Ian Karet, OBE
Biography
Ian Karet is widely acknowledged as a leading IP professional with particular focus on IP and commercial contractual disputes. He also has extensive experience of commercial issues including licensing, structuring the IP aspects of transactions and insolvency. He is “as comfortable in his element in complex patent and trademark disputes as he is negotiating significant corporate deals in the sector” (Chambers 2026).
Chambers 2026 notes: “His clients benefit from his great depth of experience working on heavyweight IP matters. He coordinates high-stakes patent litigation and IP-driven corporate transactions, often covering multiple jurisdictions.”
Clients say that he is “super-smart and an original thinker,” “very responsive” and “very experienced, strategic and well thought of.”
Ian is a Deputy High Court Judge and a qualified arbitrator and mediator. He has served in high-profile public roles in the UK, including the British Museum Independent Review (2023), the Charity Commission (2019-2023) and Kew Gardens (2014-2021).
Practice Focus
Ian has experience across the full range of IP, with a particular focus on patents, trademarks and license agreements. He has advised many leading pharmaceutical companies on a range of technologies including vaccines, HIV therapies, GLP-1 analogues and cancer therapies.
His trademark work includes the “Merck” name dispute and settling the “easyJet” brand license.
Representative Legal Matters
Prior to joining the Firm, Ian handled the following cases:
- Representing Merck & Co., Inc. in a long-running trademark dispute with Merck KGaA over the use of “Merck”. This important case started in 2013 and has given rise to many hearings and appeals.
- Representing Tesaro in a dispute with AstraZeneca over licenses for a leading cancer treatment. The court of appeal agreed with Tesaro’s construction of the agreements.
- Advised easyJet on the brand license with its founder, which covers the signage used by the airline.
- Represented Merck & Co., Inc. in a dispute with Actavis on the patentability of second medical uses. Merck & Co., Inc. established a new precedent for the court of appeal departing from its earlier decisions.
- Represented Telco in a dispute with Aerotel on the patentability of computer programs and business methods, a leading case in this area.
- Represented Playtech in a dispute with Cranway on a patent for online gaming. Playtech succeeded in revoking the patent.
- Represented Tate & Lyle in a dispute with Roquette on the patentability of discoveries and the attributes of a chemical product.
- Represented Sierra Wireless in an arbitration relating to royalties under patent licenses. Sierra was successful in its view of the license terms.
Professional Associations and Memberships
- AIPPI - Member of Honor
- AIPPI UK - Vice President
- Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (Ciarb) - Fellow
- Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC) - Fellow
Corporate Responsibility
Ian has served as a legal board member of the Charity Commission.
Admissions
- England & Wales~United Kingdom (1990)
Education
- City of London Polytechnic (CPE) (1986)
- Oxford University (Chemistry) (1985)
Languages
- English