| Hugh Laddie | |
| Office: | High Court Judge |
| Honorific Prefix: | Sir |
| Termstart: | 1995 |
| Termend: | 2005 |
| Occupation: | Jurist |
| Office2: | Sir Hugh Laddie Chair |
| Termstart2: | 2006 |
| Termend2: | 2008 |
| Succeeded2: | Robin Jacob |
Sir Hugh Ian Lang Laddie (15 April 1946 – 28 November 2008[1]) was a judge of the High Court of England and Wales.[2] [3] [4] He was a leader in the field of intellectual property law.[5] He was co-author of the Modern Law of Copyright (1980).[6]
Laddie was educated at Aldenham School and St Catharine's College, Cambridge. He studied medicine but changed to law.[5] He became a barrister in 1969.[5] He is credited with having developed the idea of applying for an Anton Piller order[7] while still a junior.[8] After 25 years at the bar, he was appointed a High Court judge in April 1995,[9] and was assigned to the Chancery Division, as one of the Patents Court judges.
He resigned from his post as a judge in 2005, "because he found it boring" and felt isolated on the bench.[9] He became a consultant for Willoughby & Partners, a boutique law firm, UK legal arm of Rouse & Co International,[4] [10] a move which was criticised by some.[11] He was thought to be the first High Court judge to resign voluntarily in 35 years,[3] and the first subsequently to join a firm of solicitors.[4] No one since Sir Henry Fisher, in 1970, had resigned from the bench.[2]
He was appointed to a Chair in Intellectual Property Law at University College London, with effect from 1 September 2006.[12] He founded there the Institute of Brand and Innovation Law.[6] The Sir Hugh Laddie chair in Intellectual Property has subsequently been established at UCL.
Hugh Laddie married Stecia Zamet in 1970.[6] He died of cancer on 28 November 2008, aged 62.[3]