Oliver Laing

Oliver leads our licensing and IP transactions team at Potter Clarkson as an experienced intellectual property lawyer with expertise in negotiating and drafting a broad range of IP agreements, litigating complex and high-value matters across all intellectual property rights and providing strategic advice on IP protection, exploitation and infringement.

Oliver specialises in advising clients in respect of complex multi-territorial collaboration and licence agreements, with notable expertise in both the life sciences and electronics & computing sector. He acts for clients ranging from multinational publicly listed companies to early-stage technology-led companies based throughout Europe. His experience includes a six-month secondment to a leading international pharmacy-led health and beauty group, working in-house on a range of IP and commercial matters. 

He also works closely with the firm’s investor clients, specialising in advising VC funds on the acquisition of technology-rich businesses, conducting due diligence, negotiating terms and strategizing with clients in the context of investment deals.

Oliver is involved in developing and maintaining the firm’s business in Scandinavia, with a focus on assisting clients with collaborations and licensing deals, often with US partners. He regularly speaks at conferences, having recently presented on the topic of IP Collaborations in the Life Science Sector at the Nordic Life Sciences Days Conference (NLS Days) and Licensing Executives Society Annual Conference in USA on European trade secrets protection and enforcement strategies.

In addition to transactional work, Oliver leads IP litigation in the UK courts and UPC for the firm’s international client base, with a focus on pharmaceutical and biotech patent litigation. Using his skills as both a transactional IP lawyer and a litigator, he is always firmly focused on finding pragmatic commercial solutions for clients.

Oliver joined Potter Clarkson in August 2016 and is a founding member of the litigation and licensing team. Before joining Potter Clarkson, Oliver spent eight years at a leading national IP practice.