trials include Merck v Halozyme (enzymes to improve subcutaneous administration). Recent cases include Accord v Hoffmann-La Roche (subcutaneous formulation; settled after trial), Samsung BioEpis v Alexion (antibody engineering), DSM v Mara (algal fatty acids), Abbott v Dexcom - Trial C (continuous glucose monitors), Gilead v NuCana (nucleoside derivatives), InterDigital v Lenovo (telecoms), Optis v Apple (telecoms), Insulet v Roche (insulin pumps), Royalty Pharma v Boehringer Ingelheim (royalty dispute under German law), GSK v Fibrogen (iron deficiency drugs; settled shortly before trial), Conversant v Huawei (telecoms), Illumina v Ariosa (cell-free foetal DNA enrichment), Silence v Alnylam (RNAi; settled shortly before trial), Pacific Biosciences v Oxford Nanopore (DNA sequencing; settled shortly before trial), Illumina v Premaitha (prenatal diagnosis), Regeneron v Kymab (antibody engineering).

Career

Educated at Trinity College, Cambridge (top 1st in genetics; PhD in molecular biology); City University (distinction in postgraduate diploma in law); BPP (outstanding in bar vocational course). Called 2005, Lincoln's Inn.

Professional Memberships

Chancery Bar Association, IP Bar Association.

Publications

Co-author of Laddie, Prescott and Vitoria on the Modern Law of Copyright (6th edition forthcoming).

Chambers Review

Provided by Chambers

UK Bar

Intellectual Property - London (Bar)

Band 1

Individual Editorial

James Whyte is a technically brilliant IP barrister with a background in the biotechnology field. He is also noted for his abilities representing electronics and telecommunications clients in patent infringement claims. Additionally, he is frequently instructed in patent invalidation actions and litigation involving supplementary protection certificates. He acts in patent cases at appellate level as well as at first instance.

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Strengths

Provided by Chambers

He did an excellent job on a very commercially sensitive cross-examination. He was very measured and handled it all very well, working in a very thoughtful and precise way.
Intellectual PropertyUK Bar
He is calm, measured and thorough, with a towering intellect. He also codes, which can be extremely useful in hi-tech or computer science patent cases.
Intellectual PropertyUK Bar
James Whyte is brilliant. He is an incredibly thoughtful, considered and well-prepared barrister.
Intellectual PropertyUK Bar