Andrew Cobden

For more than 25 years, Andrew Cobden has been helping companies understand and deal with intellectual property issues. In that time, he has dealt with all types of matters involving a wide range of technical subjects including adhesives, airplane cockpit windows, car spare parts, oil well valves, LED lights, car navigation systems, mobile telephones, many types of pharmaceuticals, and biological products. He enjoys the challenge of understanding how leading edge complex science and technology works.

He often works with leading technical experts and has helped design experiments to produce evidence of patent infringement. His goal is to find practical and, if necessary, innovative solutions to legal problems so clients can focus on their businesses.

Andrew studied in Australia and joined the firm in 1985, first working in London, then in Tokyo, and now in Hong Kong. Having lived and worked on three continents, he appreciates the legal, political, and cultural issues and differences which impact businesses operating globally, both in the East and the West.

Andrew advises multinational technology companies on licensing their intellectual property (IP) into mainland China, through joint ventures and other licensing arrangements. He regularly helps multinational companies understand the patent enforcement landscape in China and other countries in Asia to achieve their commercial objectives.

He has worked on all types of IP litigation, for plaintiffs and defendants, in both trials and appeals in England, France, Japan, China, and Hong Kong. Andrew is one of the few solicitor advocates with higher rights of audience before the Hong Kong Courts for civil proceedings. Andrew frequently represents clients in the superior courts in Hong Kong. He also has substantial experience in other forms of dispute resolution, including arbitrations and mediations.

Apart from IP disputes, Andrew has also acted for clients across a broad spectrum of matters from competition law (antitrust), international fraud and defamation cases (including obtaining a judgment from a jury worth several million dollars), and a multibillion-dollar transaction involving the sale of a mobile telephone network in Japan.