Katrina Howard

Called to the Bar (Melbourne, Australia) in 1988, and took silk (Sydney, Australia) in 2006

Head of Wardell Chambers, 15th Floor, Sydney (since 2006)

Called to the Bar (England and Wales) in 2008

Practice Areas
Katrina Howard specialises in the field of intellectual property, especially patents. Most of her patent related work has been in the biological sciences including pharmaceuticals and biotechnology. She has acted in most of the major cases in these areas in the last twenty years in Australia, listed below. Many of these cases have been part of multinational litigation, parallel to cases conducted in the UK and USA.
Author of Designs Law in CCH Industrial and Intellectual Property Reporter.

Principal Cases
High Court of Australia:
• Kimberley-Clark v Arico (sufficiency of patents, nappies)
• Grain Pool of Western Australia v The Commonwealth (constitutional validity of Plant Varieties Act)
• Astra v Alphapharm (inventive step, omeprazole formulation)

Federal Court of Australia:
• Asahi v Grace (patent for shrink wrap plastic, trial and appeal)
• Murex v Chiron (patent for the hepatitis C virus, trial)
• Tidy Tea v Unilever (patent for dripless teabags, trial and appeal)
• Biochem v Emory (patent for the drug 3TC, used to treat AIDS, hearing and appeal)
• Genetics Institute v Amgen (patent for the hormone, erythropoietin, trial and appeal)
• New England Biolabs v Hoffman La-Roche (patent for the enzyme, taq polymerase, used in PCR, trial)
• Atlantis v Schindler (patent for drainage cells, appeal)
• Clark v Coffey (patent for a method for detecting opal deposits, trial)
• 3M v Tyco (patent for electrical connectors, trial and appeal)
• Gambro v Fresenius (patent for dialysis machines, trial, appeal and trial as to damages)
• Eli Lilly v Pfizer (patent for use of Viagra to treat erectile dysfunction, trial and appeal)
• Arrow v Merck (patent for a dosing regimen for alendronate to treat osteoporosis, trial and appeal)
• Mycogen v Monsanto (patent for genetically engineered cotton plants, trial)
• Conor v Angiotech (patent for drug-eluting (taxol) stents, hearing and appeal on entitlement)
• Hexal v Hoffmann La Roche (patent for use of carvedilol to decrease mortality from heart failure, interlocutory injunction)
• Merck v Genrx (patent for the drug, alendronate, used to treat osteoporosis, interlocutory injunction)
• Pfizer v Commissioner of Patents (extension of patent for the anti-fungal drug, voriconazole, trial and appeal)
• Emperor Sports v Commissioner of Patents (acted for the Commissioner in appeal regarding re-examination procedures)
• IGT v Aristocrat (games for poker machines, trial and appeal)
• Alphapharm v Lundbeck (patent for the anti-depressant drug, escitalopram, trial and appeal)
• DuPont v ICI and the Commissioner of Patents (acted for the Commissioner in appeal regarding opposition procedures)

Appearances before the Australian Patent Office in many cases, including:
• Genentech v Celltrix (insulin like growth factor binding protein)
• Tioxide v Kerr McGee (process for manufacturing titanium dioxide)
• CSIRO v Bio-Care (method for controlling termites)
• DSM NV v Novo Nordisk (patent for Aspergillus tubigensis XYL B enzyme)
• Affymax v Diversa (patent for DNA shuffling)
• Human Genome Sciences v Ludwig (VEGF2 protein)
• SmithKline Beecham v Lek (combination of amoxicillin and clavulanate)
• Genentech v HGS (VEGF-related protein).

Other areas of interest:
Cases relating to injuries allegedly caused as a result of exposure to radiation. She has appeared in various cases alleging personal injury as a result of exposure to extremely low frequency radiation from high voltage power lines, and appeared on behalf of the Electrical Supply Association of Australia (representing all electrical utilities in Australia) in the Government Inquiry into Community Needs and High Voltage Transmission Line Development conducted in 1990 and 1991.

 

Education and background
Bachelor of Science with Honours (pharmacology) (First Class), Monash University (Melbourne)
Bachelor of Law with Honours (Class IIa), Melbourne University