Annsley Merelle Ward

Annsley Merelle Ward is a partner at WilmerHale with extensive experience in complex cross-border patent, SPC, FRAND/SEP, and trade secrets litigation. She has a background in chemical engineering and has acted for leading global technology companies across various sectors, including wireless technology, radiotherapy/MRI, algorithmic trading, TNF-inhibitors, respiratory products, and molecular diagnostics. Prior to joining WilmerHale, she was a senior associate at another international law firm and at a leading London IP litigation boutique.Ward represented the IP Federation in its successful UK Supreme Court intervention on the law of inventive step. She also acted for a life sciences company in groundbreaking pre-litigation discovery against a generic company. In addition, she has represented clients in SEP/FRAND cases, addressing issues such as patent validity, infringement, essentiality, licensing negotiations, and antitrust concerns. Her work highlights also include acting for a leader in radiotherapy machines in global patent litigation, handling 22 cases across multiple jurisdictions, including three in the UK. She also acted for financial service institutions in trade secrets litigation, establishing rapid response teams for multi-jurisdictional actions.  Ward supports women in law, technology, and policy through roles in the ChIPs Network, particularly in leadership positions within the London Chapter and Europe. She is the founder of the organisation’s UK Chapter and played a key role in establishing additional chapters across Europe.