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Nick Beckett

Managing Partner

Portrait of Nick Beckett

Nick Beckett

Managing Partner

Contact
Lau, Horton & Wise LLP, in Association with CMS Hasche Sigle, Hong Kong LLP
8th Floor, Nexxus Building, 41 Connaught Road Central,
Hong Kong
Languages English

Nick Beckett is Co-Head of the CMS Life Sciences & Healthcare Group. In this position, he jointly leads an international team of more than 150 specialist lawyers.

Nick is also the Managing Partner of the Beijing and Hong Kong Offices and Head of Asia-Pacific IP. Nick manages a team of dedicated sector specialists covering Life Sciences & Healthcare, Energy, TMC and Financial Institutions across the Asia-Pacific region. Nick is also a Solicitor-Advocate of the English Courts.

Nick has substantial experience in coordinating complex multi-jurisdictional matters, regularly working with colleagues throughout CMS and around the world. His work in the areas of commercial and corporate transactions and disputes, parallel trade, anti-counterfeiting, trade mark and patent opinions and IP infringement particularly spans international borders.

Nick has been exclusively awarded the Client Choice Award in 2021 and 2022 by Lexology for Life Sciences in China.  

Nick is also recommended as a prominent practitioner in his field in the following publications:

  • Chambers & Partners
  • Legal 500
  • Euromoney’s Expert Legal Guide – Life Sciences
  • Who’s Who Legal Life Sciences (Patent Litigation, Regulatory, Transactional)
  • Who’s Who Legal Legal Mainland China & Hong Kong SAR (Life Sciences, Patents, Trade Marks)
  • Who’s Who Legal Legal Mainland China & Hong Kong SAR: Thought Leader – Life Sciences 
  • IAM 1000
  • WTR 1000
  • MIP – IP Stars
  • Doyle’s Guide

Nick was awarded ‘Life Sciences Lawyer of the Year in China’ in Leaders in Law Global Awards and The Best Lawyers in China for Intellectual Property Law (International Firms).  

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Relevant experience

  • One of the world’s leading information technology services companies and successfully defending it in China against a top Chinese state-owned enterprise and its subsidiaries in respect of a management consultancy project and an ERP project that our client implemented for them under a global strategic framework agreement.
  • A world-leading supplier of edible coatings to the pharmaceuticals industry in connection with a patent infringement matter spanning a number of jurisdictions, including China.
  • A leading global bed specialist on the highly sensitive and important employment termination of its former management team in China, including its Managing Director and two senior sales leaders based on unsatisfactory performance and serious wrongdoings.
  • Erbe in the first ever UK patent litigation to deal separately with the issues of infringement and validity coordinating with equivalent litigation in Germany, the US and before the EPO.
  • A Japanese pharmaceutical company in a very significant ICC arbitration, with damages of up to $1 billion, concerning a dispute under a worldwide patent licence agreement in the pharmaceutical sector as a result of the wrongful withdrawal of a licensed pharmaceutical product from the market without consent.
  • Asahi Medical in patent litigation in the UK Patents Court and Court of Appeal for a large Japanese medical device company in connection with their blood filtration technology. This also entailed coordinating concurrent litigation across Europe and liaising with the client's Japanese and European patent attorneys.
  • A leading global pharmaceutical company in a high profile dispute concerning a blockbuster pharmaceutical product. The dispute entailed coordinating litigation in Japan and the UK and jurisdictional issues. Complex pharmaceutical litigation, as well as complicated questions of contract law arose.
  • Takeda on successfully opposing the grant of a competitor’s (Bethesda Pharmaceuticals Inc) European patent at the Opposition Division of the European Patent Office.
  • Quinn Group in connection with a branding dispute regarding the rebranding of the Belfry Hotel as part of the De Vere hotel chain.
  • Sports World International in numerous trade mark litigation matters relating to its own and licensed brands including Kangol, Diadora, Puma and Lonsdale.
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Memberships & Roles

Honorary Lecturer - China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, China

Lecturer - Peking University, China

Lecturer - University of International Business and Economics (UIBE)

Lecturer - China-EU School of Law, China University of Political Science and Law

Listed Arbitrator at the Beijing International Arbitration Centre (BIAC) and Beijing Arbitration Commission (BAC)

Listed Advisory Expert of the National Advisory Center for Overseas Intellectual Property Dispute Settlement in China

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Publications

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Education

2005 - Advocacy Diploma, University of Law, London
2000 - Intellectual Property Diploma, Bristol University, Bristol
1996 - LPC Distinction, University of Law, London
1996 - Professional Skills Course, BPP, London
1995 - CPE Distinction, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester
1994 - BSc Hons Psychology 1st, University of Manchester, Manchester

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Expertise

12/05/2022
10 key as­pects of the re­vised EU com­pet­i­tion law in the field of dis­tri­bu­tion...
The new Ver­tic­al Block Ex­emp­tion Reg­u­la­tion (VBER) and the new ac­com­pa­ny­ing Ver­tic­al Guidelines (VGL) were pub­lished on 10 May 2022. The new VBER will enter in­to force on 1 June 2022 and ap­ply for the next twelve years. The new VBER/VGL in­tro­duce sev
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