Tommy McKenna

Experience & specialisms

Tommy McKenna is a UK partner and experienced intellectual property lawyer at renowned practice Fieldfisher, specialising in the enforcement of intellectual property rights.  Tommy has particular experience in patent and copyright disputes involving new and emerging technologies, including generative AI.

Tommy regularly represents clients before the UK courts (High Court, Court of Appeal and Intellectual Property and Enterprise Court (IPEC)) and has experience in UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) and European Patent Office (EPO) proceedings.

Before switching to law, Tommy completed a degree in Electronic Engineering. Due to this background, much of his work is focused on highly technical sectors.  Whilst he most frequently advises on and litigates patent disputes, he also specialises in disputes (typically of a technical nature) relating to copyright, designs, confidential information / trade secrets and database rights.  In addition, Tommy also has experience in trade mark matters and advising clients on contractual disputes relating to technical subject matter.

The cases Tommy acts on are often multi-jurisdictional and cover a wide variety of technologies and sectors, including media and technology, renewable energy, aerospace, medical devices, scientific instrumentation, household products, construction and financial services.

Tommy has a good understanding of the pressures, demands and priorities faced by in-house counsel, having spent time on secondment at MTV Networks Europe (a division of Viacom).

Tommy is part of a wider, full-service intellectual property team at Fieldfisher. The IP team has a market-leading reputation in matters involving all mainstream IP disciplines – trade marks, copyright, designs and patents – with unrivalled expertise in niche areas such as confidential information and trade secrets, Crown copyright and database rights.  The team has a specialist trade mark formalities group enabling it to offer a full prosecution service to large numbers of high profile trade mark portfolios.  Fieldfisher also has a leading Technology and Data Disputes team, led from the IP team.

Tommy is well known and well connected within the IP community.  He holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Intellectual Property Law and Practice from the University of Oxford and is regularly listed in legal directories.  His professional memberships include AIPPI and AIPLA.

Examples of reported cases: 

• Getty Images v Stability AI (currently acting for Getty Images in a claim for infringement of copyright and other rights against Stability AI relating to AI generated images)
• Illiquidx v Altana Wealth (confidential information / trade secrets and copyright dispute within the financial services sector)
• House of CB v Oh Polly (dispute relating to unregistered design infringement and passing off within the fashion industry)
• Wyeth (part of Pfizer) v GlaxoSmithKline (patent infringement and invalidity actions relating to Meningitis B vaccine)
• Cabo Concepts Ltd v MGA Entertainment (defending claims of unjustified threats of patent infringement proceedings with respect to toys)
• Icon Health & Fitness v Peloton (patent infringement and invalidity action concerning functions of the Bike+)
• Oculentis v Lenstec (patent infringement and invalidity action relating to intra-ocular lenses)
• OpenHydro v Rotech (patent invalidity action relating to underwater sea-turbines)
• Blue Gentian v Tristar Products (patent infringement and invalidity action concerning self-extending garden hoses)
• Kingspan Insulation Ltd v Xtratherm Ltd (patent infringement and invalidity action concerning insulating building materials)
• Boeing v Ark Data Centres (contractual dispute regarding the provision of services at data centre).
• Wagner v Earlex (patent infringement and invalidity action relating to air caps used in spray painting systems)
• Vestergaard Frandsen v Bestnet (confidential information dispute relating to insecticidal polyethylene mosquito nets)