Graham Burnett-Hall

Background

Graham is a leading IP litigator and Partner at Dehns, recognised by major legal directories, with over 30 years of experience in the UK courts, the Unified Patent Court, European national courts, the EPO and other intellectual property offices. He is ‘noted for his ability to handle highly technical mandates’ and loves his work at the interface of technology and the law. He is adept at rapidly assimilating new scientific and technological developments and providing legal advice in a clear and straightforward manner.

The disputes Graham advises upon are frequently multi-jurisdictional and Graham has considerable experience of litigation with parallel proceedings running across Europe and in other important jurisdictions worldwide, such as the USA and China, instructing and coordinating with specialist lawyers in each country. Graham is a solicitor advocate and in appropriate cases he appears as junior counsel, working alongside leading counsel.

Type of clients and client work

Examples of Graham’s past cases include:

• Representing a global pharmaceutical company in UK Patents Court proceedings, part of a multinational patent dispute concerning RSV vaccines based on the RSV prefusion F-protein.
• Acting for a major Indian manufacturer of trans-catheter aortic heart valves in a multi-national patent dispute, with parallel EPO opposition proceedings alongside proceedings in multiple European courts, including the Unified Patent Court.
• Conducting UK Patents Court proceedings on behalf of a German client, a leading company in simulation and validation, regarding electronic interfaces used in the testing of electronical control units, in particular in the automotive sector.
• Acting for a multinational biotech company in patent infringement and revocation proceedings concerning the glycosylation profile of antibodies, with parallel proceedings in the UK and Germany.
• A technically extremely complex dispute at first instance and at appeal concerning rights under a drug development contract to a candidate drug for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, including entitlements to milestone payments under the contract.
• Representing a medical device manufacturer in a patent dispute in the UK Patents Court and Court of Appeal relating to atrial septal occluders, with parallel proceedings in Germany that reached the German Supreme Court.
• Acting for a UK telecommunications company in multiple patent infringement and revocation proceedings concerning graphical user interfaces.
• Representing Miss World Ltd in a successful preliminary injunction application brought against Channel 4.

Other past cases have concerned matters as diverse as interleukin-23 inhibitors for the treatment of psoriasis, air fryers, wound dressings, cryptography, insulin-like growth factors and potato harvesting equipment. These include cases that have become legal authorities on issues such as priority rights and indirect infringement.

Expertise

Graham ‘has a highly diverse offering’ and his clients operate in all areas of technology, with a strong track record in medical devices, biotech, pharmaceuticals and other fields such as electronics, telecommunications and engineering. Graham studied chemistry at Oxford University, converting to the law after graduation, and this scientific background is an asset that he puts to good use when working with clients, their R&D teams, and scientific experts, especially in the context of patent litigation.

As well as patent matters, Graham frequently advises on other intellectual property rights such as designs, trade marks, trade secrets and confidential information, copyright and database rights, and on the strategic use of intellectual property assets to achieve commercial goals.

Qualifications and Memberships

• Solicitor (England & Wales)
• Solicitor Advocate (Civil Proceedings)
• AIPPI (The International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property)
• EPLAW (The European Patent Lawyers Association)
• Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys
• Royal Society of Chemistry

Higher Education

MA(Oxon), Chemistry, University of Oxford (1993)

Diploma in IP law, Bristol University (1999)

Other

Graham trained and qualified at a major, London-headquartered law firm before moving to a specialist intellectual property law firm in 2003, where he worked for 20 years, becoming a partner in 2007. He then spent two years with a full service law firm before joining Dehns in 2026.

He has been recognised by a number of the leading legal directories, including:

• Recommended by IAM Patent 1000, 2026 edition (and previous years): “Graham Burnett-Hall [brings] extensive experience leading disputes before the UK courts and managing complex, multi-jurisdictional litigation”, “adept at making intricate disputes more straightforward, delivering practical strategies that can be readily implemented.”
• Mentioned in the Legal 500 (2026 edition and previous years)
• Listed as an ‘Patent Star’ by Managing IP (2026 and previous years)

Graham frequently speaks on recent developments at international conferences and seminars. He teaches on the European Patent Litigation Course run by the Politecnico di Milano and helps run the workshops on the University of Oxford IP Diploma Course.