Penny Gilbert

Penny Gilbert is a founding partner of Powell Gilbert, a law firm specialising in IP dispute resolution. She is an English and Irish qualified Solicitor and a registered UPC representative. She has an MA in Biochemistry, a DPhil in Molecular Biology, and over 35 years experience in patent litigation, with a particular focus on life sciences. She also has a wealth of experience in representing clients in patent licence disputes, before the courts and in arbitration proceedings. Much of her work has involved multi-jurisdictional disputes including advising on, and managing, parallel European patent litigation before national courts and also, now, the UPC. She has argued in oppositions, and appeals, before the European Patent Office and has acted in referrals on the SPC regulation to the CJEU and the EFTA court. She is a former President of EPLAW (the European Patent Lawyers’ Association) and a member of its advisory board. Her work has been recognized with top tier directory listings for patent litigation and a number of awards, including including Managing IP EMEA Awards - Practitioner of the Year, IP Star and Top 250 Women in IP, IAM Global Leader, Legal 500 Hall of Fame, LMG European Life Sciences Awards: IP Lawyer of the Year: Biotech, Who’s Who Legal’s Life Science Patent Litigation Lawyer of the Year, Women in Business Law Europe, Life Sciences Lawyer of the year and Best in Patents Award, World IP Review Leader and WIPR's Influential Women in IP, Who's Who Legal Patents and Life Sciences Global Elite Thought Leader, LSIPR top 50 Life Sciences leaders; Expert Guides - Patents UK, Best of the Best; Women in Business Law “Outstanding Achievement Award” , 2025.