Partner
Adrian Samuels
mechanical engineering, physics, software, electronics, dispute resolution, consulting Email Adrian View profile adrian samuelsbackground
adrian samuels is a uk and european patent attorney, with an ma in physics from oxford university. he handles patent work in various fields of physics and engineering.
adrian joined dehns in 1995 and became a partner in 2003. adrian became the firm’s managing partner in 2022.
type of clients and client work
adrian has extensive experience of drafting original patent applications for direct clients, from start-ups to larger established companies; in particular he helps them take a commercially-focused strategic approach to building an ip portfolio which maximises company value. he also has indepth experience in contentious matters including european oppositions and uk and us litigation.
expertise
adrian has extensive experience in drafting original patent applications for direct clients, from start-ups to larger established companies; in particular he helps them take a commercially-focused strategic approach to building an ip portfolio which maximises company value. he also has in-depth experience in contentious matters including european oppositions and uk and us litigation.
he handles patent work in various engineering fields including ultrasonic systems, medical devices, chemical processing systems, traffic management systems and various areas of physics such as optics and optical sensors.
adrian also has significant experience in electronics both at systems level and component level; and in computer-implemented inventions, mainly for smaller companies in areas which have include telecommunications, short range radio data communication and mathematical modelling. his telecommunications experience includes drafting applications in the lte/5g space – particularly as they apply to iot devices.
qualifications and memberships
- european patent attorney, 1999
- uk chartered patent attorney, 1999
- certified patent valuation analyst 2013
- fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys
- basic litigation skills course, 2017
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2023
- european patent institute
- international association for the protection of intellectual property (aippi)
higher education
ma, physics, university of oxford, 1994
other
adrian has been recognised as a “global ip star” in the managing intellectual property ip stars 2018 edition and as a “patent star” in the 2019 edition, where he was also highlighted as a “notable experienced patent attorney”. he was once again recognised as a “patent star” in the 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 editions of managing intellectual property’s ip stars directory.
in 2022, adrian was named in the “iam strategy 300: the world’s leading ip strategists” publication for 2022; this publication identifies those “shown to possess world-class skills in the development and roll-out of strategies that maximise the value of patents, copyright, trademarks and other ip rights”.
adrian was also recently selected to feature in the 2024 edition of the “iam strategy 300: the world’s leading ip strategists” where he was identified as a “strategy 300 global leader”.
Alex Gittins
mechanical engineering, physics, dispute resolution Email Alex View profile alex gittinsbackground
alex is a partner of the firm and handles a diverse range of work in the engineering, physical sciences and software fields, with significant experience in automotive, aerospace and power systems engineering. he is also an authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc). he previously worked for a major engineering consultancy, and holds a degree in physics from imperial college, london. alex joined the firm in 2008.
type of clients and client work
alex works with a range of engineering clients, ranging from multinational corporations to smes and start-ups. his current practice focusses on contentious proceedings at the european patent office (epo), where he is part of a revered team at dehns having an in-depth knowledge of the opposition and appeal procedure. he has handled hundreds of opposition cases, and currently acts as lead advocate for about 20 opposition and appeal hearings each year. alex is also on hand to advise on all aspects of patent and design law including worldwide patent filing strategies, enforcement of patents in europe, design registrations, ip licensing and issues of infringement and validity. his technical focus is on aerospace, propulsion and power systems engineering.
recent notable cases:
t2185/22 (alex successfully overturned the first instance decision revoking the patent, with the board allowing the client’s highest-ranking request)
t1371/20 and t0391/19 (alex successfully overturned negative preliminary opinions of the board)
t1945/19 and t0530/20 (alex successfully revoked the opposed patents, overturning the first instance decisions in each case)
expertise
alex is retained for his specialist and expert knowledge in the more complex and high profile cases, such as those involving co-pending litigation. as well as providing advocacy in such cases, he is also sought after for consultant work, for example to provide advice to other attorneys/law firms, or act as a ‘mock’ patentee/opponent. he also continues to have a substantial prosecution docket.
qualifications and memberships
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2023
- ip litigator
- uk chartered patent attorney, 2013
- european patent attorney, 2012
- fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys
- member of the european patent institute
- member of the royal college of science and institute of physics
higher education
msci physics, imperial college, london, 2008
other
alex was mentioned in the 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 editions of the legal 500 as a “key lawyer” of the firm.
alex was also recently named as a “recommended individual” for automotive and transport / electronics, in the 2024 edition of the juve patent uk rankings.
Alison Hague
mechanical engineering, trade marks, designs Email Alison View profile alison haguebackground
having graduated from oxford university with an honours degree in engineering science, alison joined dehns in 1987 and became a partner in 1998. she is a uk chartered patent attorney, a european patent attorney and a uk chartered trade mark attorney.
type of clients and client work
alison handles trade mark and design work for a wide range of clients and patent work, mainly in the field of mechanical engineering.
alison has experience of filing uk and eu-wide applications for customs action as well as liaising with associates to file national applications for customs action in other eu territories. her experience includes pro-actively requesting customs monitoring with customs authorities as part of an anti-counterfeiting strategy as well as reacting to ex-officio customs notifications.
alison has handled customs matters for a well-known entertainment brand since at least 2011 and regularly assists them with requesting destruction of a wide range of counterfeit products from small consignments to shipments of several thousand items. she has also had experience handling customs matters outside of the eu, e.g. israel.
expertise
alison handles patent work in various engineering fields, but particularly in mechanical engineering, robotics and control systems.
she manages all aspects of international trade mark portfolios in a wide range of fields including entertainment, merchandising and fashion. alison provides strategic advice regarding trade mark protection and she has substantial experience in handling trade mark applications and oppositions before the united kingdom and european union trade mark offices and in numerous other territories through local firms of overseas associates.
alison also handles registered designs.
qualifications and memberships
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2023
- european patent attorney, 1992
- uk chatered patent attorney, 1993
- uk chartered trade mark attorney, 1994
- fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys
- chartered institute of trade mark attorneys
- certificate in intellectual property law, queen mary college, university of london
higher education
ma oxford university, engineering science, 1987
other
publications:
‘trade marks or designs – so many choices!’, fashion capital, april 2014
‘is your brand at risk of hijacking?’, director of finance, march 2014
‘protecting your brand in china’, fashion capital, march 2014
Andrea Hughes
electronics, mechanical engineering, dispute resolution, trade marks Email Andrea View profile andrea hughesbackground
andrea is a uk, german and european patent attorney. she joined dehns in 1989, having completed her beng in electronics and electrical engineering at the university of london, and was made a partner in 2000. she obtained a masters degree in law from the university of nottingham in 2000 and she handles patent work in the electronics and mechanical engineering fields.
andrea heads up the dehns office in munich where she has been based since 1999. in addition to being a uk, german and european patent attorney and an authorised representative before the upc, andrea is also a uk chartered trade mark attorney, a european trade mark attorney, an irish trade mark attorney and a member of the patentanwaltskammer.
type of clients and client work
andrea has particular experience in advising on, drafting and prosecuting european patents and she has considerable experience in representing clients at oral proceedings before the epo examining, opposition and appeal divisions.
her clients range from individuals and ttos, to large multinationals requiring a global ip strategy with a structured ip portfolio.
expertise
andrea handles patent work in the electronics, electrical and mechanical engineering fields, particularly aeronautical/aerospace and automotive engineering and avionics. in addition, she handles patent work in the fields of heat exchangers, fuel cells; additive manufacture, communications technology, image processing and the medical technology field. andrea also handles trade marks in various fields such as insurance and business management.
qualifications and memberships
- uk chartered patent attorney, 1994
- european patent attorney, 1994
- uk chartered trade mark attorney, 1994
- european trade mark attorney
- professional representative before euipo, 1996
- patentanwältin, 2019
- registered trade mark agent (ireland), 2019
- fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys (cipa)
- patentanwaltskammer, germany
- international trademark association
- european patent institute
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2023
higher education
llm, nottingham university, intellectual property litigation, 2004
llb, university of london, law, 2000
beng, university of london, electronics and electrical engineering, 1989
ma translation, open university, 2019
other
having lived in germany for a number of years, andrea speaks fluent german.
andrea plays an active role in the firm’s equality, diversity and inclusion (edi) group.
Andreas Senft
mechanical engineering, electronics, physics, software, trade marks Email Andreas View profile andreas senftbackground
after obtaining his degree in physics from technical university in munich, andreas worked as development engineer for an automotive manufacturer (bmw group). he then started training as a patent attorney in 2013 and qualified as a german patent attorney and european trade mark and design attorney in 2016 and as a european patent attorney in 2017. in 2021, he obtained an additional masters degree in law and was made a partner in 2023.
type of clients and client work
andreas handles patent work before the european patent office and the german patent and trademark office in english and german language, ranging from drafting and prosecuting patent applications, to opposition and appeal proceedings, including oral proceedings. he also provides expert opinions, fto advice, validity and infringement assessments on patent matters, as well as advice on utility model, trade mark and design matters.
andreas works with clients of all size, from individual inventors, start-ups, local and domestic smes in germany, to multinationals based in germany, the us and asia.
expertise
andreas’ knowledge and experience covers various technical fields, incl. control engineering, process technology, automation technology, hydraulic technology, elevator technology, semi-conductor technology, optics, microscopy, medical technology, oct, and renewable energy.
he has particular experience in robotic and automotive technology, incl. data communication, vehicle electronics, electrical and hybrid driving as well as autonomous driving and navigation.
andreas also has experience in general physics, mechanics, electronics, software, simulation and ai-related inventions and technologies.
qualifications and memberships
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2023
- european patent attorney, 2017
- german patent attorney, 2016
- european trade mark and design attorney, 2016
- chamber of german patent attorneys
- european patent institute
- international federation of intellectual property attorneys
- german physical society (dpg)
higher education
dipl.-phys. univ. – diploma (equivalent to msc) in physics, technical university of munich (tum), 2011
- topics: nuclear and particle physics, quantum mechanics, condensed matter physics, scattering theory
- diploma thesis: setup and implementation of an experiment to test a superconducting coil
ll.m. – master’s degree in european intellectual property law, fernuniversität in hagen, 2021
- topics: de, fr and uk national law (patent infringement), private international law
- master’s thesis: requirement of a reform of the injunctive relief in german patent law
Andrew Chiva
mechanical engineering, physics, dispute resolution, designs Email Andrew View profile andrew chivabackground
andrew is a european patent attorney and a chartered uk patent attorney. he joined dehns in 2002 after graduating from imperial college, london with a masters degree in physics. andrew handles patent work in a wide range of engineering-related fields and was made a dehns partner in 2013.
type of clients and client work
the majority of andrew’s clients are multi-national corporations and small/medium sized companies, although he also works with universities and individuals. he advises on all aspects of the patent process, including drafting applications, prosecution in multiple jurisdictions, post-grant proceedings at the european patent office, and patent infringement and enforcement matters.
expertise
andrew handles work in a wide range of technologies, including mass spectrometry, oil drilling systems, fire and security, containers, and sanitary products and equipment.
qualifications and memberships
- certificate in ip law, university of london, 2003
- european patent attorney, 2005
- uk chartered patent attorney, 2006 (awarded gill prize for first place overall and strode prize for first place in practice paper)
- fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys
- european patent institute
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2023
higher education
msci (first class), imperial college, london, physics, 2001
other
andrew was awarded the gill prize and the strode prize by the chartered institute of patent attorneys for his performance in the institute’s final examinations.
Annabel Beacham
chemical, dispute resolution Email Annabel View profile annabel beachambackground
annabel is a qualified uk and european patent attorney and is a partner in the firm. she joined dehns in 1994 having graduated from the university of oxford with a first class honours degree in chemistry and having subsequently been awarded a doctorate from the university of oxford for research in the field of carbohydrate chemistry. annabel became a partner in 2002.
type of clients and client work
annabel acts for a range of clients, including a number of us corporates. the majority of her practice involves prosecution and opposition work before the european patent office. she also handles applications for supplementary protection certificates and provides strategic advice regarding the infringement and validity of uk and ep patents.
expertise
annabel handles patent work in all areas of chemistry, including pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, blood products, oil field services, cosmetics and personal care products.
qualifications and memberships
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2023
- uk chartered patent attorney, 1999
- european patent attorney, 1998
- certificate in intellectual property law, queen mary college, university of london, 1996
- fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys
- member of the institute of professional representatives before the european patent office (epi)
- foreign member of the american intellectual property law association (aipla)
- member of the society of chemical industry (sci)
higher education
dphil, oxford university, “studies in higher sugars”, 1994
ma, oxford university, natural sciences (chemistry), 1991
other
annabel is the partner with responsibility for the firm’s formalities and records departments.
annabel has recently been recognised in the 2024 edition of the iam patent 1000, where it was commented that she “is a key member of the chemical group and stands out for her prosecution and opposition skill at the epo. her ability to craft logical arguments and present them convincingly at oral proceedings sees her regularly bring in favourable results.”
annabel was recognised as an “ip star” in managing intellectual property’s ip stars 2018 legal directory and as a “patent star” in the 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 editions of the directory.
she was mentioned in the 2020 edition of the legal 500 as a “key lawyer” of the firm.
Chris Goddard
chemical Email Chris View profile chris goddardbackground
chris is a european and uk chartered patent attorney. he graduated from the university of cambridge in 1994 with a degree in natural sciences (chemistry) and was awarded a phd, also by the university of cambridge. he joined the firm in 1999 and was made a partner in 2013.
type of clients and client work
chris handles patent work for a variety of clients from sole-inventors and small biotech companies to multinational corporations, with a considerable proportion of his work originating from clients in scandinavia.
chris provides patent drafting, filing, international prosecution and strategic ip portfolio advice. he has experience in oppositions and appeals before the epo.
expertise
chris works with inventions from a broad range of chemical technologies including organic chemistry, pharmaceuticals, drug delivery formulations, diagnostic assays, medical devices, solar cells and renewable energy.
qualifications and memberships
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2023
- uk chartered patent attorney, 2004
- european patent attorney, 2003
- certificate in ip law, university of london, 2001
- fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys
- basic litigation skills course
higher education
phd, university of cambridge, thesis title: “resin-bound synthesis and template-based chemical libraries”, 2000
ba, university of cambridge, natural sciences (chemistry), 1994
other
chris was mentioned in the 2018 edition of the legal 500 directory: “patent portfolio management is a key specialty of chris goddard, who recently worked with camurus on its portfolio”. he was also mentioned in the 2020 edition of the legal 500 as a “key lawyer” of the firm.
following his phd, chris became a postgraduate research associate at the university chemical laboratories in cambridge, where he was involved in the development of a solid-phase multiple-parallel synthesis platform in collaboration with pe biosystems, a californian scientific instrument manufacturer.
Christopher Wilkins
biotechnology, consulting Email Christopher View profile christopher wilkinsbackground
christopher is a european and chartered uk patent attorney. he joined dehns in 2007 after completing an honours degree in molecular biology and biochemistry from durham university and a phd and research fellowship in plant molecular biology at cambridge university. he became an associate of the firm in 2013, senior associate in 2019 and was made partner in 2022.
type of clients and client work
clients include both large multinational companies and smes with various sizes of patent portfolios, and work includes evaluating inventions for patentability, drafting patent specifications and all aspects of patent prosecution, including worldwide prosecution of patent families. christopher also provides advice on infringement and validity, opposition of granted patents and assistance with the development and management of patent portfolios.
expertise
his work covers a wide range of biotechnology, medical and cosmetic fields. for instance, he has handled applications relating to: antibodies; artificial immune systems; pharmaceuticals, including peptide and protein based drugs; new medical uses of known biomolecules; virology and vaccination; newly identified genes and proteins and isolation methods; analyte detection methods and systems; genetically modified plants, animals and microorganisms; diagnostic assays; cosmetics; array technology; biofuel production; nucleic acid sequencing, amplification and identification; and molecular biology techniques.
qualifications and memberships
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2023
- uk chartered patent attorney, 2011
- european patent attorney, 2011
- certificate in ip law, university of london, 2009
- fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys
- member of the european patent institute
- member of the royal society of biology
- basic litigation skills course
higher education
bsc hons molecular biology and biochemistry, university of durham, 2000
phd, plant molecular biology, university of cambridge, 2004
christopher was awarded his phd in 2004 for research into the perception of the plant hormone cytokinin, and continued his research in this field as the ‘william colton fellow’ at queens’ college, cambridge university. during his fellowship he devoted a considerable amount of time to teaching, which included a lecture series in plant and microbial sciences for 2nd year undergraduates, as well as supervising undergraduate tutorial groups.
other
christopher has recently been recognised in the patent 1000 iam 2023 edition, with feedback from peers and clients noting: “christopher (kit) is an expert in cell therapy technologies and often has good ideas and insight on how to tweak and improve patent applications. kit’s mastery of molecular details and the scope of applications greatly impresses. he immediately grasps what is most essential and thinks of all aspects of the filing under consideration. his grasp of both the european law and the biotechnologies is among the best in the business. his completes work swiftly, always on schedule and with excellent attention to detail. he is also capable of handling last-minute things and always to an excellent standard. he is a great person to work with. his demeanour and character are hyper-professional and extremely courteous. kit can also handle epo opposition work masterfully – his communication is detailed and timely, and includes multiple strategic options.”
christopher frequently writes on the ip industry and the life sciences sector; see below for his articles.
Clare Mann
trade marks, dispute resolution Email Clare View profile clare mannbackground
clare is a uk chartered trade mark attorney.
she joined the firm in 2000, having graduated from the university of hull with a first class honours degree in history. she became a partner in 2011 and handles trade mark work in a variety of sectors.
type of clients and client work
clare works for a wide range of clients, from individuals through to global corporations, handling all aspects of uk, european union, and worldwide clearance searching, prosecution and enforcement, as well as domain name disputes. she also manages significant global portfolios, and supports companies with their expansion plans by developing and implementing global ip portfolio strategies.
expertise
clare works with clients in a wide variety of sectors, including: sport, financial services, medical technology, food and beverage, entertainment, leisure, fashion, tourism and retail.
qualifications and memberships
- uk chartered trade mark attorney, 2005
- chartered institute of trade mark attorneys
- international trademark association
higher education
ba hons, university of hull, history, 1998
other
most recently, clare was listed as a key lawyer in the legal 500 2024 edition, with client testimonials stating: “‘clare mann is our first point of call for trade mark-related questions; she is very speedy in her responses and her communication is always clear and easy to understand. she has always kindly answered any questions and i appreciate her patience and insight.” another client commented: “clare mann is sharp, practical, responsive, and a delight to work with.”
clare was listed as a “key figure” in the leaders league 2023 trade mark prosecution rankings. she also ranked bronze for “individuals: prosecution and strategy” in the 2024 edition of the world trade mark review 1000 report, having previously been highlighted as a “recommended individual” in the 2022 edition, where she was praised for being “calm, measured and client friendly – all qualities which are essential when managing global portfolios.”
clare has been noted as “relaxed and unflappable under pressure” and highlighted for her “great manner with clients”; “mann is very professional, gives sound counsel and communicates clearly” in world trademark review’s annual “world’s leading trademark professionals” publication. in the 2021 edition of this publication, clare was noted for being “quick and responsive” and helping companies to expand their portfolios internationally.
clare was a ‘recommended lawyer’ in the 2017 legal 500 directory and has also been names as a “key lawyer” for the last few years, including the most recent 2023 edition. clare was also named as a ”key figure” in the leaders league 2021 rankings of leading uk trademark prosecution firms.
recent client testimonials include:
‘clare mann has a lot of knowledge on trade mark practice in the uk and always gives good advice and proposals.’ – the legal 500
‘clare mann is an outstanding global portfolio manager.’ – the legal 500
clare regularly represents the firm at conferences and other events, including speaking at industry seminars. she has also written and published a large number of trade mark articles – see below for further information.
clare will be attending the inta 2025 annual meeting in san diego, usa from the 17th – 21st may 2025. please contact clare if you would like to organise a meeting.
Daniel Rowe
biotechnology Email Daniel View profile daniel rowebackground
dan is a european and chartered uk patent attorney. he joined dehns in 2001 after completing a bsc and then a phd, both from the university of bristol. he became an associate of the firm in 2008, senior associate in 2018 and was made a partner in 2023.
type of clients and client work
dan’s clients range from small biotech start-ups and university spin-outs/technology transfer offices to multinational biotech/pharma corporations, with particular experience assisting uk, us and scandinavian start-ups protect and exploit their ip and assess their freedom to operate in their chosen fields.
his work includes the drafting and prosecution of patent applications and the opposition of patents (offensive and defensive), including appeal work. dan provides straightforward, business-oriented advice to clients on all aspects of patent law in this technical area, including patentability, infringement and validity analyses and commercially-focused assistance with the cost-effective development and management of global patent portfolios.
expertise
his subject matter expertise covers the full spectrum of industrial and medical biotechnology. within the health sector, he has a particular focus on molecular medicine; molecular diagnostics, biomarkers and personalised medicine; pharmaceuticals (human and veterinary); medical devices; advanced drug delivery; and wound healing products. his industrial practice has a particular focus on protein purification from blood products and advanced cell-factories for the industrial production of proteins. dan also handles cases directed to microbiological and non-microbiological processes for the production of poly/oligosaccharides and engineered enzymes for removing contaminating nucleic acids from solutions.
qualifications and memberships
- uk chartered patent attorney, 2006
- european patent attorney, 2006
- certificate in ip law, university of london, 2003
- fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys
- member of the european patent institute
- basic litigation skills course, 2017
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2023
higher education
bsc (hons) (first class), biochemistry, university of bristol, 1998
phd “the intracellular mechanisms of thapsigargin-induced inhibition of human vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation”, university of bristol, 2001
other
dan was recognised as a “rising star” in the 2018 edition of managing intellectual property’s ip stars publication.
dan frequently writes on the ip industry and the life sciences sector; see below for his articles.
David Paton
mechanical engineering, designs Email David View profile david patonbackground
david is a european patent attorney and chartered uk patent attorney. he is also an experienced design attorney. david joined the intellectual property profession in 2004 and worked for intellectual property companies in london and bristol before joining dehns in their bristol office in 2020. david was made partner in 2021.
prior to joining dehns, david studied mechanical engineering at the university of bath.
type of clients and client work
david is experienced at handling a broad range of aspects of patent practice, including patent drafting and prosecution, as well as contentious matters, freedom to operate and infringement and validity opinions. he provides strategic ip advice to smes and corporate clients, and assists them in maximising the value of their ip and advising them on the most suitable intellectual property portfolio for their business. david also works closely with start up and scale up entities, as well as having substantial experience working with in-house ip departments.
as an experienced design attorney, david regularly deals with registered and unregistered design portfolios, as well as other ip matters.
expertise
specialising in the mechanical and electromechanical engineering fields, david is well versed in a wide variety of different technologies. in particular, he has a high level of experience with aeronautical and automotive technologies, medical devices, consumer appliances, and manufacturing machinery.
qualifications and memberships
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2024
- uk chartered patent attorney, 2010
- european patent attorney, 2008
- certificate in ip law, university of london, 2005
- fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys (cipa)
- member of the european patent institute
higher education
meng (hons) mechanical engineering, university of bath, 2003
other
david was named as a “key lawyer” of the firm in the 2022 and 2023 editions of the legal 500 directory.
Deborah Owen
biotechnology Email Deborah View profile deborah owenbackground
deborah is a qualified uk and european patent attorney. she joined dehns in 1996 having graduated from the university of cambridge in 1992 with an honours degree in natural sciences (zoology) and subsequently carrying out post-graduate research in the field of molecular and cell biology of breast cancer at the imperial cancer research fund (now crc-uk) in london, leading to the award of a phd by university college london. deborah became a partner of the firm in 2009.
type of clients and client work
deborah’s clients include universities (and their associated spin out companies) and small- to medium-sized companies, including new start-up companies, all the way through to multinational corporations.
deborah prides herself on developing a close and interactive working relationship with all her clients to achieve the best possible patent (and other ip) strategy. she always strives to give clear and commercially focussed advice which is tailored to the individual needs of clients depending on the challenges they are facing.
deborah’s practice in particular focuses on small and medium sized technology companies for whom their patent portfolios are one of their major assets. deborah understands the commercial importance of a global ip strategy and building a strong ip portfolio, and is experienced in guiding companies through this process. deborah appreciates the difficulties which can be faced by early stage companies in trying to establish an ip portfolio and provides valuable support and ip education, including ip advice clinics, to small and medium sized technology companies based in technology incubators.
a major proportion of deborah’s work is original patent drafting and advice work. she provides a range of services including patentability assessments, drafting, filing and prosecuting patent applications in multiple jurisdictions worldwide, and defending and opposing granted patents. deborah also advises clients in a number of other relevant areas including infringement and validity, freedom to operate, evaluating patent portfolios and due diligence.
expertise
deborah handles patent work in many areas of biotechnology and biochemistry, including genomics, proteomics, recombinant nucleic acid and protein products, research tools, screening methods, biofuels, transgenic plants, diagnostic and molecular assays, microbiology and probiotics, virology and vaccines, with particular experience in areas of cell biology, immunology and antibody technology. she also drafts and files new patent applications in these areas.
deborah is regularly named in all leading legal and ip directories, including recent editions of chambers, legal 500 and ip stars.
qualifications and memberships
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2023
- european patent attorney, 2001
- uk registered patent attorney, 2001
- certificate in ip law, university of london, 1998
- fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys
higher education
phd university of london (research carried out at the imperial cancer research fund, london), “in vitro morphogenesis of human mammary epithelial cells”, 1996
ma, cambridge university, natural sciences (zoology), 1992
other
deborah was recommended in the 2020 edition of the legal 500 directory and received the following client testimonial in the commentary: “deborah owen is undoubtedly a leader in her field. she is highly responsive and has huge attention to detail. she is a subject matter expert for antibody therapeutics and highly effectively leads our patent strategy, helping us to identify problems and find solutions. an exceptional talent.’”
publications:
“patent issues relating to therapeutic antibodies”, handbook of therapeutic antibodies (second edition, published 2014)
‘enforcement of screening method patents: the medimmune case’, journal of intellectual property law & practice, january 2012
‘the potential power of method claims’, intellectual property magazine, november 2011
Elaine Deyes
trade marks Email Elaine View profile elaine deyesbackground
elaine is a uk chartered trade mark attorney who joined dehns in 1996 and was made a partner in 2007. elaine is head of dehns’ trade mark group.
type of clients and client work
elaine works with a variety of clients, ranging from individuals to major companies with significant international trade mark portfolios.
she has extensive experience of handling all aspects of uk and european union trade mark clearance, prosecution and enforcement, advising on and implementing searching and filing strategies, dealing with official objections, oppositions and cancellation/invalidity proceedings, advising in the areas of infringement and passing-off, and dispute resolution. she also advises on and handles domain name and company name disputes. elaine likewise has considerable experience of filing and prosecuting international applications and in the protection and enforcement of trade marks worldwide.
recent work for an international client involved a major ip strategic review as part of a global re-branding project. on the back of this review, elaine developed and implemented the global ip strategy to ensure protection during future diversification of the business, including involvement in extensive and complex settlement negotiations.
expertise
elaine works with clients in many different sectors, including fashion, lighting, renewable energy, pharmaceuticals, entertainment, estate agency, finance and insurance, healthcare and fitness, construction and chemistry.
qualifications and memberships
- uk chartered trade mark attorney, 2002
- chartered institute of trade mark attorneys (citma)
- international trademark association (inta)
- european communities trade mark association (ecta)
- the association of european trade mark owners (marques)
higher education
bsc (hons), university of surrey, law and french, 1996
other
as part of elaine’s professional studies, she was awarded the adrian spencer memorial award for achieving first place in the advanced trade mark law examination in 2000.
since then, elaine has been regularly highlighted and acknowledged as a leading trade mark expert in various leading legal and ip directories. this has included:
- who’s who legal – “recommended individual” in the 2024 edition.
- world trade mark review 1000 report – ranked gold for “individuals: prosecution and strategy” in the 2024 edition. “recommended individual” in the 2022 edition and noted for “receiving high acclaim from peers on the prosecution side”
- leaders league – elaine was named as a ”key figure” in the leaders league 2023 and 2021 rankings of leading uk trademark prosecution firms
- world trademark review’s “global leaders” publication – elaine was named as a “global leader” in the private practice sector of the 2020 and 2019 editions of this publication
- ip stars – named as an “ip star” by managing intellectual property for the 9th consecutive year
- world trademark review’s annual “world’s leading trademark professionals” publication – elaine was noted for being “extremely capable” and giving “comprehensive, considered and measured advice” characterised by “remarkable attention to detail”. this is the sixth consecutive year that elaine has been singled out in this publication, having also received a gold-band individual ranking in the wtr trade mark individuals: prosecution and strategy 2021 category
- lawyer monthly – legal awards: “intellectual property – lawyer of the year – uk” award
- legal 500 – elaine was again acknowledged as a “recommended attorney” and has been recognised as a “key lawyer” of the firm for the last few years in the legal 500 directory.
- in the 2023 edition of the legal 500, a client commented that: “we have worked with elaine deyes for a number of years now, and she always provides thorough, well-considered and pragmatic advice and solutions. easy to work with, excellent subject-matter and procedural knowledge, she is an effective communicator and with a strong supporting team. a very safe pair of hands.”
- who’s who legal guide – elaine was named as an “expert” in the 2018 and 2019 editions, and was listed as “recommended” in the 2022 edition.
- women in business legal awards – winner of the “trade mark attorney of the year – uk” award
recent client testimonials include:
‘elaine deyes is an excellent prosecutor and trade mark practice leader. in our view, she is the first person to address if you have complex and urgent prosecution work for the uk. elaine is also a tough negotiator.’ – the legal 500
‘presents tough topics in an understandable way. absolutely solution minded with fast responses that are to the point. elaine deyes is outstanding for me and delivers on all of the above.’ – the legal 500
elaine regularly represents the firm at various conferences and events organised by inta, citma and marques.
elaine will be attending the inta 2025 annual meeting in san diego, usa from the 17th – 21st may 2025. please contact elaine if you would like to organise a meeting.
Elizabeth Jones
biotechnology, consulting Email Elizabeth View profile elizabeth jonesbackground
elizabeth is a uk chartered and european patent attorney. she joined dehns in 1993, was made a partner in 2001 and is a senior member of dehns’ life sciences and biotechnology group. she holds a number of chemistry and biochemistry related degrees from the university of cape town and was awarded a phd by the open university. elizabeth is a former managing partner and in 2022 was elected senior partner, responsible for the growth and continued development of the firm.
type of clients and client work
elizabeth’s clients include sole inventors and small companies, as well as university technology transfer offices and multinationals. she provides a range of services including patentability assessments, drafting, filing and prosecuting patent applications, defending and opposing granted patents and providing advice on aspects such as due diligence, infringement, validity and freedom to practice.
expertise
elizabeth handles patent work in the general fields of biochemistry and biotechnology, including genomics, proteomics, immunology, virology and microbiology, particularly in relation to molecular biology based inventions (such as recombinant products, transgenic plants and animals, genomic therapeutics and diagnostics), screening methods, purification protocols, diagnostic assays and therapeutic and prophylactic inventions.
qualifications and memberships
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2024
- uk chartered patent attorney, 1997
- european patent attorney, 1997
- certificate in ip law, university of london, 1994
- fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys
higher education
phd, open university, “cell signalling pathways of il-1 and tnf”, 1993
msc, university of cape town, crystallographic determination of cholic acid:alcohol structures”, (awarded with distinction), 1989
bsc (hons), university of cape town, biochemistry, 1986
bsc, university of cape town, chemistry and biochemistry (distinction in chemistry), 1985
other
elizabeth was recently highlighted in the iam patent 1000 2024 edition, where it was noted that she “has a wealth of legal and technical experience to draw from which she leverages to dispense well-rounded, effective strategic advice to biochemistry and biotechnology companies.”
elizabeth was also recognised in the 2023 edition of the iam patent 1000. “in short, collaborations with elizabeth jones never fail. she is a very capable professional and knows technology and the ins and outs of european patent law very well. she inspires unwavering confidence.”
elizabeth has also previously been named as “patent attorney of the year – uk” at the women in business legal awards 2017, and she has been mentioned in the legal 500 2022 edition.
Florian Steinbauer
mechanical engineering, physics, trade marks, electronics Email Florian View profile florian steinbauerbackground
after obtaining his phd in 2004, florian joined kudlek grunert & partner and qualified as a german patent attorney in 2007, and then as a european patent attorney in 2008. he joined dehns in 2021 following the merger of the two firms in 2021. florian is a dehns partner.
florian is also a european trade mark and design attorney and his practice involves all aspects of patent, trade mark law and design law, and his patent practice comprises physics and engineering related technologies.
type of clients and client work
florian drafts and prosecutes patent applications before the epo and the german patent and trademark office (dpma), as well as providing expert opinions and advice on patents. he has considerable experience in representing clients at oral proceedings before the epo and dpma examining, opposition and appeal divisions, and the federal patents court in germany (bpatg).
his clients mainly work in the field of automotive and automation technology for large multinational and global companies
expertise
florian’s expertise as a patent attorney includes: mechanical engineering, control engineering, automation of technical processes, lighting technology for optical apparatuses, semiconductors, renewable energy sources, microtechnology and nanotechnology, photonics and thin films.
he has indepth experience in automotive technology including engine construction, vehicle electronics, motor control and hybrid systems.
qualifications and memberships
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2023
- european patent attorney, 2008
- german patent attorney, 2007
- european trade mark and design attorney, 2007
- chamber of german patent attorneys
- european patent institute
- international federation of intellectual property attorneys
- deutsche physikalische gesellschaft (german physics society)
higher education
phd, university of regensburg, germany, 2004
- thesis on the static magnetisation behaviour of micromagnets and nanomagnets
dipl. phys (physics diploma/degree), university of regensburg, germany, 2000
- core topics: solid state physics, semiconductors and metals, thin films, magnetism
- diploma thesis on the magnetic properties of iron neodymium multi-layers
other
florian lives in munich and speaks fluent german and english.
Greg Iceton
mechanical engineering, physics, trade marks, designs Email Greg View profile greg icetonbackground
greg joined the firm as a technical assistant in 2007, shortly after graduating from keele university with a degree in physics with astrophysics, and he is based in our munich office. greg is a fully qualified european and uk chartered patent attorney. he is also a european trade mark attorney.
greg became a senior associate in 2019 and was made partner in 2022.
type of clients and client work
greg acts for many smes as well as large corporate clients. he also works closely with many associates abroad to ensure that his clients get the best possible protection in other jurisdictions. greg regularly attends hearings and events at the epo.
expertise
he prosecutes patent and design applications in various fields including ict, electrical and mechanical engineering. greg also has experience in handling patent applications relating to business methods and software.
qualifications and memberships
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2023
- european trade mark attorney, 2021
- uk chartered patent attorney, 2013
- european patent attorney, 2013
- fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys
- member of the european patent institute
- registered trade mark agent (ireland), 2021
higher education
bsc (hons) – physics with astrophysics, keele university, 2007
postgraduate certificate in ip law, queen mary university of london, 2009
other
greg is chair of the equality, diversity and inclusion committee of the chartered institute of patent attorneys (cipa)
he has also been a member of cipa council since 2016
Gregory Lees
mechanical engineering, electronics, software, consulting, designs Email Gregory View profile gregory leesbackground
gregory joined the firm in 2010 after graduating from the university of oxford with a first-class honours degree in engineering science. he has studied a broad range of disciplines including mechanical, electrical, structural and fluid engineering.
during his final year at oxford gregory worked with the oxford institute of biomedical engineering as part of a team developing a collapsible cerebral stent for the treatment of brain aneurysms. he was made a partner in 2023. gregory is an authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc).
type of clients and client work
gregory has experience in drafting patents in a variety of fields, prosecuting such applications to grant before the uk and european patent offices, and handling international patent portfolios. he also files registered designs in the uk and europe, as well as providing strategic advice regarding the infringement and validity of patents and designs.
expertise
gregory handles patent work principally in the fields of engineering and software, including data processing, biometric analysis, medical devices, aerospace and automotive engineering, telecommunications, and refrigeration.
qualifications and memberships
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2023
- uk chartered patent attorney, 2014
- european patent attorney, 2014
- certificate in ip law, brunel university, 2011
- fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys
- european patent institute
higher education
meng (first class), university of oxford, engineering science, 2010
other
gregory has been nominated by his peers as one of the world’s leading patent practitioners in who’s who legal: patents 2016.
Hanna Dzieglewska
biotechnology Email Hanna View profile hanna dzieglewskabackground
hanna dzieglewska joined the firm in 1987 and became a partner in 1995. after obtaining her first class honours degree in biochemistry specialising in neurochemistry, hanna went on to obtain a phd in biochemistry, focusing primarily on enzymology, protein purification, and microbial physiology.
hanna is head of the dehns biotechnology team.
type of clients and client work
hanna’s clients include small-to-medium-sized companies or sole inventors, as well as larger companies. her work includes all aspects of patent portfolio management worldwide and she has extensive experience of working directly and closely with inventors to identify patentable inventions and draft patent specifications, including helping to guide patent-focused research. she has particular experience in developing patent portfolios and ip strategies for her clients, and providing them with robust advice throughout their commercial development process. this includes all aspects of the patent prosecution process, including epo and foreign patent prosecution, and opposition work at the epo.
hanna’s work also includes advising clients in a number of areas including freedom to operate, evaluating patent portfolios and due diligence.
expertise
since joining the firm, hanna has worked in many technical areas of biochemistry/biotechnology including a variety of therapeutics and diagnostics, genetic engineering, and industrial biotech processes. particular areas include antibody and cell-based therapies, aspects of immunology generally, peptide therapeutics, recombinant protein expression, transgenic organisms, vaccines, vectors, biological purifications and separations, nucleic acid manipulations and assays (including isolation, sequencing, amplification, detection, genomic and expression analysis etc), cells (e.g. cell culture, isolation, manipulation, assays etc) and also in related areas such as medical uses of known compounds.
qualifications and memberships
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2023
- european patent attorney, 1992
- uk chartered patent attorney, 1991
- registered trade mark agent, 1991
- fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys (cipa)
higher education
phd, university of kent, biochemistry, 1987
bsc hons (first class), imperial college, biochemistry, 1984
other
many of hanna’s clients are based in scandinavia, which she visits regularly.
hanna was named as a “recommended” patent attorney in the 2018 edition of the legal 500.
in the 2023 edition of the legal 500, a client testimonial stated that: “hanna dzieglewska is a standout partner and probably one of the best patent attorneys that i have ever used. she understands new innovations quickly, in order to grasp the crux of a matter. “
James Hull
mechanical engineering, physics, dispute resolution, designs Email James View profile james hullbackground
after graduating from the university of bristol with a degree in physics, james worked as a patent examiner in the uk intellectual property office for over four years. as part of this role, he searched and examined patent applications in both mechanical and electrical subject matter. james joined dehns in 2006, became an associate in 2012 and was made partner in 2016.
type of clients and client work
james works for clients ranging from individuals up to multinational companies, as well as overseas patent attorneys. james has extensive experience drafting and prosecuting applications in the uk intellectual property office and the european patent office. james also advises on infringement and validity of patents and has dealt with numerous appeals and oppositions before the european patent office.
in addition to patent work, he also files registered design applications and advises on matters of validity and infringement of registered and unregistered designs in the uk and europe.
expertise
james handles patent work in a variety of engineering fields, including aeronautical / aerospace and automotive engineering, materials science, flow control systems, additive manufacturing, power generation, storage and transmission, electrical consumer goods, healthcare products and medical devices.
qualifications and memberships
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2024
- european patent attorney, 2011
- uk chartered patent attorney, 2010
- intellectual property law post-graduate certificate, brunel university, 2007
- fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys
- member of the european patent institute
higher education
bsc, university of bristol, physics 1999
Jennifer Gordon
chemical Email Jennifer View profile jennifer gordonbackground
jennifer is a european and uk chartered patent attorney. she joined dehns in 2008 after graduating from the university of edinburgh with a first class masters degree in chemistry and completing a phd, also at the university of edinburgh, in the field of ruthenium and osmium organometallic complexes.
jennifer became a senior associate of the firm in 2019 and was made partner in 2022.
type of clients and client work
jennifer represents clients ranging from sole-inventors and small companies to multinational corporations. a considerable proportion of her work originates from clients in scandinavia. jennifer has experience in all aspects of patent work including drafting applications, prosecution of uk and european patent applications and can advise on issues such as worldwide filing strategies, patent enforcement and infringement and validity. she also manages the prosecution of international patent portfolios for her clients and regularly takes part in opposition and appeal proceedings before the european patent office.
expertise
jennifer handles work in a diverse range of chemical fields, with particular experience in polymer chemistry. in particular, she has considerable knowledge of inventions relating to the production and application of polyethylene and polypropylene. jennifer’s expertise also extends to technologies such as catalysts, petrochemicals, paints and pharmaceuticals.
qualifications and memberships
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2023
- european patent attorney, 2012
- uk registered patent attorney, 2012
- certificate in ip law, brunel university, 2009
- fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys
- member of european patent institute
- member of the royal society of chemistry
higher education
phd, university of edinburgh, 2009
mchem (first class) university of edinburgh, chemistry, 2005
other
jennifer was recognised as a “rising star” in the 2023 and 2022 edition of managing intellectual property’s ip stars publication.
Jennifer Waters
mechanical engineering, dispute resolution Email Jennifer View profile jennifer watersbackground
jennifer is a qualified uk and european patent attorney. she joined dehns in 2009 having graduated from oxford university with a first class master of engineering degree in materials science. jennifer was made an associate of the firm in 2014, senior associate in 2019 and partner in 2022.
type of clients and client work
jennifer acts for clients of a variety of sizes, from individual inventors, university spin-outs and smes all the way through to multinational corporations. she works with numerous norwegian based clients.
she has experience in drafting new patent applications, prosecuting these applications to grant before the uk and european patent offices, defending and filing epo oppositions, and also handling international patent portfolios.
jennifer has also been involved with litigation before ipec and in norway. jennifer also has extensive experience in providing strategic advice regarding the infringement and validity of patents.
expertise
jennifer’s work involves handling patents in a wide variety of engineering and materials fields, including: combustion engines, beverage dispensers, oil and gas extraction and processing technologies, electroosmotic materials, composites, super alloys and surface microstructures.
qualifications and memberships
- uk chartered patent attorney, 2013
- european patent attorney, 2013
- certificate in ip law, brunel university, 2010
- fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys
- member of the european patent institute
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2024
higher education
meng (first class) materials science, university of oxford, 2009
jennifer’s fourth year research project focused on glazing in water soluble polymer films used to encapsulate consumer products.
other
jennifer was recognised as a “notable practitioner” in the 2023 and 2022 edition of managing intellectual property’s ip stars publication. she has previously been recognised as a “rising star” in the 2019 and 2020 editions.
she was also nominated by her peers as one of the world’s leading patent practitioners in who’s who legal: patents 2016.
John Tothill
electronics, physics, software Email John View profile john tothillbackground
john joined dehns in 1991 and became a partner in 1999. at cambridge he studied physics and materials science with options in electronics, microelectronics and optical materials. in 2017, john was appointed as dehns’ head of engineering, with overall responsibility for the firm’s electronics, it and communications, physical science and materials, and engineering groups.
type of clients and client work
john and his teams are responsible for large patent portfolios for a number of high-technology multinational corporations. this includes drafting patents for new inventions and prosecuting patent applications in the uk, europe, the usa and throughout the world, as well as advising on contentious issues and addressing any validity challenges that arise.
he also has particular interest and experience in assisting and advising smes, new and start-up companies in high technology industries both in the uk and europe. this includes developing intellectual property portfolios, exploiting intellectual property assets and addressing the intellectual property of competitors.
expertise
john drafts and prosecutes patent applications in all areas of high technology, including electronics, microelectronics and microprocessors, computing, software, telecommunications, optics and other physics and engineering fields. john has particular expertise in drafting patents for filing in the usa and in prosecuting patent applications in the usa.
john also regularly advises on infringement and validity of patents in these fields and on related issues, including the exploitation and use of intellectual property rights.
he has also been heavily involved in a number of major telecommunications cases, including litigation of patents concerning the gprs standard and mobile email systems, and has particular experience in advising on patents relating to telecommunications standards and in licensing negotiations relating to patents alleged to be essential to standards.
qualifications and memberships
- uk chartered patent attorney, 1996 (awarded strode prize for final examinations)
- european patent attorney, 1996
- professional representative before euipo, 1996
- fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys
- member of the european patent institute
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2024
higher education
ma (first class), cambridge university, natural sciences (physical), 1991
other
john was awarded the strode prize by the chartered institute of patent agents for his performance in the institute’s final examinations.
john was highlighted in the legal 500 2022 edition.
john was also named as a “recommended individual” in both the 2023 and 2024 editions of the juve patent uk rankings.
Joseph Letang
trade marks Email Joseph View profile joseph letangbackground
joseph is a partner in our trade mark group and is a uk chartered trade mark attorney.
having obtained an honours degree in law, joseph joined the firm in 1998 and became a partner in 2009. immediately prior to joining the firm joseph spent two years working for a specialist firm of trade mark attorneys where he trained under the then president of the chartered institute of trade mark attorneys.
joseph is lead partner of the dehns “equality, diversity and inclusion” (edi) group.
type of clients and client work
joseph has experience prosecuting trade mark applications in the eu (eutm), uk and worldwide in all areas of industry for small businesses, multi-national corporations and solicitors with clients who need specialist assistance with trade marks. in addition to obtaining trade mark registrations, including filing applications and dealing with any related official objections/oppositions, joseph advises on searching and clearing trade marks for use, registrability, infringement, passing off and domain name disputes.
expertise
based in our brighton office, joseph regularly assists regional sme clients with various trade mark matters. he also manages global client portfolios in the fields of cosmetics, entertainment, restaurants and engineering.
qualifications and memberships
- uk chartered trade mark attorney, 2001
- member of the chartered institute of trade mark attorneys
- member of the international trademark association
- ip litigator – trade marks, 2018
- ip inclusive committee member (ip & me)
higher education
llb hons, university of wolverhampton, law, 1988
other
joseph is highlighted as a recommended trade mark attorney in the leading legal and ip directories. this has included:
- world trade mark review 1000 report – ranked silver for “individuals: prosecution and strategy” in the 2024 edition. “recommended individual” in the 2022 edition and noted for “receiving high acclaim from peers on the prosecution side”. joseph is “a trademark prosecution maven who capably tends to the needs of regional smes as well as managing the global ip portfolios of heavyweights in the cosmetics, entertainment, restaurants and engineering fields”
- world trademark review’s world’s leading trademark professionals (2021 edition) – joseph “impresses with his “incredibly practical approach and ability to work within budget while getting get the highest level of protection”. “he makes complicated matters straightforward and gives sterling advice for a reasonable fee.”
- the legal 500 directory (2023 & 2024 edition) – named as a “key lawyer” of the firm. a client in the 2023 edition commented: “joseph letang is my main contact and i am always impressed.”
- the legal 500 directory (2020 edition) – named as a “key lawyer” of the firm. joseph also received a testimonial stating: “joseph letang is brilliant at turning things around quickly for registrations, and giving pre-registration advice that is clear, concise and easily understandable.”
- mip ip stars (2023 edition) – “trade mark star”
- mip ip stars (2022 edition) – “trade mark star”
- mip ip stars (2021 edition) – “trade mark star”
- mip ip stars (2020 edition) – “trade mark star”
- mip’s ip stars (2019 edition) – “trade mark star”
- mip’s ip stars (2018 edition) – “global ip star”
- legal 500 directory (2017 edition) – “recommended attorney” and as a “key lawyer” every year since then, including the most recent 2022 edition.
- mip’s ip stars (2016 edition) – “notable partner” and highlighted for his work in “filing and prosecution”, “oppositions and appeals”, and “strategy & counselling”. in the previous edition it was stated that: “joseph letang is a name that stands out at the firm. “he is able to offer practical and concise advice,” says a client. “he is very personable and we were really pleased with the service he provided.””
- world trade mark review (2016 edition) – singled out for providing: “…commercially astute guidance to his clients, including many small and medium-sized enterprises (smes) in southern england.” in the 2015 edition it stated: “joseph letang maintains a worldwide prosecution practice across myriad industries, although cosmetics and communications are particular strongholds.”
joseph is a former elected member of the general council of chartered institute of trade mark attorneys (citma), where he represented citma at uk business conferences, small business advice days and at the annual international trade mark association (inta) conference in the us. joseph currently assists citma in providing pro-bono advice to sme businesses at citma’s regular clinics.
he has been published more than once in a q&a section in the financial times on trade marks, and was also published in relation to madrid protocol filings in the trade journal ‘trademark world’.
as lead partner in the firm’s equality, diversity and inclusion (edi) group, joseph plays a significant role in developing and implementing firm-wide edi policy and initiatives.
watch the video below to see how joseph worked with the ace cafe brand. over the last ten years, the ace cafe brand has gone global, and joseph has worked with them to help build, grow and protect their uk and overseas ip portfolio.
Katherine Mabey
mechanical engineering, designs, dispute resolution Email Katherine View profile katherine mabeybackground
katherine joined dehns in 1999, having graduated from oxford university with a first class honours degree in physics. she became a partner in 2011 and handles patent work in various fields including physics and telecommunications. she also handles design work.
type of clients and client work
based in the brighton office, katherine drafts and prosecutes patent applications in a diverse range of fields of physics and engineering, including satellite navigation systems, packaging, oil drilling systems, personal care articles and medical devices. she also advises on infringement and validity of patents in the above fields, and handles design work. she has particular experience in oppositions and appeals before the european patent office. her clients range from large us multinational companies to smes and overseas patent attorneys.
expertise
katherine handles patent work in the physics, engineering and electronics fields, as well as design work. she has considerable experience of handling opposition and appeal work before the european patent office.
qualifications and memberships
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2023
- uk registered patent attorney, 2002 (awarded gill prize for first place overall and strode prize in practice paper)
- chartered patent attorney
- european patent attorney, 2002
- certificate in ip law, university of london, 2000
higher education
ma, university of oxford, physics (first class), 1999
other
in 2003 katherine was awarded the gill prize by the chartered institute of patent agents for achieving first place in the final examinations, and the strode prize for the top performance in the practice paper.
Kerry Bridge
mechanical engineering, trade marks, designs Email Kerry View profile kerry bridgebackground
kerry is a qualified uk and european patent attorney and is also a european trade mark and design attorney. she joined dehns in 2003 and became a partner in 2020. prior to this, she worked for two years at a large patent law firm in osaka, japan where she gained training and experience in the prosecution of patents under japanese, u.s. and european patent law.
kerry qualified as a european patent attorney in 2007 and as a uk patent attorney in 2008. when qualifying as a uk patent attorney, she was awarded the ballantyne prize by the chartered institute of patent attorneys for obtaining the highest marks in the infringement and validity final examination. kerry was made partner in 2020.
type of clients and client work
kerry has extensive experience in drafting and prosecuting patent applications before the uk intellectual property office, the european patent office and the us patent and trademark office. based permanently in the munich office, she regularly attends hearings at the european patent office. she is also fluent in both english and german.
expertise
kerry handles patent work in a variety of engineering fields including materials science, aeronautical/aerospace engineering, tissue technology, oil drilling systems, software, telecommunication networks, optical technology and medical devices.
qualifications and memberships
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2023
- uk chartered patent attorney, 2008 (awarded the ballantyne prize for first place in the infringement and validity paper)
- european patent attorney, 2007
- certificate in ip law, university of london, 2005 (with credit)
- fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys
- member of the european patent institute
- member of the patentanwaltskammer, germany
- registered trade mark agent (ireland), 2021
- european trade mark attorney, 2021
- european design attorney, 2021
higher education
phd, manchester university, polymer science and technology, specialising in the development of biosensors for the quantification of blood glucose for diabetic patients, 2001
bsc (hons), umist, biomedical materials science, 1997
Laura Ramsay
mechanical engineering, physics, dispute resolution, consulting Email Laura View profile laura ramsaybackground
laura is a european and uk patent attorney and an authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc). she is recognised in the legal 500 by her clients as being both innovative and practical in her approach.
laura graduated from the university of cambridge with a first class master of science degree in physics and materials science.
she joined dehns in 2003 and became a partner of the firm in 2013.
type of clients and client work
a number of laura’s clients are start-ups or small/medium sized businesses at an early stage. here her focus is on working closely with the client to create an ip strategy that fits with commercial objectives. she advises on background landscape searching, building a useful portfolio of ip rights, ip licensing, and how to deal with third party rights or possible infringements.
she also has many years of experience in working with in-house ip departments. laura understands the internal pressure involved in managing a large patent portfolio, which may originate from multiple r&d sites. she will act responsively to quickly turn around drafting and prosecution work, often dealing directly with inventors to transform an invention disclosure into a patent application.
expertise
laura handles patent work in various fields spanning physics, engineering and materials science, including medical devices, renewable energy, nanomaterials, semiconductors, aerospace engineering, composite materials, process technologies, spectrometry, electromechanical controls and oil/gas exploration. she drafts and prosecutes both uk and european patent applications in these fields.
laura is regularly involved in opposition and appeal proceedings before the european patent office.
she can advise on all aspects of patent and design law including worldwide patent filing strategies, utility model and design registrations, enforcement of patents in europe, ip licensing, and issues of infringement and validity.
qualifications and memberships
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2023
- basic litigation skills course, 2017
- uk chartered patent attorney, 2008
- european patent attorney, 2007
- certificate in ip law, university of london, 2004
- fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys
- member of the european patent institute
- member of ficpi
higher education
ma, msci (hons) physics and materials sciences, university of cambridge, 2003
masters project: “high aspect ratio piezoelectric strontium-bismuth-tantalate nanotubes”, journal of physics: condensed matter, 15 (2003), l527-l532.
other
laura has been recognised in the 2024 edition of the iam patent 1000, where she was complimented on being a “business-savvy practitioner who excels when working with early-stage companies in need of clear strategic advice that will set them up for success.”
laura was also recently named as a “recommended individual” for mechanics, process and mechanical engineering, in the 2024 edition of the juve patent uk rankings.
she was listed as a “key lawyer” of the firm in 2022 and 2023 editions of the legal 500.
laura was singled out in the 2018 edition of the legal 500 directory for her work with isansys lifecare regarding the granting of a patent for its wireless cardiac monitoring device ‘lifetouch sensor’.
watch the short video below on the advantages that conceptomed, a norwegian company, experienced working with laura and using a uk patent attorney.
Louise Golding
chemical Email Louise View profile louise goldingbackground
louise joined dehns in 1990 after graduating from the university of oxford where she obtained an honours degree in natural sciences (chemistry). her studies at oxford included a year’s research in quantum physics. louise became a partner in 2002 and head of the chemical group in 2020.
type of clients and client work
louise handles patent work in all areas of chemistry including pharmaceuticals, medical methods and devices, nutraceuticals, oil and gas technology, and polymers. her clients range from universities and start-ups to multi-national corporations. she has many long term clients in scandinavia, in particular in norway.
expertise
louise has considerable experience in patent drafting for a number of direct clients and routinely provides advice on ip strategy. she also has many years of experience in handling worldwide prosecution of patents in a diverse range of chemical fields, but especially in the area of pharmaceuticals. for several clients her work also involves the preparation of due diligence reports for potential investors and providing advice on freedom-to-operate issues.
qualifications and memberships
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2023
- basic litigation skills course, 2017
- uk chartered patent attorney, 1995
- european patent attorney, 1995
- fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys
- member of the european patent institute
- certificate in ip law, queen mary college, university of london
higher education
ma, natural sciences (chemistry), university of oxford, 1990
other
louise was mentioned in the legal 500 2022 edition.
Marcus Grunert
mechanical engineering, physics, software, trade marks, designs Email Marcus View profile marcus grunertbackground
marcus is a german and european patent attorney, and also a european trade mark and design attorney. he began his legal career in 1990, working as patent counsel in the ip department of linde, the now american-german multinational gas and chemicals company. his practice covers all areas of patent and trade mark law.
after qualifying as a european and german patent attorney at a mid-size law firm, marcus co-founded kudlek grunert & partner, a german firm of patent and trade mark attorneys, in 2000, and joined dehns as a partner following the merger of the two firms in 2021.
type of clients and client work
marcus drafts and prosecutes patent applications before the epo and the german patent and trademark office, as well as providing expert opinions and advice on patents, utility models, trade marks, copyright and designs. he advises on ip strategy and due diligence, in addition to litigation and arbitration. he also has significant expertise in the fields of employee invention law and computer implemented inventions.
marcus works with clients of all size, from local and domestic smes in munich and germany, to multinationals in germany, the us, china and japan.
expertise
marcus’ experience includes automotive technology, optics and microscopy, energy generation, heat exchangers and methods of joining and coating material, software applications, and medical technology.
he also has extensive knowledge in the fields of licensing, employee invention law and software inventions.
qualifications and memberships
- german patent attorney, 1998
- european patent attorney, 1995
- european trade mark and design attorney, 1998
- chamber of german patent attorneys
- european patent institute
- international federation of intellectual property attorneys
- german association for the protection of intellectual property
- association of intellectual property experts (vpp)
- licensing executives society (les)
higher education
dipl. phys (physics diploma/degree) – ludwig-maximilians university, munich, 1990
- core topics: biophysics, laser physics and superconductivity
- diploma thesis in the field of medical optics
other
marcus is fluent in german and english and has good knowledge of french and spanish.
marcus will be attending the inta 2025 annual meeting in san diego, usa from the 17th – 21st may 2025. please contact marcus if you would like to organise a meeting.
Mark Bell
mechanical engineering, physics, software, consulting, designs Email Mark View profile mark bellbackground
mark is a qualified uk and european patent attorney. he joined dehns in 2007 having graduated from oxford university with a first class master of physics degree in 2003 and having completed a dphil in high energy particle physics, also at oxford university. he was made an associate of the firm in 2013, senior associate in 2019 and partner in 2022.
type of clients and client work
mark acts for clients of a variety of sizes, from start-ups, university spin-outs and smes all the way through to multinational corporations, with a particular focus on small and medium sized technology companies for whom their patent portfolios are one of their major assets.
he has experience in drafting new patent applications, prosecuting these applications to grant before the uk and european patent offices, and also handling international patent portfolios. he also files registered designs in the uk and europe, as well as providing strategic advice regarding the infringement and validity of patents and designs.
mark regularly advises clients on ip strategy and due diligence, and has performed a number of reviews of patent portfolios, both for smes and investors. he has also undertaken a number of analytics and investigation projects, advising clients on patent landscaping and competitor filing strategies.
expertise
mark’s work involves handling patents in a wide variety of high-tech engineering and physics fields, including: quantum computing, graphics processing, nuclear fusion, satellite technology, telecommunications, solid state lighting, pressure regulation, construction, water oxygenation, nuclear decommissioning and medical devices.
qualifications and memberships
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2023
- basic litigation skills course, 2017
- uk chartered patent attorney, 2012
- european patent attorney, 2011
- certificate in ip law, brunel university, 2008
- fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys
- member of the european patent institute
- associate member of the institute of physics
higher education
dphil, particle physics, university of oxford, 2007
mphys (first class) physics, university of oxford, 2003
mark’s dphil research involved studying the decay of sub-atomic particles (charm and beauty mesons decaying semi-leptonically to electrons) in the large scale zeus detector on the hera electron-proton accelerator at the desy laboratory in hamburg.
other
mark was recently recognised in the iam patent 1000 2024 edition, as “another talented physicist whose sage advice, clear communication and superb problem-solving capabilities make him a hit with companies diverse in both size and sector.”
mark was also recognised in the iam patent 1000 2023 edition, with feedback from peers and clients noting: “we have worked with mark for over 10 years, and he has successfully prosecuted patents for us in a number of jurisdictions. mark has been eminently competent, capable, approachable and personable at all times. he is very knowledgeable and can provide good advice as needed. his service is consistently diligent. mark is reliable, informed and an excellent communicator, and has demonstrated himself to be eminently capable of constructively addressing any challenge.”
mark was recognised as a “notable practitioner” in the 2023 and 2022 edition of managing intellectual property’s ip stars publication. mark has previously been recognised as a “rising star” in the 2018, 2019 and 2020 editions of the publication. he has also been recommended in the 2017 edition of the legal 500 directory, where he was singled out for his “ability to understand novel new physics related inventions and quickly transpose them into a clear and understandable documents, ready for patent filing”. mark was again singled out in the 2018 edition for his work with the us lighting products company cree on its european patent applications.
mark has has retained the position of “key lawyer” of the firm in the 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 editions of the legal 500.
in the 2023 edition of the legal 500, one of his clients commented: “we work with mark bell, who has looked after our ip portfolio for nearly 10 years now. he is always very responsive, thoughtful and communicative.”
on the back of mark’s article “obtaining patents for artificial intelligence and machine learning in europe”, published in november 2018, mark was contacted by the american bar association (aba) and invited to give a talk to their members on “patenting artificial intelligence (ai) in europe”; the feedback he received from the webinar participants was all “excellent”.
recent client testimonials include:
‘mark bell is a phenomenal patent attorney; a technical expert in physics with a deep understanding of ip matters makes him a unique capability as i would label him as a scientist first who understands the intricacies of the law, rather than an attorney who knows some technical stuff.’ – the legal 500
‘mark bell is an excellent attorney with a solid grasp of the technical subject matter underlying our inventions and products. they provide comprehensive advice on how to navigate matters at hand.’ – the legal 500
‘mark bell: clarity of communications is first-rate. i value their responsiveness and commitment to providing value to our clients. i am also appreciative of their willingness and availability to discuss matters by phone upon request.’ – the legal 500
mark is a prolific writer of technology and ip articles, in addition to him featuring in numerous dehns podcasts. see below for his articles and podcasts.
Matthew Hall
mechanical engineering, designs Email Matthew View profile matthew hallbackground
matt is a uk chartered patent attorney and a european patent attorney.
having graduated from the university of oxford with a ba (hons) in metallurgy and science of materials, and with an msc in the management of intellectual property from queen mary college, university of london, matt joined dehns in 1992 and became a partner in 2007. he handles patent work in a variety of engineering fields and also advises on registered and unregistered design rights for a wide range of client products.
type of clients and client work
matt has extensive experience in protecting inventions for private individuals and small enterprises. he has been a regular advisor to startup companies at the oslo innovation centre and has assisted oxford university with several spin-outs and projects. his practice includes a wide collection of small enterprises, as well as working for a number of large multi-national corporations in a variety of industry sectors. he has extensive experience in drafting and prosecuting patent applications, and is regularly involved in oppositions and appeals. he also regularly advises on infringement and validity situations, is involved in due diligence and freedom to operate analysis and reports during company acquisitions, as well as advising clients in relation to patent and design landscapes. he works with clients who just need a reliable pair of hands for filing and prosecution through to clients who need a fully-involved hands-on approach to developing their ip protection and commercially exploiting their products in active markets.
expertise
matt handles a wide range of patent and design work across various engineering sectors including the fields of construction, automotive, oil/gas, robotic warehousing, safety equipment, finance, lighting, entertainment, and medical devices. much of his work is in the aeronautical industry in relation to gas turbine engines, landing gear, braking systems, fuselage, aircraft control systems actuators, as well as aircraft materials. his expertise in materials includes composite materials and fittings for composite members, nano-particle and graphene based developments, films and surface coatings, laser modified materials, new alloys and thermal barrier coatings. a substantial part of his work also concerns automated warehousing systems and robotic devices for use in the construction industry, gas cut-off valves, medical devices, riser and drilling systems, surface technologies and coatings, land and water-based vehicle developments, laser devices and laser-fabricated products, display systems, as well as linkage and gear systems.
qualifications and memberships
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2023
- uk chartered patent attorney, 1997
- european patent attorney, 1997
- fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys
higher education
ba hons, university of oxford, metallurgy and science of materials, 1991
msc, university of london, management of intellectual property, 1992
other
matt was mentioned in the 2020 edition of the legal 500 as a “key lawyer” of the firm.
Moritz Frommberger
biotechnology, chemical, trade marks Email Moritz View profile moritz frommbergerbackground
after several years of post-doctorate work in analytical chemistry, moritz began his training as a patent attorney in 2008. he became a german patent attorney and european trade mark and design attorney in 2011 and a european patent attorney in 2012. he is a partner in dehns.
type of clients and client work
the majority of moritz’ clients are multinational corporations and small/medium sized companies. he advises on all aspects of the patent process, including drafting applications, prosecution in multiple jurisdictions, post-grant proceedings and patent infringement and enforcement matters. an important part of his work includes performing and evaluating patent searches and providing opinions on patentability and freedom to operate.
moritz has significant experience acting on behalf of clients in oral proceedings before the german patent and trade mark office, the german federal patent court, german infringement courts and the european patent office.
expertise
moritz works in a broad range of technical fields with a focus on chemical engineering and analytic devices. his expertise includes oil and gas processing such as thermal and catalytic cracking, new synthesis pathways based on oxidative catalytic processes, air separation technology, mass spectrometry, proteomics and microscopy. he also works in the fields of food processing and analysis and agriculture including chemical and mechanical plant protection.
qualifications and memberships
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2023
- european patent attorney, 2012
- german patent attorney, 2011
- european trade mark and design attorney, 2011
- chamber of german patent attorneys
- european patent institute
- international federation of intellectual property attorneys
higher education
dr. rer. nat (phd), technische universität münchen, 2005, with a doctoral thesis on capillary separation techniques coupled to mass spectrometry for complex samples.
dipl.-biol. (msc in biology), technische universität münchen, 2002, with a thesis on nutritional biochemistry of cellulose-digesting arthropods.
other
during and after his phd, moritz worked as a researcher at helmholtz zentrum münchen in the field of high-performance separation technology and ultrahigh resolution mass spectrometry. he (co)authored approximately 40 peer-reviewed publications in scientific journals and textbooks.
moritz is fluent in german and english.
Neil Campbell
chemical, dispute resolution Email Neil View profile neil campbellbackground
neil is a european and uk chartered patent attorney. he graduated with a first class honours degree from the university of oxford, in natural sciences (chemistry). his degree included a year of research in sugar chemistry. he joined dehns in 1995, was made a partner in 2003, and handles patent work in a wide range of chemical fields.
type of clients and client work
neil handles patent work for a variety of clients, from sole-inventors and small start-up companies to large multinational corporations. he provides patent drafting, filing, international prosecution and strategic ip portfolio advice. he is also a regular traveller to munich and the hague where he represents his clients before the opposition division and appeal board at the epo. neil regularly handles 10 to 15 such hearings every year.
expertise
neil handles work in various technical fields, with particular expertise in polymer chemistry, especially in polyethylene and polypropylene manufacture and formulation. he also has considerable experience in the drafting and prosecution of pharmaceutical patents. other fields in which neil works include: marine paints, chewing gum, graphene and nutraceuticals.
qualifications and memberships
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2024
- uk chartered patent attorney, 1999
- european patent attorney, 1999
- fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys
- member of the european patent institute
higher education
ba (first class) university of oxford, natural sciences (chemistry), 1995
certificate in ip law, university of london, 1996
other
neil was recognised as a “patent star” in the 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 editions of managing intellectual property’s ip stars directory.
Paul Harris
dispute resolution Email Paul View profile paul harrisbackground
paul is a solicitor, partner and head of litigation at dehns, having joined the firm in 2021. his 38 years’ experience covers the range of contentious and non-contentious intellectual property matters. paul’s litigation practice incorporates ukipo appeals and cases before the business & property courts of england & wales (patents court; ipec), and the court of appeal (civil); while his litigation experience and tactical expertise is called upon in cases currently before the upc.
paul’s experience extends across a range of technologies, incorporating, inter alia, complex chemical, electronics and mechanical. he successfully defended black & decker in a patent action brought by electrolux, the outcome of which led to changes in the patents court guidelines on experiments and expert’s reports. he was involved in the erythropoietin litigation (kirin amgen); and stent litigation (boston scientific); and acted for the defendant in icescape v ice-world international, at first instance and on appeal – the first case to provide guidance on the application of the doctrine of equivalents following the decision in actavis v eli lilly.
paul is known for his trade mark practice (registered and unregistered). he successfully litigated the first case under the trade marks act 1994 (wagamama ltd v city centre restaurants plc). more recently, he was involved in the extended passing off case: fage v chobani, and successfully steered longstanding client, stanley black & decker, inc., in a trade mark infringement/ jurisdictional battle involving a former distributor (the black & decker corporation v dvize).
paul handled the dyson v strutt litigation, relating to misuse of confidential information: the same action laid down guidance on the important issue of common costs recovery. he led the successful team in the first conference v bracchi case, which included executing an interlocutory search and seizure order against the defendant.
paul’s expertise in non-contentious ip matters is called upon by domestic and international clients alike. he provides corporate support, strategic advice and innovative solutions across all aspects of ip, including programmes for registration in overseas jurisdictions; patent analysis and assessment; negotiation and licensing arrangements (incorporating multi-national and cross-licensing and co-existence agreements); and due diligence on the sale of businesses. paul notably played a part in the £2 billion sale to du pont of ici’s film business. paul also deals with the copyright and design rights, and has acted for a management buy-out team in relation to computer software and hardware.
paul has lectured on patents, trade marks and confidential information. well-known domestically and internationally, he has been invited to speak at conferences across the uk, europe, the usa and the middle east. he has, since 1995, been privileged to teach aspects of trade mark law on the intellectual property diploma course at the university of oxford. in addition, paul has written extensively on ip matters, and been published widely, particularly on patent and trade mark-related issues.
representative matters
- ocean on land technology (uk) limited (2) caribbean sustainable fisheries corp v northbay innovations limited & ors [2024] ewhc 396 (ipec) – multi-layered satellite litigation to determine issues of admissibility of evidence of fact in respect, variously, of misrepresentation and without prejudice material under the oceanbulk exception.
- ensygnia ip limited -v- shell international petroleum company limited & ors [2023] ewhc 1495 (pat) – trial of a patent infringement action concerning a mobile payment system and barcode/ qr code technology.
- yeti coolers llc -v- yetigel international sa bl o/1128/22 – appeal to the appointed person of a hearing officer’s denial of a retrospective application for an extension of time in which to effect service, thereby signalling revocation, where the factual circumstances were affected by both the pandemic and by brexit.
- wineapp ltd v johnson [2022] ewhc 620 (ch) – appeal to the high court of the hearing officer’s first instance decision.
- horsham nutraceuticals ltd & anor v manna pro products llc [2019] ewhc 1935 (ch)
- icescape ltd v ice-world international bv and ors [2017] ewhc 42 (pat), and [2018] ewca civ 2219 – patent validity and infringement decisions in which the court of appeal decided on the application of g2/98 same invention concerning priority date, and applied the doctrine of equivalence following the uk supreme court’s decision in actavis uk ltd v eli lilly & c0.
- the black & decker corporation v dvize bv [2017] 3387 (ch)
- icescape v ice-world international & ors [2017] ewhc 42 (pat)
- fage uk ltd v chobani uk ltd [2014] ewca 5, and [2013] ewhc 3755 (ch) – extended passing off action relating to yogurt.
- credit suisse v arabian aircraft & equipment leasing co [2013] ewca civ 1169 on appeal from ec (2013) – ltl qbd (comm) (judge mackie qc) 24/04/2013 2013 ewhc 1094 (comm) – summary judgment application concerning aircraft finance and lease back agreement, considering analogous nature of leases and mortgages, the court of appeal confirmed the claimant could not change their case based on a skeleton argument in the absence of first amending their pleadings.
- dyno holdings ltd & anor v dialarod home cover & ors [2013] ewpcc 8 – trade mark infringement
- future publishing v edge interactive media – amendment to court order, february 2013
- consumer focus tm – trade mark opposition – ukipo/decision: o-359-12
- fage uk ltd & anor v chobani uk ltd & anor [2013] ewhc 630 (ch) – interim relief and permission for survey evidence, december 2012
- first conferences services ltd v bracchi & ors [2009] ewhc 2176 (ch) – breach of confidence
- schrieber tm – trade mark opposition – ukipo/decision: o-115-09
- dyson technology ltd v strutt [2007] ewhc 1756 – costs orders
- the black & decker corporation v ohim (joined cases t-239/05; t-240/05; t-245/05; t-247/05; t-255/05; t-274/05 – t-280/05; atlas copco ab ecli: eu: t: 2017)
- dyson technology ltd v strutt [2005] ewhc 2814 (ch) – misuse of confidential information/restrictive covenant, november 2005
- philips domestic appliances & personal care bv v salton europe ltd (part 20 claim v electrical & electronic ltd) – [2004] ewhc 2092 (ch) software in respect of coffee makers – this case has now become the leading authority on what constitutes “authorisation” of one entity by another to instigate infringement
- yellow and black trade mark application in name of black & decker – appeal from tm registry, 2004
- black & decker v. alm manufacturing – lawn edge trimmer technology, 2003
- amey vectra ltd. v. vectra n. jones and others – misuse of confidential information, 2002
- n.c. trade mark application vitality, 2000
- r.a. technology v. a.e.a. technology – breach of fiduciary duty, copyright infringement, malicious falsehood, 1998
- boston scientific v. johnson & johnson – stents (cardiography technology), 1997
- route 66 & device in name of andre and mairade levy – trade mark opposition, 1997
- electrolux northern v. black & decker – lawnmowers (suck and hover), 1996
- wagamama v city centre restaurants plc [1995] fsr 713 (ch.d)
- inadine tm [1992] rpc 421
memberships
- international trademark association (inta), committee member
- international association for the protection of intellectual property, uk council member
- chartered institute of patent attorneys
- chartered institute of trade mark attorneys
- royal society of chemistry
other
paul has been regularly highlighted and acknowledged as a leading ip expert in various leading legal and ip directories. this has included:
- who’s who legal – “recommended individual” in the 2024 edition.
- iam patent 1000 2024 edition – recognised as “immensely experienced at steering disputes through to a successful close for his following. he is a fierce advocate who has a fine-grained understanding of the law and procedure, and masterfully coordinates global disputes.”
- iam patent 1000 – noted as ““a tenacious and strategic disputer, harris secured a major win on behalf of a patron in the aerospace industry last year.” – 2023
- world trade mark review 1000 – ranked in 2024and 2022 edition, noted as “a major boon to dehns’ contentious offering”.
- wtr trademark 1000 – the world’s leading trade mark practitioners – 2021 & 2020
- the legal 500 uk (intellectual property: trade marks, copyright and design) – 2021
- managing intellectual property, ip stars – ranked in trade marks and patents – 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020 & 2019
- iam patent 1000 (bronze) for patent litigation – 2020 & 2019
- chambers uk 2019 (intellectual property) – 2019
- who’s who legal – listed as “recommended” – 2022
“solicitor paul harris is a senior member of the litigation team, with the skill to take over and turn around cases in which adverse decisions have been handed down for other firms.” – world trademark review 1000, 2021
‘all-sector solicitor paul harris is a “thoroughly straightforward person who manages to get right into the issues that need to be addressed – he responds quickly, works within budgets and is always easy to understand”.’ – client testimonial, iam patent 1000 (bronze) for patent litigation – 2020
‘paul harris is an outstanding litigator with years of experience and a thoroughly pragmatic approach. he leaves no stone unturned getting the right result for his clients.’ – legal 500
Philip Webber
biotechnology Email Philip View profile philip webberbackground
after obtaining a degree in natural sciences (genetics) from cambridge university and a phd in molecular biology from warwick university, philip joined dehns in 1992. he is a qualified uk and european patent attorney, and a partner in dehns’ biotechnology and life sciences group.
type of clients and client work
philip’s work is largely with start-ups, small/medium size companies and universities with inventions in the pharmaceutical or biotechnological fields. he has over 25 years’ experience in dealing with the issues which are important to such entities, such as the financial constraints of start-ups, the need to develop ip strategies for a company’s products and the pressures upon academics to publish their work.
philip’s work involves writing and filing patent applications, and getting them granted for his clients all around the world. he has particular expertise in obtaining european patents (including dealing with epo opposition and appeal procedures) and us patents. he also provides advice on ip landscapes and freedom to operate (fto) advice on competitors’ patents.
expertise
using his background in molecular biology, philip deals with patents and formulates ip strategies in all pharmaceutical and biotechnological fields, including recombinant dna and protein products, antibodies, biosimilars, transgenic plants and animals, bioinformatics, stem cells, biofuels, diagnostics assays, therapeutic treatments, virology and vaccines.
he has particular expertise in antibody patents having worked one day/week as an “in-house” patent attorney with a therapeutic antibody company for 2 years. during that time, he helped to develop their world-wide ip strategy for protecting their newly-developed targets, monoclonals and adcs.
philip also worked one day/month for 2 years as an “in-house” patent attorney with another of his clients, a biofuels company which uses advanced fermentation technology to produce biobutanol. his close relationship with them allowed him to understand their commercial strategy better, and to ensure that the patent applications that he wrote for them satisfied the requirements of that commercial strategy.
more recently, he has been involved in the patenting of a number of crispr/cas9-based inventions and recombinant vaccines.
qualifications and memberships
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2023
- european patent attorney, 1997
- uk chartered patent attorney, 2001
- fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys (cipa)
- cipa life sciences committee member, 2001-2016
- member of the european patent institute (epi)
- basic litigation skills course, 2017
higher education
ma, natural sciences (genetics), university of cambridge (uk), 1988
phd, molecular biology, warwick university (uk), 1992
certificate in intellectual property law, queen mary college, london, 1993
other
philip featured in who’s who legal as a “recommended individual” in the 2024 edition.
philip was also recently mentioned in the patent 1000 iam 2024 edition as “another valuable partner to biotechnology companies” collaborating “closely with his clients throughout the prosecution lifecycle to devise successful strategies that will secure a broad scope of protection and build valuable portfolios.”
in the patent 1000 iam 2023 edition, philip was recognised for his phd in molecular biology, “making him a smart choice for clients in the pharmaceutical and biotech spaces.”
in 2018 philip provided a chapter for the highly acclaimed “gene editing and engineering” book, edited by krishnareo appasani. as one of the leading global patent experts in this field, philip was asked to write the chapter on “patenting of crispr-based inventions”.
philip was highlighted in the iam patent 1000: the world’s leading patent professionals 2019 edition: “philip webber specialises in helping small and medium-sized pharmaceutical enterprises get off the ground; his expertise extends to cutting-edge technologies, including crispr and recombinant vaccines.” he was also highlighted as a “genetics guru” in the iam patent 1000 2018 ranking tables. he was noted for understanding “the commercial realities of running a business as well as how to decode elaborate legal concepts for laypeople”. philip has also been listed in the 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022 editions of who’s who legal: patents. philip was also named as a ”key figure” in the leaders league 2021 rankings of leading uk patent prosecution firms.
he was also mentioned in the 2020 edition of the legal 500 as a “key lawyer” of the firm.
philip was a member of the life sciences committee of the uk chartered institute of patent attorneys (cipa) from 2001-2016. his work on that committee included reviewing proposed changes to uk and epo patent legislation, and keeping uk patent attorneys updated on changes to biotech patent law and practice worldwide.
in the last 15 years, he has spoken at over 150 european and uk conferences (and on bbc radio) about the patenting of biotechnological inventions, and has published several papers in nature biotechnology and nature reviews, including the following:
webber, pm, “does crispr-cas open new possibilities for patents or present a moral maze?” nature biotechnology (2014), 32:4, 331-333
webber, pm, “protecting your inventions: the patent system” nature reviews drug discovery (2003), 2:10, 823-830
webber, pm, “patent primer: priority applications” nature reviews drug discovery (2005), 4, 877
webber, pm, “patenting of micro-organisms” nature reviews drug discovery (2006), 5, 13
webber, pm, “patenting antibodies” nature reviews drug discovery (2006), 5, 97
recent presentations
“crispr ip: update on the patent wars” (genome editing 2020 meeting, 12th march 2020, st. edmund college, oxford, uk).
“patenting your inventions” (medici enterprise training programme, 16th january 2020, birmingham university, uk).
“patenting biotech inventions” (biotechnology for non-biotechnologists conference, 25th-27th september 2019, london, uk).
watch the short video below on how philip assisted green biologics in using their ip to leverage finance, after drafting and filing their first patent applications relating to the genetic engineering of bacteria to make butanol.
Philippa Power
mechanical engineering Email Philippa View profile philippa powerbackground
philippa is a chartered uk and european patent attorney, with a masters of engineering degree from the university of cambridge. philippa initially joined dehns in 1996, and qualified as a chartered patent attorney in 2001.
philippa handles patent work in a variety of engineering fields, and was made a partner in 2023.
type of clients and client work
philippa acts for clients of all sizes, ranging from individuals to multinationals. this work includes drafting and prosecuting patent applications in the uk and europe and handling international patent portfolios. she also has experience in advising clients on patenting strategy and providing infringement and validity opinions.
on the contentious side, philippa has significant experience of opposition and appeal proceedings at the european patent office.
expertise
philippa handles work in various engineering sectors including construction, oil/gas, renewable energy, aerospace engineering, electromechanical controls, medical devices and naval architecture. much of her work is in the aeronautical industry in relation to gas turbine engines, aircraft control systems and composite materials.
she also has experience in registered design work, including advising on filing strategies and then filing applications in the uk and europe as well as other countries around the world.
qualifications and memberships
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2023
- uk registered patent attorney, 2001
- european patent attorney, 2000
- basic litigation skills course, 2018
- certificate in ip law, university of london, 1996
- fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys
- member of the european patent institute
higher education
meng, university of cambridge, 1996
Phillip Price
biotechnology Email Phillip View profile phillip pricebackground
phillip is a european patent attorney and a uk chartered patent attorney. he joined dehns in 2006 after graduating from the university of oxford with a masters degree in molecular and cellular biochemistry. phillip handles a diverse range of work in the biotechnology and life sciences fields and was made a partner in 2023.
type of clients and client work
the majority of phillip’s clients are small/medium sized companies and technology transfer offices. he appreciates that his clients require clear advice that is genuinely relevant to their particular commercial situation. he advises on all aspects of the patent process and actively manages global patent portfolios.
he has particular experience in developing ipr portfolios and ip strategies from scratch. this initially involves working closely with each client to identify their patentable inventions. he enjoys drafting and guiding patent applications through examination to secure robust, useful patent protection in the markets of interest to his clients.
phillip also handles freedom to operate issues, monitors and challenges competitor patents, advises on patent infringement and enforcement issues and handles post-grant proceedings at the epo.
he works with both r&d-based companies and scientific service providers with innovative technologies. his clients include companies in both the pharmaceutical and medical device sectors. phillip represents a number of smes whose income streams depend heavily on the licensing of patent-protected technologies, so he appreciates the commercial importance of obtaining high-quality patents.
expertise
phillip handles a diverse range of inventions in the biotechnology field, from a variety of human and animal therapies to transgenic microorganisms and industrial biotech processes. areas of particular experience include biomaterials, biologics, drug discovery assays, diagnostics, blue biotech, oncology, glycobiology and synthetic biology. he also works with a number of innovative companies in the fields of cosmetics, nutraceuticals and human and animal nutrition.
qualifications and memberships
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2023
- uk chartered patent attorney, 2010
- european patent attorney, 2010
- certificate in ip law, brunel university, 2007
- fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys
- member of the european patent institute
higher education
mbioch, molecular and cellular biochemistry, 2006, university of oxford
other
phillip was recognised as a “notable practitioner” in the 2023 and 2022 edition of managing intellectual property’s ip stars publication. phillip has previously been recognised as a “rising star” in the 2018, 2019 and 2020 editions of the publication.
many of phillip’s clients are based in scandinavia. he is a frequent visitor to aleap, norway healthtech and the oslo cancer cluster.
phillip is a regular contributor of articles to the dehns website. see below for his articles on a wide range of ip and biotechnology topics and issues.
Rebecca Gardner
biotechnology, consulting Email Rebecca View profile rebecca gardnerbackground
rebecca joined the firm in 1994, having graduated with an honours degree in biochemistry from bristol university, and became a partner in 2002.
type of clients and client work
rebecca’s practice is focused on portfolio development for sme’s, drafting and prosecuting their patent applications as well as advising on related transactions and commercial strategy. she also handles contentious matters, defending granted rights in epo proceedings and advising on infringement of those patents; on the other side of the fence, she advises on the monitoring and impact on her clients’ activities of third party rights.
experience obtained through worldwide prosecution of numerous patent families enables rebecca to advise in filing and examination strategies and draft specifications with multiple jurisdictions in mind.
expertise
rebecca has been involved with innovations in the fields of pharmaceutical and veterinary science, agroscience, human and animal nutrition, cosmetics, microbiology and virology and research and analytical tools. more specifically, she has drafted and prosecuted patent applications for newly identified genes and proteins, for techniques of nucleic acid isolation, manipulation and characterisation, to novel medical uses of known compounds and developments in disease diagnosis, to wood preservative formulations, therapeutically relevant peptides, genetically modified microorganisms and modified viruses and stem cell technology.
qualifications and memberships
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2024
- uk chartered patent attorney (1999)
- european patent attorney (1998)
- fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys
- european patent institute
- menber of aippi
- director of pamia
- certificate in ip law, queen mary college, university of london
higher education
- bsc (hons), bristol university, biochemistry including options in molecular genetics and physiology, 1993
other
rebecca was mentioned in the 2020 edition of the legal 500 as a “key lawyer” of the firm.
rebecca often receives high praise from her clients, such as the comment below from one of her norwegian clients:
“dear rebecca,
again, thank you for your enthusiasm, comments and swift service during our finalizing discussions regarding (company x). i believe those last ‘turns’ in the discussion improved the final outcome quite a lot.”
Robert Jackson
mechanical engineering, physics, software, dispute resolution, designs Email Robert View profile robert jacksonbackground
rob is a uk chartered patent attorney, a european patent attorney, a patent attorney litigator and an authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc).
having graduated from the university of durham with a bsc in physics, rob joined dehns in 1990 and became a partner in 2001. he handles patent work in a variety of engineering fields as well as design and industrial copyright matters.
in addition to his physics degree, rob also holds the certificate in intellectual property law from queen mary college, university of london, and the degree of master of laws and a postgraduate certificate in patent litigation, both from nottingham law school.
type of clients and client work
rob handles patent work for clients ranging from individuals and small start-up companies to major multinationals. a large proportion of this work is original patent drafting and advice work for direct clients in the uk, the us and scandinavia.
he also handles patent and design enforcement matters, including litigation in the patents court, ip enterprise court and court of appeal, as well as the opposition divisions and boards of appeal of the european patent office.
technical expertise
rob’s experience covers a diverse range of technical fields, ranging from medical devices to petroleum engineering, the beverage industry, civil engineering and computer security, oil exploration and offshore wind turbines and ultrasound.
he also deals with patent applications in the business/banking sector and has drafted patents for specialist energy trading systems.
qualifications and memberships
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2023
- certificate in ip law, queen mary college, university of london 1991
- uk chartered patent attorney, 1995
- european patent attorney 1995
- patent attorney litigator and commissioner for oaths 2008
- fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys
- member of european patent institute
- member of the american intellectual property lawyers association
higher education
llm (2003) and post-graduate certificate (2004), intellectual property litigation, nottingham law school
bsc, physics, university of durham, 1990
other
rob is active before the unified patent court upc), having already been involved in a number of cases. in particular, he has appeared before the first instance court and the court of appeal, including the oral hearing of the first case to be filed at the paris central division. he is also a member of the cipa upc task force, which supports and promotes the work of chartered patent attorneys before this court.
rob has featured in many of the leading legal and ip directories, including:
- who’s who legal – “recommended individual” in the 2024 edition.
- the 2024 edition of iam patent 1000, where he was complimented on his ability to “advise on a wide array of technologies.” he was recognised for his ability to draft “thorough and thoughtful patent applications that achieve meaningful protection for his patrons’ inventions.”
- the 2023 edition of iam patent 1000, where it was noted that he “is highly knowledgeable on ip matters and can give high-value advice in cases which are outside-the-box. he is a trusted adviser and always delivers high-quality products”. in the iam 2022 edition, rob was highlighted as being one of “the stars of the engineering group” and was noted for “undertaking original drafting for a diverse range of clients across the uk, the us and scandinavia.”
- the legal 500 2022 edition where he was highlighted as a “key lawyer”. he has previously been highlighted as a “notable experienced patent attorney” in the mip ip stars 2019 legal directory.
rob is a long-standing member of the cipa council and member of the media and public relations committee. in his former role of chairman of that committee, he had extensive experience of speaking on ip matters to the media.
rob is often approached to comment on industry issues and has been interviewed on various broadcasting channels such as bbc1, itv, channel 5, radio 4 and radio 5. he has also been quoted in the broadsheet newspapers including the times, the telegraph, the guardian and the financial times as well as numerous trade and industry publications.
he attends the aipla global congress in the us every year.
Stephen Gardiner
physics, electronics, designs Email Stephen View profile stephen gardinerbackground
stephen is a qualified uk and european patent attorney. he joined dehns in 2001 after graduating with a masters degree in physics from the university of oxford and became an associate of the firm in 2008, senior associate in 2018 and partner in 2020.
type of clients and client work
stephen acts for clients of all sizes, ranging from the individuals, through small and medium sized companies up to multinationals and he is mindful of the differing needs of these clients, in particular for smaller clients, fitting ip into a cost-effective strategy for growth. stephen acts for a number of uk and norwegian companies, including start-ups and ttos.
this work includes drafting and filing new patent applications and prosecuting them through to grant. he has experience in handling international patent portfolios for clients in the uk and europe, providing advice on patenting strategy as well as providing infringement and validity opinions.
he also handles registered design work, including advising on filing strategies and then filing applications in the uk and europe as well as other countries around the world.
on the contentious side, stephen has been involved in a number of opposition and appeal proceedings at the european patent office and have also been involved in ip disputes involving patents, registered designs, unregistered design right and copyright, including taking part in mediation.
expertise
stephen handles work in various physics, engineering and computer related fields including electronic and medical devices, signal processing, software, ventilation equipment, renewable energy sources, fuel cells, gas turbines and various automotive and construction technologies.
qualifications and memberships
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2023
- uk chartered patent attorney, 2007
- european patent attorney, 2007
- certificate in ip law, university of london, 2002
- fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys
- member of the european patent institute
- basic litigation skills course, 2017
higher education
mphys, university of oxford, physics, 2001
other
publications:
‘is it patently obvious?’, financial times, may 2014.
‘patent court decision clarifies mental act patentability exclusion’, world intellectual property report, december 2011.
‘quicker trials at lower cost’, sme web, december 2010.
‘no more need to fear patent court costs’, fresh business thinking, november 2010.
‘bringing down the cost of justice’, growth business, october 2010.
Thomas Kudlek
mechanical engineering, physics, dispute resolution, trade marks, designs Email Thomas View profile thomas kudlekbackground
thomas became a patentanwalt (german patent attorney) in 1995 after working for a munich based german law firm, and qualified as a european patent attorney in 1997. he is also a european trade mark and design attorney.
thomas co-founded kudlek, grunert & partner, a german firm of patent and trade mark attorneys, and joined dehns as a partner following the merger of the two firms in 2021 .
his patent work includes mechanical engineering, optics and electrical engineering.
type of clients and client work
thomas’ practice involves all aspects of patent, designs and trade mark law: drafting, filing and prosecuting german and european patent applications, dealing with oppositions and appeals, and registering trade marks and designs. thomas also has in depth expertise in copyright and domain names.
thomas also has expertise in the field of patent litigation and arbitration, and advises in relation to infringement and validity of german patents, whether obtained nationally or at the epo. he also advises on ip strategy and provides advice on due diligence.
most of his clients are large multinationals, including those based in asia, but he also has a number of smaller clients based in germany with whom he enjoys helping expand internationally.
expertise
thomas has technical expertise in fields such as mechanical engineering, automotive technology, electrical engineering optics and photonics. in particular, he has extensive knowledge of automotive technology, especially in automobile body and interior technology, common rail technology and hybrid systems.
qualifications and memberships
- german patent attorney, 1995
- european patent attorney, 1997
- european trade mark and design attorney
- chamber of german patent attorneys
- european patent institute
- international federation of intellectual property attorneys
- international trade mark association
- european communities trademark association
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2024
higher education
- scholarship at the agricultural university of wageningen, the netherlands, 1996
- dipl.phys – ludwig-maximilians university, munich, 1990 (core subjects: solid state physics, laser physics and optics diploma thesis in the field of solid state physics)
other
thomas speaks german, english and french.
thomas has been named as one of ‘germany’s best lawyers’ for patent law in an exclusive ranking published by the handelsblatt in june 2021.
Tim Wilson
electronics, software, physics, consulting, dispute resolution, designs Email Tim View profile tim wilsonbackground
after graduating with a masters degree in mathematics from the university of oxford in 2001, tim spent five years working for sharp corporation, developing new business areas and technologies for the consumer-electronics market. he joined dehns in 2006 to train as a patent attorney and is now a european and uk chartered patent attorney, primarily working in the fields of computer systems, information systems, software, electronics and signal processing. tim was made partner in 2018.
type of clients and client work
tim acts for clients from individual inventors to multinationals, but has a particular interest in helping small and medium-sized technology companies develop and implement effective ip strategies. he works closely with several uk and scandinavian start-up companies, not only drafting new patent applications but also providing strategic advice on building and exploiting an effective patent and ip portfolio, including advising on invention capture, freedom-to-operate, licensing and enforcement. tim also works for universities, technology transfer offices and spin-outs to patent and protect their inventions. he is sensitive to the cost constraints faced by early-stage businesses.
expertise
tim works principally in the fields of computer systems, software, electronics, physics, signal processing, advanced medical technology and mechanical engineering. with a strong background in mathematics and physics, he is especially well equipped to handle highly-mathematical inventions in areas such as cryptography, statistics, artificial intelligence, data analysis and signal processing. in addition to drafting new patent applications, he has considerable experience in seeing patent applications through to grant before patent offices around the world, as well as advising on questions of infringement and validity. he also handles patent oppositions at the european patent office, and has been involved in patent litigation in both the united kingdom and the united states.
qualifications and memberships
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2023
- basic litigation skills course, 2017
- uk chartered patent attorney, 2010
- european patent attorney, 2010
- intellectual property law post-graduate certificate, brunel university, 2007
- fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys
- member of the european patent institute
higher education
mmath (hons), master of mathematics, university of oxford, 2001
other
tim was mentioned in the 2020, 2021 and 2022 editions of the legal 500 as a “key lawyer”.
publications:
“fitting yield curves with long term constraints”, smith, a. & wilson, t., research notes, bacon and woodrow, 2001.
“specifications for electronically enabled passports with biometric identification capability”, international civil aviation authority document 9303, part 1, volume 2.
“the european application home alliance (teaha) architecture”, ec community research and development information service (cordis), june 2006.
Tom Parry
electronics, physics, software Email Tom View profile tom parrybackground
tom is an experienced european and chartered (uk) patent attorney handling patent and design work in a wide range of high technology fields. prior to starting at dehns, tom worked briefly in the optoelectronics group at cambridge university investigating organic transistor devices, after graduating from the same university with a first class honours degree (msci, natural sciences, physics). tom was made a partner in 2023.
type of clients and client work
tom acts for a range of clients both in the uk and further afield and has experience with all aspects of patent work from ideation to enforcement. tom handles a significant amount of original drafting work, particularly for complex inventions in the electrical and electronic fields, including computer implemented (software) inventions, as well as for advanced technology inventions for example arising from dehns’ university clients. tom’s knowledge and skill in dealing with more complex subject matter is not however at the expense of being able to handle work in more mechanical fields, and a significant proportion of his work is in the engineering and consumer product space
expertise
tom has particular experience handling patent applications in the fields of electronics, microprocessors, computing, software, power electronics, scientific instruments, electrical grooming devices, railway engineering, cooling towers, and control systems. tom also plays an important role in dehns’ busy dispute resolution team, regularly acting as lead counsel in front of the epo’s opposition divisions and technical boards of appeals. tom therefore has good knowledge of the nuances of this work, for example the practicalities of the appeal board’s rules of procedure. this in turn also feeds back into best practice drafting and prosecution work.
qualifications and memberships
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2023
- uk patent attorney, 2016
- european patent attorney, 2016
- intellectual property law post-graduate certificate (brunel university)
- intellectual property litigation certificate
- fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys
- member of the european patent institute
higher education
msci, natural sciences (physics), university of cambridge
Senior Associate
Adam Yates
biotechnology Email Adam View profile adam yatesbackground
adam is a european and chartered uk patent attorney. he joined dehns in 2008 following the completion of his phd in embryonic stem cell biology at edinburgh university. prior to that, he completed a bsc (hons) degree in biological sciences at birmingham university, which included a year studying at the university of göttingen in germany. adam made senior associate in 2024.
type of clients and client work
adam works with large multinational companies and smes. he has experience handling large patent portfolios with applications in a wide range of territories worldwide. his work includes drafting new patent applications, handling prosecution of patent application worldwide and providing opinions on the patentability of new inventions.
expertise
adam has experience in a wide variety of subject-matter in the life sciences space, with particular experience and interest in antibody patenting. other areas of expertise include: pharmaceuticals, biofuel production, genetically modified microorganisms, enzymes, plant biology, diagnostic methods, medical uses of known compounds and antimicrobial compounds.
qualifications and memberships
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2023
- uk chartered patent attorney, 2015
- european patent attorney, 2012
- intellectual property law post-graduate certificate, 2009 (brunel university)
- fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys
- member of the european patent institute
higher education
bsc (hons), biological sciences, birmingham university, 2003
phd, embryonic stem cell biology, edinburgh university, 2007
adam’s phd was awarded in 2007 for his research into transcription factors in embryonic stem cells. following the completion of his phd studies, and before joining dehns, he pursued this work further as a research fellow at edinburgh university.
Antony Gallafent
mechanical engineering, trade marks Email Antony View profile antony gallafentbackground
after graduating from the university of birmingham with a degree in civil engineering, antony worked as a civil engineer for two years. antony then joined the intellectual property profession in 1990 and he worked for a range of intellectual property companies before joining dehns in 2020.
type of clients and client work
antony works for clients ranging from individuals up to multinational companies, as well as overseas patent and trade mark attorneys. antony has extensive experience drafting and prosecuting patent, trade mark and design applications in the uk intellectual property office, patent applications in the european patent office and world intellectual property organisation, and trade mark and design applications in the eu intellectual property office. antony also advises on infringement and validity of patents, trade marks (registered and unregistered), and designs (registered and unregistered).
expertise
antony is experienced in handling patent work in a wide range of fields including automotive and aeronautical engineering, domestic appliances, mechanical devices and apparatus, and anti-corrosion coatings. he handles trade marks in connection with all industries and individuals in areas including identification and protection of trademarks, provision of freedom to operate advice, and the development of trade mark strategy both generally and in connection with the achievement of predetermined goals.
in connection with designs, antony is experienced in connection with all industry sectors and advises in connection with freedom to operate, use of registered designs and other intellectual property to keep manufactures in supply chains, and the use of registered designs and other intellectual property in connection with electronic market places.
qualifications and memberships
- certificate in ip law, queen mary college, university of london 1991
- european patent attorney 1996
- uk chartered trade mark attorney, 1997
- member of the chartered institute of patent attorneys
- member of the chartered institute of trade mark attorneys
- member of european patent institute
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2024
higher education
beng university of birmingham 1988
other
antony will be attending the london ip week from the 11th – 12th december. please contact antony if you would like to arrange a meeting at the event.
Elizabeth Swan
chemical Email Elizabeth View profile elizabeth swanbackground
elizabeth swan is a european and a uk chartered patent attorney who specialises in chemical inventions. elizabeth entered the patent profession in 2002 and worked for intellectual property companies in london and bristol before joining dehns as a senior associate in their bristol office in 2023.
prior to joining the patent profession, elizabeth graduated from durham university with a first-class degree in chemistry.
type of clients and client work
the majority of elizabeth’s work is conducted at the european patent office, where, in addition to prosecution, she has a long and successful track record defending and attacking patents in opposition and opposition-appeal proceedings. away from the epo, elizabeth conducts patent prosecution and portfolio management in many countries, drafts new applications and provides advice relating to patent validity and infringement.
expertise
elizabeth is interested in all aspects of chemistry and has worked with a wide range of chemical inventions over the course of her career including medical solutions and devices, industrial-scale fine chemicals, pharmaceuticals, insulation, authentication technology, and fast moving consumer goods such as personal care formulations, cosmetic formulations, detergents, firelighters, food and drink.
qualifications and memberships
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2023
- european patent attorney, 2006
- uk chartered patent attorney, 2010
- fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys
- member of the european patent institute
- certificate in ip law, queen mary college, university of london, 2003
- member of the royal society of chemistry
- member of the society of cosmetic scientists
higher education
first-class honours degree in chemistry, durham university, 2001
other
before joining the patent profession, elizabeth spent time working with one of the world’s leading multinational fast moving consumer goods companies.
James Ring
mechanical engineering, physics Email James View profile james ringbackground
james joined dehns in 2013 after completing his phd in theoretical physics at the university of bristol. his research was focused on optics and catastrophe theory, and introduced to the field several new laser beam profiles with unusual propagation properties. before that, he graduated with first class honors in a physics msci at the university of bristol. james became an associate of the firm in 2019, and a senior associate in 2023.
type of clients and client work
james works with a wide variety of clients, including multinational corporations, universities, smes, and lone inventors. the work he does is tailored to each client’s needs, and he has experience in all stages of patent prosecution, from drafting new applications, to working on global patent portfolios.
expertise
he works in a wide variety of areas throughout physics and engineering. he has handled patent applications in automotive, aerospace, and drone technology, as well as in laser physics, network security, and medical prosthetics, to name just a few.
qualifications and memberships
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2023
- uk patent attorney, 2017
- european patent attorney, 2017
- intellectual property law post-graduate certificate, 2014 (brunel university)
- member of the chartered institute of patent attorneys, 2013
higher education
phd in theoretical physics, university of bristol, 2013
first class honours in physics msci, university of bristol, 2009
John McKeon
mechanical engineering, electronics, software Email John View profile john mckeonbackground
john is a uk and european patent attorney.
after training in private practice, john spent several years in senior patent counsel roles at large multinational corporations, including as the sole patent attorney at a ftse 30 company, where he developed and implemented a patent filing strategy that led to his employer being ranked as the 2nd most prolific uk-based patent filer at the european patent office in 2019.
john joined dehns as a senior associate in 2022.
expertise
john has technical expertise across a broad range of engineering fields, with particular experience in medical devices, digital health products and electronic cigarettes.
he is experienced in patent drafting, prosecution and freedom to operate, and takes particular pride in thinking commercially to provide pragmatic solutions to patent issues.
qualifications and memberships
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2023
- uk chartered patent attorney, 2018 (awarded cipa drafting prize for obtaining highest mark in the drafting paper)
- european patent attorney, 2018
- fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys (cipa)
- member of the european patent institute
higher education
ma/meng (first class), cambridge university, engineering (2011)
other
john was recently recognised as a “rising star” in the 2024 edition of managing ip’s ip stars.
Katie Dunne
mechanical engineering, physics, designs Email Katie View profile katie dunnebackground
katie is a qualified uk and european patent attorney and was made an associate of the firm in 2017. she joined dehns in 2010, after completing a dphil in experimental particle physics at the university of oxford. prior to this, she obtained a masters degree in physics in 2006, also from the university of oxford.
katie became a senior associate of the firm in 2021.
type of clients and client work
katie works for a wide variety of clients, from sole inventors, university spin-outs and smes to multinational corporations.
she has experience in drafting new patent applications and prosecuting these applications to grant. she regularly takes part in hearings before the european patent office, and has experience of opposition and appeal proceedings.
katie can offer advice on issues such as worldwide filing strategies, and she manages the prosecution of international patent portfolios for many of her clients. she can also advise on patent enforcement and infringement and validity.
she also files registered designs in the uk and europe.
expertise
her work involves handling patents in a wide variety of engineering fields, including: medical devices, gas turbine engines, telecommunications, actuation systems, and refrigeration systems.
qualifications and memberships
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2023
- intellectual property litigation certificate, 2017
- uk chartered patent attorney, 2014
- european patent attorney, 2014
- certificate in ip law, brunel university, 2011
- fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys
- member of the european patent institute
higher education
dphil, experimental particle physics, university of oxford, 2010
mphys, physics, university of oxford, 2006
Mark Scott
chemical Email Mark View profile mark scottbackground
having graduated from oxford university with a first class honours degree in chemistry, mark joined dehns as a technical assistant in 2013. he became an associate of the firm in 2019 and became a senior associate in 2023.
type of clients and client work
mark works for a variety of clients, including several large well-known multinational companies as well as a range of smes and smaller companies. he has extensive experience of prosecuting patent applications, both in the uk and europe, as well as handling large patent portfolios with applications in a wide range of territories worldwide. for some clients, including one major multinational company, mark works directly with inventors to uncover their inventions, drafts patent applications, and then oversees the prosecution process through to grant in many countries simultaneously. mark is particularly focussed on making sure his client’s ip is commercially relevant to them, and providing practical and cost-effective solutions to any problems which arise during the patent prosecution process.
mark also has considerable experience of handling post-grant issues, including epo oppositions and appeals. he has successfully defended and attacked a range of patents at the epo, including those relation to absorbent articles, oil and gas additives, and natural high potency sweeteners.
expertise
mark has experience in many different technical areas of chemistry and material science, including: pharmaceuticals, aerosol generating materials, absorbent articles, refrigerants, lubricants, wood preservatives, polymers and polymeric materials, oil field technology, paints, oleds and solar cells.
qualifications and memberships
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2023
- european patent attorney, 2017
- uk registered patent attorney, 2017
- fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys
- intellectual property law post-graduate certificate, 2013 (brunel university)
higher education
mchem, university of oxford, 2013
mark’s final year was spent on a research project investigating the synthesis of transition metal alkane complexes
Sally Magrath
mechanical engineering, physics, designs Email Sally View profile sally magrathbackground
sally joined dehns in 2002, having graduated with both a first class honours degree in physics and an msc (distinction) in distributed multimedia systems from the university of leeds.
her studies included constructing a flux-gate magnetometer and developing a web-based simulator on the java platform. prior to joining dehns, she worked for a short time as a research assistant in the school of computing, university of leeds.
sally qualified as a uk patent attorney in 2007 and a european patent attorney in 2008. sally became a senior associate of the firm in 2018.
type of clients and client work
sally is experienced in advising all types of clients, from sole inventors to smes, university spin-outs and large multinational corporations, particularly including clients based in norway. she handles all aspects of patent work, from drafting and prosecution through to advice on infringement and validity of patents, and manages international patent portfolios for her clients.
sally also handles registered designs for her clients in the uk, europe and throughout the world.
expertise
sally works with clients across a range of technical areas in the fields of physical sciences and engineering; including medical devices, aerospace and automotive engineering, oil and gas technology, hvac, materials engineering and various construction and environmental technologies. .
qualifications and memberships
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2023
- european patent attorney, 2008
- uk chartered patent attorney, 2007
- certificate in ip law, university of london, 2003
- fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys
- member of the european patent institute
higher education
msc (distinction), university of leeds, distributed multimedia systems, 2001
bsc hons (first class), university of leeds, physics, 2000
Sara de Bresser
chemical Email Sara View profile sara de bresserbackground
sara is a qualified uk and european patent attorney. she graduated from the university of strathclyde in 1998 with an honours degree in forensic and analytical chemistry. as part of her course she spent over a year in the netherlands working in the research laboratories of philips and utrecht university. since then she has obtained a phd from the university of cambridge for her research in the field of main-group organometallic chemistry. sara joined dehns in 2001, and became an associate in 2008, then a senior associate in 2019.
type of clients and client work
sara drafts and prosecutes patent applications in all areas of chemistry and advises clients on other aspects of patent law, including epo oppositions and appeals, infringement, validity and licensing.
she acts for clients of a variety of sizes, from handling international patent portfolios of university spin-outs and smes, to uk/european drafting and prosecution for multinational corporations.
expertise
sara drafts and prosecutes patent applications in all areas of chemistry, including polymer production processes, pharmaceuticals, analytical methods and devices, composite materials, coatings, alloys and hydrocarbon processing.
qualifications and memberships
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2023
- uk chartered patent attorney, 2007
- european patent attorney, 2006
- certificate in ip law, university of london, 2003
- fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys
- member of the european patent institute
higher education
phd, university of cambridge, chemistry, 2001
bsc (hons), university of strathclyde, forensic and analytical chemistry, 1998
sara’s phd research focussed on synthetic and structural investigations of related classes of group 15 (p, as, sb)/nitrogen ligand frameworks, with particular reference to the development of new coordination chemistry.
Tom Williams
mechanical engineering, physics Email Tom View profile tom williamsbackground
tom is a european and uk patent attorney. he re-joined the firm in 2020 as an associate, after having previously worked at dehns for a number of years. prior to initially joining dehns, he completed a masters degree in physics at durham university. tom became a senior associate in 2023.
type of clients and client work
tom works with a range of clients including: large multinational corporations, smes and start-ups. he has extensive experience acting before the uk and european patent offices, as well as prosecuting patent applications around the world, including us, china and japan. tom routinely works on drafting new patent applications as well as prosecuting applications globally.
he has been involved with a number of opposition and appeal cases before the european patent office. tom also has experience handling large portfolios and has been involved with the production of due diligence reports on a number of occasions.
expertise
tom’s work encompasses a wide variety of engineering and physics fields, including: medical devices, industrial tools, aerospace engineering, electromechanical controls, domestic appliances, electronic displays, fuel cells and software.
qualifications and memberships
- chartered uk patent attorney, 2019
- european patent attorney, 2019
- intellectual property litigation certificate, 2021
- post-graduate certificate in intellectual property law, 2015 (brunel university)
- fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys
- member of the european patent institute.
higher education
mphys (hons), physics, durham university, 2014
during his studies at durham, tom worked on a research project investigating the spatial light modulation of laser beams for use in the manipulation of cold atoms. he also worked on a project which involved developing software for use in analysing images captured during sporting events, with the aim being to output key metrics in relation to the sport.
other
tom will be heading to zagreb, croatia from the 21st – 22nd february for the 2025 aippi midterm meeting. please contact tom if you would like to arrange a meeting.
Associate
Adam Kellett
trade marks Email Adam View profile adam kellettbackground
adam is a uk chartered trade mark attorney.
adam joined the firm in 2015, after graduating from university college london (ucl) with a ba(hons) degree in english literature and completing a law conversion. before joining dehns, adam gained experience with solicitor firms and in-house legal departments, and developed an enduring interest in intellectual property law.
in 2017, adam was awarded the director’s prize for achieving the best mark in the trade mark law and practice b (infringement/disputes) module on the postgraduate certificate in trade mark law and practice, at queen mary university of london.
adam became an associate of the firm in 2021.
type of clients and client work
adam obtains protection for clients’ brands, enforces their trade mark rights, and manages their trade mark portfolios. his work includes:
- clearance searching and advising on the availability and registrability of new trade marks;
- devising filing strategies and filing and prosecuting uk, eu, international and overseas trade mark applications;
- trade mark opposition and cancellation proceedings and appeals, and related settlement negotiations;
- advising on trade mark infringement and/or passing off, and dispute resolution;
- preparing cease and desist letters, agreements, letters of undertaking and letters of consent;
- domain name and company name complaints;
- website, social media, e-commerce and app-store takedowns;
- acquisition and registration of domain names;
- effecting and recording transactions including licenses, changes of ownership and security charges;
- portfolio management and recordals.
adam works with a variety of clients, from start-ups to multinational corporations, in a broad range of industries, including food and drink, software, technology, media/entertainment, electronics, energy, construction, finance, accounting, insurance, healthcare and leisure.
expertise
adam has particular expertise in online brand protection and enforcement, and handling complex interconnected opposition/cancellation proceedings.
qualifications and memberships
- uk chartered trade mark attorney, 2018
- ip litigator – trade mark, 2018
- professional certificate in trade mark practice, nottingham law school, 2018 – distinction (ip litigation certificate – distinction)
- postgraduate certificate in trade mark law and practice, queen mary university of london, 2017 – distinction
- member of citma
higher education
ba (hons), english literature, university college london (ucl), 2013 – 2.1
graduate diploma in law (gdl), the university of law, 2014 – commendation
other
adam was recognised as a “rising star” in the 2024, 2023 and 2022 edition of managing intellectual property’s ip stars publication.
Alex Williams
mechanical engineering, physics Email Alex View profile alex williamsbackground
alex is a european and uk chartered patent attorney. he graduated from durham university in 2013 with a masters degree in physics & astronomy, specialising in astrophysics, quantum computing, lasers and semiconductor devices. for his final year project, he helped to develop the on-site radio telescope in parallel with using the telescope to study the spectral radiation emitted from hydrogen atoms throughout the galaxy. prior to joining dehns in 2016, alex spent two years working for a software development company.
he became an associate of the firm in 2021.
type of clients and client work
alex represents clients ranging from sole-inventors and small companies to large multinational corporations. he has experience in all stages of patent prosecution, including drafting applications, prosecuting uk and european applications, and also managing international patent portfolios.
expertise
alex works in a wide range of areas throughout the engineering field. he has handled patent applications for refrigeration systems, gas turbine engines, and composite materials, as well as applications in the fields of offshore oil and gas production and wind energy.
qualifications and memberships
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2023
- uk patent attorney, 2020
- european patent attorney, 2020
- certificate in intellectual property law, queen mary university of london, 2017
- fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys
higher education
mphys physics & astronomy, university of durham, 2013
Alexandra Nott
trade marks Email Alexandra View profile alexandra nottbackground
alexandra is a uk chartered trade mark attorney, having qualified in 2019.
alexandra joined the firm in 2016, after graduating from the university of cambridge in 2016 with a degree in human, social, and political sciences. during her final year she was awarded a first class for her dissertation on human rights and the global textile industry, combining her interests in moral philosophy and fashion.
alexandra became an associate of the firm in 2022.
type of clients and client work
alexandra is involved in a variety of uk, international and overseas trade mark matters for a wide-range of clients from individuals to multinational corporations. alexandra works with businesses across a number of commercial sectors including loyalty, travel, cosmetics, healthcare/nutrition, audio technology, apparel, hvac, chemical products, food/drink and hospitality.
alexandra’s work includes clearance searching and advising on the availability/registrability of new trade marks, filing and prosecuting trade mark applications, contentious matters, preparing appeals, drafting settlement agreements/undertakings, and advising on matters of alleged trade mark infringement as well as related issues such as domain and company name disputes.
expertise
on the prosecution side, alexandra particularly enjoys helping clients secure registration following an official objection from the ipo, whether through argument or the submission of evidence.
alexandra also has experience in obtaining positive outcomes for clients in contentious matters, be it in the form of a favourable opposition/appeal decision or a negotiated settlement agreement.
qualifications and memberships
- uk chartered trade mark attorney, 2019
- ip litigator – trade mark, 2019
- professional certificate trade mark practice, nottingham law school, 2019 – distinction
- postgraduate certificate in trade mark law and practice, queen mary university of london, 2018 – distinction
- member of citma
- ecta member
higher education
ba (hons), university of cambridge, human, social and political sciences (politics and international relations), 2016
other
alexandra was awarded the prizes for highest mark in the ‘designs and copyright law’ and ‘trade mark law and practice a’ exams as well as the highest overall student prize for the queen mary postgraduate certificate in trade mark law and practice 2017/18.
alexandra also achieved the highest mark of all candidates in the nottingham law school professional certificate trade mark practice (the trade mark attorney finals) 2019.
alexandra was shortlisted for the “uk rising star of the year” award in managing ip’s awards emea 2024. alexandra was named as a “key lawyer” in the 2022 edition of the legal 500, one of the leading legal directories in the uk.
alexandra was recently recognised as a “rising star” in the 2024 edition of managing ip’s ip stars.
recent client testimonials include:
‘alexandra nott’s attention to detail, ability to develop an understanding of our business and needs and to simplify complex intellectual property matters in a digestible manner were greatly appreciated.’ – the legal 500
alexandra also works with the business & ip centre (bipc) brighton & hove, which is part of the national network of bipcs established by the british library. through the bipc, alexandra offers a number of pro bono advice clinics to entrepreneurs, start-ups and small to medium-sized enterprises across the whole of sussex looking for information and guidance on trade mark issues.
below are a number of published trade mark articles written by alexandra.
Amelia Rogers
mechanical engineering, physics Email Amelia View profile amelia rogersbackground
amelia joined dehns in july 2017 as a technical assistant in the engineering group, after completing a four year master’s degree in physics and philosophy at the university of oxford. amelia qualified as a uk and european patent attorney in 2021. she became an associate in 2023.
type of clients and client work
amelia works with a large range of clients, from large multinationals to small companies and start-ups, handling patent applications both in the uk and europe, as well as in a variety of other territories around the world. she has experience providing support for all aspects of patent drafting and prosecution, as well as patentability advice and freedom to operate analysis. amelia has also worked on a number of oppositions.
expertise
amelia works on cases covering a wide variety of subject matter within physical sciences and engineering, including laser systems, medical devices and electronics.
qualifications and memberships
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2023
- intellectual property litigation certificate, 2023
- uk patent attorney, 2021
- european patent attorney, 2021
- fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys
- postgraduate certificate in intellectual property law, 2019 (queen mary university of london)
higher education
mphys phil physics and philosophy, oxford university, 2017
during her final year amelia studied lasers and quantum information processing and completed a thesis on ‘probability in the everett interpretation of quantum mechanics’.
Andrew Sharpe
mechanical engineering, electronics, physics Email Andrew View profile andrew sharpebackground
andrew graduated in 2015 with a first class master’s degree in physics from the university of sheffield, having also spent time in norway studying at the university of bergen. his latter studies focussed on quantum mechanics and semiconductor physics. in his final year, he used computational methods to explore the conditions for superfluidity of exciton-polaritons in semiconductor microcavities.
he spent the following two years teaching english and tutoring physics and maths in barcelona, where he learnt to speak spanish.
andrew joined the dehns munich office in october 2017 and qualified as a european and chartered uk patent attorney in 2021. he became an associate in 2023.
expertise
andrew handles patent work in a variety of engineering-based fields with a focus on aeronautical engineering, medical devices and renewable energy.
qualifications and memberships
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2023
- uk patent attorney, 2021
- european patent attorney, 2021
higher education
mphys, university of sheffield, 2015
pgcert intellectual property law, queen mary university, london, 2019
Charlotte Rush
mechanical engineering, physics Email Charlotte View profile charlotte rushbackground
charlotte is a qualified uk and european patent attorney and became an associate of the firm in 2021. she graduated from the university of birmingham in 2014 with first class honours in physics and astrophysics. following university, charlotte gained industry experience working at the defence technology company qinetiq, and then joined the patent profession in 2015. charlotte initially worked at another ip firm in london before joining dehns in 2018.
type of clients and client work
charlotte has experience working with a wide variety of clients, including individual inventors, start-ups, multinational companies and overseas attorneys.
charlotte’s work includes filing and prosecuting applications before the european patent office and the uk intellectual property office. she also has experience drafting patent applications and providing infringement and validity advice in the areas of patents and designs.
expertise
charlotte works on patent cases in a range of engineering and physics fields including medical devices, aeronautical engineering, additive manufacturing, oil and gas technologies, and disposable personal care products. she also has experience working on cases relating to computer software, consumer electronics, biometric payments, telecommunications, satellite communications, and data storage.
qualifications and memberships
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2023
- european patent attorney, 2021
- uk patent attorney, 2020
- postgraduate certificate in intellectual property law, queen mary university of london, 2017
- fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys (cipa)
- intellectual property litigation certificate
- member of the european patent institute
higher education
bsc (hons) physics and astrophysics (first class), university of birmingham, 2014
Christian Mather
mechanical engineering Email Christian View profile christian matherbackground
christian joined dehns in 2016 after graduating from the university of birmingham with a master’s degree in chemical engineering with international study. his final-year project involved researching the viability of utilising biofilm cultures in the large-scale manufacture of biopharmaceuticals.
christian qualified as a chartered uk patent attorney in 2021 and as a european patent attorney in 2022. he became an associate in 2023.
types of clients and client work
christian works for a variety of clients, from large multinational companies to individual inventors. his work includes drafting and prosecuting patent applications in uk and europe, and supporting opposition proceedings before the epo, both as patentee and opponent.
expertise
christian handles patent work in a variety of engineering fields. his current focus is on aerospace-related subject matter, though his background in chemical engineering provides a broad foundation which can be applied across engineering fields and the physical sciences.
qualifications and memberships
- european patent attorney, 2022
- chartered uk patent attorney, 2021
- pgcert intellectual property law, bournemouth university, 2015
- fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys
- member of the european patent institute
higher education
meng (hons), chemical engineering with international study, university of birmingham, 2014
Conor Wilman
mechanical engineering, physics Email Conor View profile conor wilmanbackground
conor graduated from the university of manchester with a first-class honours degree in physics (mphys), with course modules in later years focussing on semiconductor and laser physics. in his master’s project, he worked with the jodrell group in manchester to develop resonant transmission line structures for use in radio astronomy and cosmology.
conor joined the engineering department at dehns in 2017 as a technical assistant. conor qualified as a european patent attorney in 2021 and as a uk patent attorney in 2023. he became an associate in 2023. conor is also an authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc).
type of clients and client work
conor works on cases for a range of clients – from large multinationals to smes and lone inventors – and in a breadth of jurisdictions. the subject-matter involved varies significantly as well, with conor working on aeronautical technologies for rtx to medical devices with q-linea and veryan medical. conor provides support to several partners and associates for all aspects of patent drafting and prosecution.
expertise
conor works on cases covering a variety of subject matter within physical sciences and engineering, including airfoils, medical devices, and wireless networks.
qualifications and memberships
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2023
- uk patent attorney, 2023
- european patent attorney, 2021
- postgraduate certificate in intellectual property law, queen mary university, 2018
- fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys (cipa)
- member of the european patent institute (epi)
higher education
mphys (hons), university of manchester, physics, 2017
other
conor has been part of dehns’ equality, diversity, & inclusion committee since 2020 and was previously an active committee member of ip out from july 2018 to july 2022.
conor will be attending the london ip week from the 11th – 12th december. please contact conor if you would like to arrange a meeting at the event.
David Fleming
chemical Email David View profile david flemingbackground
david joined dehns in 2017 after graduating from the university of cambridge with a ba and msci degree in natural sciences (chemistry). having spent the early years of his life in switzerland, he has a good knowledge of german.
david qualified as a european patent attorney in 2021 and as a uk patent attorney in 2022. he became an associate in 2023.
type of clients and client work
david works with clients of all sizes, from university spin-outs and smes all the way through to multinational corporations.
he has experience in drafting new patent applications, prosecuting applications before the uk and european patent offices, managing international patent portfolios, and working on oppositions and appeals at the epo.
expertise
david handles work in a wide variety of technical fields including polymer chemistry, organometallic catalysis, nutraceutical and pharmaceutical chemistry, drug delivery formulations, and marine paints.
qualifications and memberships
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2023
- uk patent attorney, 2022
- european patent attorney, 2021
- postgraduate certificate in intellectual property law, queen mary university, 2018
- fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys (cipa)
- member of the european patent institute (epi)
higher education
msci natural sciences, university of cambridge, 2017
ba natural sciences, university of cambridge, 2017
David Leverett
mechanical engineering, physics Email David View profile david leverettbackground
david is a european and chartered (uk) patent attorney handling patent and design work in a range of technologies within the engineering and physics fields. david joined dehns in 2015 after receiving his degree in aerospace engineering from the university of bristol. david became an associate of the firm in 2021.
type of clients and client work
david works with a variety of companies and organisations, including multinationals, smes, and individual inventors. he has experience in handling applications in a wide range of territories worldwide. his work includes providing opinions on the patentability of new inventions, drafting new patent applications, prosecution of patent applications worldwide, and handling european patent oppositions and appeals.
expertise
david works on a variety of subject-matter in the engineering and technology sector. david has particular expertise in the areas of aeronautical and spacecraft technology, fluid dynamics, structural mechanics, and composite materials.
qualifications and memberships
- chartered patent attorney, 2019 (gill prize winner)
- european patent attorney, 2019
- fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys
- member of the european patent institute
- intellectual property litigation certificate, 2021
- certificate in ip law, brunel university, 2016
higher education
meng (aerospace engineering), university of bristol, 2015
other
david was awarded the gill prize for the highest aggregate score in the uk qualifying examinations held in october 2018.
david previously worked as a research assistant at the advanced composites centre for innovation and science, modelling morphing composite structures for use in aerospace applications.
Jack Hancock
mechanical engineering, consulting, physics Email Jack View profile jack hancockbackground
jack is an associate in the dehns engineering group. he joined dehns in 2018 after graduating from the university of manchester with a first-class master of physics degree. his final-year project involved developing an electron cyclotron resonance ion source for use in mass-analytical systems.
jack is qualified as a uk and european patent attorney in 2022.
type of clients and client work
jack works for a variety of clients, from large multinational companies to smes and individual inventors. this work often involves the drafting of new patent applications and the examination of patent applications in the uk and europe, covering a range of technical fields. he is also experienced in handling international patent portfolios across other key markets such as the us, china and japan, having assisted with the worldwide prosecution of patent applications originating from european inventors.
jack also assists with providing freedom-to-operate opinions and infringement risk assessments to clients, and with opposition and appeal proceedings before the epo.
expertise
whilst jack is confident working with subject-matter from a variety of technical fields across physics and engineering, particular areas of technology he works with include medical devices, gas turbine engines, fire detection systems, hvac, transport refrigeration systems, oil and gas, offshore wind turbines, and mass-analytical devices.
qualifications and memberships
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2023
- uk chartered patent attorney, 2022
- european patent attorney, 2022
- fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys (cipa)
- member of the european patent institute (epi)
- certificate in intellectual property law, queen mary university of london, 2019
higher education
mphys (hons) physics, university of manchester, 2018
Jacob Watfa
mechanical engineering, electronics, consulting Email Jacob View profile jacob watfabackground
jacob joined the munich office of dehns in april 2016 following the completion of a meng degree in mechanical engineering at imperial college london with a year abroad at the university of sydney.
jacob qualified as a uk and european patent attorney in 2021 and became an associate of the firm in 2022.
in 2023, he completed a master of intellectual property law and management (miplm, master (ii), equivalent llm) at the center for international intellectual property studies, university of strasbourg, gaining further theoretical and practical skills in the wider field of ip strategy and management, particularly in value creation and profit generation based on innovation management.
type of clients and client work
jacob works with all kinds of clients, from large, multinational corporations, through smes to lone inventors. jacob mostly works with european and uk patent applications, whether that be drafting new applications, prosecuting existing applications to grant, or in post grant proceedings such as oppositions. jacob has experience in working with associates across the globe to ensure that his clients can obtain the best possible protection in all jurisdictions.
jacob also has provided advice on wider issues such as freedom-to-operate assessments and patent landscaping.
expertise
jacob works with a wide variety of engineering patents from the medicine to aerospace industries, and also has experience in the fields of computer systems, software, electronics and artificial intelligence.
qualifications and memberships
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2023
- master of intellectual property law and management (miplm, equivalent llm), 2023 (center for international intellectual property studies)
- uk patent attorney, 2021
- european patent attorney, 2021
- intellectual property law post-graduate certificate, 2016 (queen mary university of london)
- fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys
higher education
meng mechanical engineering with a year abroad, imperial college london, 2011
as part of this degree, jacob worked on a diverse range of projects, from designing, making and testing a 3d printer capable of both printing and cooking food to producing an artificial extracellular matrix using graphene hydrogels.
James Godfrey
mechanical engineering Email James View profile james godfreybackground
james graduated from the university of bath with a first class meng in aerospace engineering. his final year project involved computational fluid dynamics of gas turbine cooling systems, looking at the effect of different engine conditions and arrangements on efficiency. he also completed a 12-month internship at airbus group in bristol as part of his degree.
james joined dehns in september 2017 and qualified as a uk and european patent attorney in 2021. he became an associate in 2023.
type of clients and client work
james works for a range of clients including large multinational companies and smes across several different fields of technology.
expertise
james has experience with drafting and prosecuting patent application across many jurisdictions and fields of technology within the engineering field from aeronautical technology to exercise equipment and refrigeration systems.
qualifications and memberships
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2023
- uk patent attorney, 2021
- european patent attorney, 2021
- fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys (cipa)
higher education
meng (hons), university of bath, aerospace engineering, 2017
Jasmine Banbury
mechanical engineering, physics Email Jasmine View profile jasmine banburybackground
jasmine is an associate in the dehns engineering group. she joined dehns in 2017 after graduating from the university of oxford with a masters degree in engineering science. during her final academic year, jasmine carried out a research project in the department of biomedical engineering, which involved developing a model of a kidney and surrounding tissue for training surgeons for percutaneous nephrolithotomy procedures.
type of clients and client work
jasmine works with a variety of clients within the engineering sector, including small/medium-sized enterprises and multinational companies. jasmine handles prosecution of patent applications in europe, and also has experience of prosecution in a wide range of other jurisdictions including india, the us, canada, china, japan, south africa and brazil. jasmine also has extensive experience with client work outside of prosecution, including freedom to operate analysis and patent application drafting.
expertise
jasmine has gained experience relating to a variety of technologies in the engineering field, including aerospace engineering, medical devices, automotive engineering, and personal care products.
qualifications and memberships
- pgcert (intellectual property law), queen mary university of london, 2018
- european patent attorney, 2021
- uk patent attorney, 2022
- fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys
- member of the european patent institute
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2024
higher education
meng, engineering science, university of oxford
Joanna Caplan
trade marks Email Joanna View profile joanna caplanbackground
joanna is a uk chartered trade mark attorney.
joanna joined the firm in 2015, after completing a master of research and phd in cardiovascular sciences at king’s college london. prior to this, joanna graduated from the university of birmingham in 2011 with a first class honours degree in human biology, during which she spent a year working for a uk-based pharmaceutical company.
joanna received the 2018 citma award for the highest mark achieved on the professional certificate in trade mark practice course at nottingham law school.
joanna qualified as a trade mark attorney in 2018, and became an associate of the firm in 2021.
type of clients and client work
joanna assists with all aspects of trade mark attorney practice. she works with a wide variety of clients ranging from large multinational companies, smes and start-up companies to individuals, operating in a multitude of sectors including the food and beverage, pharmaceutical, fashion, textile, publishing, and automotive sectors.
expertise
joanna specialises in the filing and prosecution of uk, international and overseas trade mark applications. she has extensive experience handling official objections, trade mark opposition and cancellation proceedings and related settlement negotiations.
joanna has experience managing large trade mark portfolios, attending to recordals, handling client’s trade mark watching services, conducting trade mark clearance searches and providing availability advice, and devising international filing strategies.
joanna advises on matters relating to trade mark infringement, passing-off and dispute resolution, and has a particular interest in handling domain name disputes.
qualifications and memberships
- uk chartered trade mark attorney, 2018
- ip litigator – trade mark, 2018
- professional certificate in trade mark practice, nottingham law school, 2018 – distinction (ip litigation certificate – distinction)
- postgraduate certificate in trade mark law and practice, queen mary university of london, 2017 – distinction
- member of citma
higher education
phd, king’s college london, cardiovascular sciences, 2016
mres, king’s college london, cardiovascular sciences, 2012
bsc, university of birmingham, human biology, 2011
other
to view a selection of articles written by joanna, click here.
John Somerton
mechanical engineering, physics, electronics Email John View profile john somertonbackground
john joined dehns in 2016 following his graduation from durham university, where he received an mphys degree in physics. he studied a variety of topics including electronics, laser physics and quantum computing and in his final year he investigated methodologies for simulating the interstellar medium and galaxy formation.
john qualified as a uk and european patent attorney in 2021 and became an associate of the firm in 2022.
type of clients and client work
john works with a range of clients including large multinationals, small companies and universities. he regularly meets with inventors to discuss and advise on the patentability of new concepts, prepares and files patent applications and prosecutes applications through to grant through engagement with various patent offices around the world.
john also has significant experience in opposition proceedings at the european patent office and before the boards of appeal, and in providing advice on other contentious matters. john recently handled a dispute heard by the uk intellectual property office over entitlement to a family of patents.
expertise
john works on cases covering a variety of subject matter within physical sciences and engineering, including electronics, medical devices and composite materials.
qualifications and memberships
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2023
- intellectual property litigation certificate, 2023
- uk patent attorney, 2021
- european patent attorney, 2021
- certificate in intellectual property law, 2017 (queen mary university of london)
- fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys (cipa)
higher education
mphys, physics, durham university, 2016
other
john acted as the regional informals secretary for chartered institute of patent attorneys (cipa) in the oxfordshire region from 2017 – 2019. in this role he arranged events for trainee patent attorneys and trainee trademark attorneys from different firms across oxfordshire, berkshire, buckinghamshire, and wiltshire. he also liaised with the cipa council regarding matters that were of interest to those training in the profession.
Jonathan Bailey
chemical Email Jonathan View profile jonathan baileybackground
jonathan joined dehns in 2015 after completing a phd at the university of bristol in the field of inorganic chemistry. prior to this, jonathan graduated from the university of bristol with a first class msci degree in chemistry, during which he studied for a year at the technical university of munich in germany.
jonathan also has experience working in a solar cell development laboratory at the lmu in munich and in two pharmaceutical companies in the czech republic and germany. jonathan is bilingual french/english and has a good knowledge of german.
jonathan qualified as a european patent attorney in 2019 and as a uk patent attorney in 2020. he became an associate of the firm in 2021.
type of clients and client work
jonathan has experience working with clients of a variety of sizes, from university spin-outs and smes all the way through to multinational corporations. jonathan has particular experience, however, in helping small and medium-sized technology companies and universities develop and implement effective ip strategies. he also has considerable experience working with clients in asia, in particular from china, japan and the republic of korea.
he has experience in drafting new patent applications, prosecuting applications before the uk and european patent offices, handling international patent portfolios, and working on oppositions and appeals at the epo.
expertise
jonathan’s work involves handling cases in a wide variety of chemical fields, including: battery technology, membrane technology (e.g. gas separation membranes), chemical sensors and analytical devices, semiconductor technology (in particular nanostructured semiconductor devices), alloys, materials, organic chemistry, nutraceutical chemistry, pharmaceutical chemistry, polymer chemistry and organometallic catalysis.
qualifications and memberships
- basic litigation skills certificate, 2022
- uk patent attorney, 2020
- european patent attorney, 2019
- postgraduate certificate in intellectual property law, brunel university, 2016
- fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys (cipa)
- member of the european patent institute (epi)
higher education
phd, inorganic chemistry, university of bristol, 2015 (faculty of science commendation awarded; thesis title: borylphosphines)
msci chemistry with study in continental europe (first class), university of bristol, 2011
Joseph Cammack
mechanical engineering, physics Email Joseph View profile joseph cammackbackground
joseph is an associate in the dehns engineering group and a qualified european patent attorney. he graduated from the university of cambridge in 2018 with a first class msci degree in physics.
joseph had previously been a summer intern at dehns in 2017, before joining the engineering team in september 2018 as a technical assistant. joseph was promoted to an associate in 2024.
type of clients and client work
joseph has experience in drafting patents in a variety of technical fields and prosecuting such applications to grant before the uk and european patent offices. he also has experience in managing and prosecuting international patent portfolios for clients ranging from individuals and small start-up companies to major multinationals.
expertise
working in the engineering team, joseph has knowledge of a wide range of subject-matter including petroleum engineering, fire and security alarm systems, aerospace and mechanical engineering, refrigeration systems, and medical devices.
qualifications and memberships
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2023
- european patent attorney, 2023
- student member of cipa
higher education
msci natural sciences (physics), cambridge, 2018
as part of his masters project, joseph worked within the surfaces, microstructure and fracture group of the cavendish laboratory to develop a crust penetration concept for exploration of planetary bodies in the solar system.
Joseph Dewhurst
electronics, physics, software Email Joseph View profile joseph dewhurstbackground
joseph joined dehns in 2015 after spending five years as a medical physicist at the christie hospital in manchester, where he worked on a wide range of projects including error detection in radiotherapy treatment planning and monte carlo modeling for photodynamic therapy dosimetry. he also achieved state registration as a clinical scientist.
prior to this, joseph completed a phd in plasma physics at the university of warwick which was focused on simulations and statistical analysis of plasma turbulence in the edge region of nuclear fusion devices. prior to joseph’s phd, he graduated from the university of manchester with a first class honours mphys degree in physics, which included a year studying at the university of california.
joseph became an associate of the firm in 2021.
type of clients and client work
joseph works with clients including large multinational companies and smes. his work includes drafting new patent applications, prosecuting such applications to grant before the uk and european patent offices, and handling international patent portfolios.
expertise
joseph handles patent work in a variety of electronics, physics and engineering fields. he has particular experience in mass spectrometry, graphics processing, semiconductor devices, telecommunications, oil and gas exploration and medical devices.
qualifications and memberships
- uk patent attorney, 2020
- european patent attorney, 2019
- postgraduate certificate in intellectual property law, brunel university, 2016
- member of the chartered institute of patent attorneys
higher education
msc (distinction and director’s prize winner), medical physics, university of manchester, 2011
phd, plasma physics, university of warwick, 2010
mphys (1st class honours), physics, university of manchester, 2006
other
joseph will be attending the emerging tech conference 2024 on the 5th december. please contact joseph if you would like to arrange a meeting at the event.
Matthew Sullivan
chemical Email Matthew View profile matthew sullivanbackground
matt graduated from the university of cambridge in 2016 with a first-class msci degree in natural sciences (chemistry). prior to joining dehns in 2017, he worked in the grey group in cambridge where his research focused on all-solid-state lithium ion battery development.
matt qualified as a uk and european patent attorney in 2021 and became an associate in 2023.
type of clients and client work
matt has experience of prosecution of large patent portfolios for a number of multinational companies. he also works for smes and university spin-out companies assisting with the drafting and subsequent prosecution of new patent applications.
he is also involved in epo opposition proceedings as well as the filing and prosecution of applications for supplementary protection certificates.
expertise
matt’s work spans a range of chemical fields including: pharmaceuticals, medical devices, agrochemicals, cosmetics, personal care products, and oil field technology.
qualifications and memberships
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2023
- uk patent attorney, 2021
- european patent attorney, 2021
higher education
msci natural sciences (chemistry), university of cambridge, 2016
other
matt was awarded the director’s prize for trade marks, the director’s prize for copyright and design and the bill caro prize for best overall candidate for the queen mary postgraduate certificate in intellectual property law course 2017/2018.
Nia Madden
mechanical engineering, software Email Nia View profile nia maddenbackground
nia joined dehns in 2015 after completing a masters degree in physics at the university of oxford. she became an associate of the firm in 2021.
type of clients and client work
clients range from start-ups to smes and large multinational companies. her work includes all aspects of patent prosecution.
expertise
nia’s work currently spans patents in a wide variety of engineering and applied physics fields. for instance, she has handled applications relating to: graphics processing, apparatus for drilling and performing measurements in wellbores, and mass spectrometers.
qualifications and memberships
- intellectual property litigation certificate, 2021
- uk chartered patent attorney, 2020
- european patent attorney, 2019
- intellectual property law post-graduate certificate (brunel university), 2016
- member of the chartered institute of patent attorneys
- member of the european patent institute
- member of the institute of physics
higher education
mphys, physics, university of oxford, 2015
nia completed a masters degree in physics at the university of oxford, receiving first class honours. her specialisms include condensed matter, laser physics and quantum information. she also carried out a research project working on forming perovskite thin films for use in high efficiency solar cells.
Nick Hardingham
mechanical engineering Email Nick View profile nick hardinghambackground
nick joined dehns in 2016 after graduating from the university of cambridge with an msci degree in natural sciences (materials science), researching nano-scale thermoelectric energy harvesting technology as a focus.
nick qualified as a uk and european patent attorney in 2021 and became an associate of the firm in 2022.
type of clients and client work
nick works with a range of clients – from large multinational corporations through to the occasional sole-inventor. his work includes drafting and filing new applications, prosecution of existing applications, and dealing with opposition proceedings before the epo. nick also has experience of ep appeal proceedings and of patent prosecution in a number of foreign jurisdictions, including the us.
expertise
nick has a wide variety of technical expertise, but his patent work is mainly focused on aerospace-related subject matter. he also retains specialist knowledge from his degree within the wide field of materials science, which has allowed nick a broad range of technical understanding across the physical sciences and engineering.
qualifications and memberships
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2023
- uk chartered patent attorney, 2021
- european patent attorney, 2021
- intellectual property law post-graduate certificate, 2017 (queen mary university london)
- fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys (cipa)
- member of the european patent institute (epi)
higher education
msci, natural sciences (materials science), university of cambridge, 2016
Rebecca Graves
mechanical engineering Email Rebecca View profile rebecca gravesbackground
rebecca joined dehns in 2018 after graduating from the university of cambridge with a first-class master of sciences degree in physical natural sciences (materials science). during her degree, rebecca conducted research projects focusing on characterisation of surfaces modified with self-assembled monolayers, and development of a biodegradable polymer for use in urinary catheters.
rebecca qualified as a european patent attorney in 2022 and as a uk patent attorney in 2023 and is an associate in the dehns engineering group.
types of client and work
rebecca works with a variety of clients, including multinational corporations, universities, smes, and lone inventors. rebecca handles prosecution of patent applications in the uk and europe, and has experience of prosecution in a number of other jurisdictions including canada, china, japan and the us.
expertise
rebecca works in a wide variety of areas throughout materials science and engineering. she has handled patent applications in automotive, aerospace, and refrigeration technology, as well as in laser physics, biomaterials, and medical devices.
qualification and memberships
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2023
- uk chartered patent attorney, 2023
- european patent attorney, 2022
- fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys
- member of the european patent institute
higher education
- ma, msci, university of cambridge, natural sciences (materials science), 2018
- pgcert, queen mary university of london, intellectual property law, 2020
other
rebecca will be attending the london ip week from the 11th – 12th december. please contact rebecca if you would like to arrange a meeting at the event.
Rupert Belsham
mechanical engineering Email Rupert View profile rupert belshambackground
rupert is an associate in the dehns engineering group. he joined dehns in 2021, having worked for intellectual property companies in cheltenham and london. he studied physics at imperial college london, where he specialised in computational physics and lasers in his final year and completed a research project on simulation of surface plasmon polaritons in hyperbolic media.
rupert qualified as a uk patent attorney in 2022 and european patent attorney in 2023.
type of clients and client work
rupert’s work includes drafting patents for new inventions and prosecuting patent applications in the uk, europe, the usa and across the world. he has also worked on contentious matters including patent infringement and enforcement. he has experience working with a range of clients including multinational corporations, smes, universities and individual inventors.
expertise
rupert has particular experience with inventions in the fields of aerospace, telecommunications, fast moving consumer goods and software.
qualifications and memberships
- european patent attorney, 2023
- uk (chartered) patent attorney, 2022
- peb foundation examinations, 2017
- student member of the chartered institute of patent attorneys
higher education
llm (distinction), bpp university, 2020
bsc physics, imperial college london, 2016
other
rupert will be attending the london ip week from the 11th – 12th december. please contact rupert if you would like to arrange a meeting at the event.
SJ Paines
electronics, mechanical engineering, software Email SJ View profile sj painesbackground
sj is a chartered (uk) patent attorney, european patent attorney and chartered linguist. they joined dehns in 2021 after a number of years at another ip firm. they hold a first class honours degree in electrical & electronic engineering as well as a first class honours degree in modern languages. prior to joining the ip profession, sj worked as a patent translator and proofreader.
type of clients and client work
sj works with a wide variety of clients, from individual inventors to multinational companies and overseas attorneys. sj has experience in drafting and prosecuting patent applications in the uk and europe, as well as in other jurisdictions including china, japan, korea and the us. sj also has experience in providing infringement and validity advice.
expertise
sj specialises in patent matters relating to the electrical and electronic engineering and computer software sectors, including analogue electronics, semiconductors, control systems, automotive systems, telecommunications, computer-implemented inventions, artificial intelligence and natural language processing. sj also handles cases in the mechanical engineering and oil and gas sectors.
qualifications and memberships
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2023
- european patent attorney 2021
- chartered (uk) patent attorney 2019
- intellectual property litigation certificate
- chartered linguist (german)
- fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys
- member of the european patent institute
- member of the chartered institute of linguists
higher education
- beng (hons) electrical & electronic engineering (first class), london south bank university 2015
- ba (hons) modern languages (first class), university of southampton 2010
other
sj speaks french, german and portuguese.
IP Management Consultant
Axel Moulin
consulting Email Axel View profile axel moulinbackground
axel is an ip management consultant with extensive technology and business background, including large international contracts and r&d collaborations. he is a european trademark and design attorney and has filed and prosecuted numerous trademarks with the european and norwegian trademark offices (euipo, nipo). axel also actively prosecutes patents with the norwegian patent office (nipo).
axel joined dehns in 2021 when the ip management consultancy leogriff that he co-founded in 2002 became dehns’ oslo office.
type of clients and client work
the clients axel mainly works with are smes, incubators and research institutes, where he helps develop projects and companies via best practice ip management. axel has a broad industrial background from process industry, oil, infrastructure equipment and software, as well as experience in various fields such as offshore wind, energy conversion, or nutraceuticals.
from early-stage research project screening to licensing or exit, he has significant experience of harvesting ideas as well as developing ip portfolios and internal ip management practices to generate competitive advantage from innovative technology. axel advises on ip strategy, policies and implementation of routines. he also initiates, advises on and supervises filing and prosecution of ip rights worldwide.
expertise
axel has worked extensively with startup companies on securing ip ownership, mitigating risk, and attracting funding. capturing innovations and formalizing their ownership, investigating patent and trademark landscape for freedom to operate/use, every day preparing the company for due diligence, are common aspects of his work.
axel routinely advises his clients with ip management under preparation, negotiation, operation and closing of r&d collaborations, be they eu horizon or norwegian projects.
qualifications and memberships
- european trademark attorney, 2016
- european design attorney 2016
- licensing executive society (les) member
higher education
master of business administration, bi – norwegian school of management, 2000
msc (sivilingeniør), ensg (france), geological engineering/geophysics, 1986
other
axel has followed courses in business law (markedsrett – 2016) and law on copyright (Åndverksloven – 2024) at the university of oslo. he has participated to several courses related to the management of eu horizon projects, organised by the norwegian research council (b4, c2, c4 – 2024). axel speaks fluent french (native tongue), english and norwegian (and is able to conduct business meetings in these languages); he also speaks conversational italian and german, and a reasonable amount of spanish.
.
Haakon Thue Lie
consulting Email Haakon View profile haakon thue liebackground
haakon is an ip management consultant with extensive technology and business background. he has a recent phd in industrial economics and technology management, specialising in open innovation and trade secrets. haakon is also a european patent attorney as well as a european trademark and design attorney.
haakon joined dehns in 2021 when the ip management consultancy leogriff that he co-founded in 2002 became dehns’ oslo office.
type of clients and client work
haakon’s focus is to create competitive advantage and profit from innovation. haakon works on ip strategy and management with start-ups, small and large firms, and several research institutes. he has telecom and it background and has experience from a broad range of industries from life sciences to materials technology and branding.
haakon advises line and project management with ip strategy, ip plans, valuation, and freedom to operate analysis. he initiates and manages patent applications, trade secrets, copyright and open-source, trademark registrations, designs and assist in solving conflicts. he works with managers to train the r&d teams and adapt the organisations’ processes to managing ip.
expertise
the expertise haakon offers as an ip management consultant is agnostic to the technological field. he has worked extensively with clients in projects as diverse as veterinary science and gaming. the clients are smes, large firms, research institutes or government – in all phases of the innovation cycle.
haakon is a leading expert in trade secret management, using a mix of ip rights, creating and keeping lead time advantages, risk mitigation and ip in collaborations and open innovation.
qualifications and memberships
- european patent attorney, 2009
- european trademark attorney, 2016
- european design attorney, 2016
higher education
phd, norwegian university of science and technology (ntnu), industrial economics and technology management, 2020, “trade secret management in collaborations and open innovation”.
master of management, bi – norwegian school of management 1997
m.sc. (sivilingeniør), ntnu, signal processing and telematics, 1988
other
haakon is an adjunct associate professor at the department of industrial economics and technology management (iØt), norwegian university of science and technology (ntnu). he is associated with the cip research group (center for intellectual property), a collaboration between chalmers, gothenburg university and ntnu.
haakon speaks fluent norwegian (native tongue), english, swedish and danish (and can conduct business meetings in all those languages); he also speaks conversational german.
haakon was listed as a “recommended individual” in the norway patent category of iam’s patent 1000 2024 and 2023 edition.
Yenyun Fu
Senior Patent Advisor Email Yenyun View profile yenyun fubackground
yenyun fu has 20 years of experience in the strategic development of patent portfolios and their management and evaluation/assessment.
having also been an entrepreneur, business owner, scientist and engineer, yenyun is particularly well positioned to guide technology companies to navigate the complexities of patent portfolio creation and optimization.
type of clients and client work
yenyun works with technology company investors, technology companies, company shareholders/other stakeholders.
when working with investors/shareholders, yenyun helps to evaluate and assess target company patent portfolio quality & patent portfolio suitability in view of their proposed business models, competitive landscape, go to market strategy and implicated supply chain and stakeholder entities.
when working with technology companies, yenyun architects a patent asset development plan that is business-centric, investor and bod-forward.
specifically, she creates a well-positioned portfolio of patent assets encompassing the company’s core suite of products, and underlying technology, factoring in the company’s current/contemplated business model.
yenyun helps with the implementation, ongoing management, and growth of the patent asset development plan. moreover, she refines and optimizes the development plan of the company’s patent assets as the business, products, relevant markets, and technologies grow and evolve.
yenyun has also been asked to take over, further develop and manage patent portfolios initiated by others, growing patent assets from single digits to 100+. additionally, she has architected and obtained patents for clients, with individual patents valued by third parties to be between $1-$5 million.
yenyun has also facilitated the commercialisation of academic research by supporting the patenting process. she has helped develop international patent portfolios of u.s. fortune 100 and fortune 500 companies.
expertise
yenyun works with consumer tech, emerging deep tech, health sectors and legacy tech sectors, with particular expertise in augmented reality/virtual reality software and hardware, enterprise software, ai/robotics/machine learning, internet of things/connected devices/smart infrastructure, e-health solutions, wearable technologies, web 3 (blockchain, nfts), fintech, wearable technology.
qualifications and memberships
- us patent bar, 2006
- co-chair, stanford university alumni association of norway 2021- present
higher education
frequent phd guest student, department of medicine, university of oslo
msc biomechanical engineering, stanford university
msc electrical engineering, university of california
bsc. electrical and computer engineering, university of california
other
yenyun is a devoted hobbyist and frequent self-experimenter in the realm of cellular and physiological optimizations for human longevity and human performance.
yenyun is fluent in mandarin (native language) and english.
Consultant
Alex Piésold
mechanical engineering, designs Email Alex View profile alex piésoldalex piésold is a former partner in dehns’ engineering and design groups, and is now a consultant to the firm.
alex joined dehns in 1982, having graduated from the university of bristol with a bsc (hons) in civil engineering. he became a partner in 1993 and held the role of senior partner from 2015 – 2022.
Chris Davies
mechanical engineering, dispute resolution Email Chris View profile chris davieschris davies is a former partner in dehns’ engineering group, and is now a consultant to the firm.
chris joined dehns in 1980 with a degree in physics from southampton university. he became partner in 1987 and is a former head of our engineering patent group.
Christopher Pett
chemical Email Christopher View profile christopher pettchristopher pett is a former senior partner in dehns’ chemical group and is now a consultant to the firm.
christopher joined the firm in 1972 and is a graduate of the university of oxford where he obtained an honours degree in natural sciences (chemistry). he was awarded the university turbutt prize for practical organic chemistry and a college chemistry prize.
christopher is still a frequent visitor to continental europe and speaks excellent french and good german.
David Leckey
mechanical engineering, designs Email David View profile david leckeydavid leckey is a former partner in the engineering group and is now a consultant to the firm. he joined dehns in 1989. david graduated with first class honours in aeronautical engineering from the university of bristol. after two years in post-graduate training with lucas aerospace, he spent six years as an examiner in the uk patent office.
for his performance in the final examinations, he was awarded the strode prize by the chartered institute of patent agents.
Derek Matthews
chemical Email Derek View profile derek matthewsderek joined dehns in 1984, was made a partner in 1995 and is now a consultant to dehns’ chemical, pharmaceutical and chemical engineering group. he graduated from imperial college with a first class honours degree in chemistry (1981), and was subsequently awards a phd in physical chemistry from the university of london (1985).
Philip Towler
chemical, trade marks Email Philip View profile philip towlerphilip towler is a former partner in dehns’ trade marks and chemical groups, and is now a consultant to the firm.
philip joined dehns in 1988, after graduating from the university of oxford where he obtained an honours degree in natural sciences (chemistry). he became a partner in 1998.
Roberto Calamita
trade marks, chemical, dispute resolution Email Roberto View profile roberto calamitaroberto calamita is a former partner in dehns’ trade marks, chemical and dispute resolution groups and is now a consultant to the firm.
roberto joined dehns in 1985, having graduated from the university of oxford with an honours degree in natural sciences (chemistry). he became a partner in 1996, was head of the trade marks group for 20 years, and is a former managing partner of dehns.
Legal Assistant
Lauren Palmer
Legal Assistant Email Lauren View profile lauren palmerbackground
lauren is a legal assistant in the litigation group, based in the firm’s london office.
prior to joining dehns, lauren studied law at the university of bristol. during her degree, she completed a unit in intellectual property, which is what initially sparked her interest in patent and trade mark law.
lauren joined dehns in 2019 as a patent paralegal in the firm’s oxford office. she developed an extensive knowledge of patent formalities during that time and qualified as an ip paralegal member of the chartered institute of patent attorneys (cipa) in 2020. she now sits on the editorial board of the cipa journal, along with having written several articles for the journal herself.
lauren was promoted to the role of legal assistant in september 2022, and is currently studying for the solicitors qualifying examination (sqe). she passed her sqe1 functioning legal knowledge (flk) assessments in july 2023, with marks of 78% in paper 1 (flk1) and 74% in paper 2 (flk2), placing her in the top quintile of candidates who sat those papers.
expertise
lauren supports the litigation group on a variety of contentious and non-contentious matters.
qualifications and memberships
- ip paralegal member of the chartered institute of patent attorneys (cipa)
- postgraduate certificate in legal practice (solicitor part 1), bpp law school, 2023 – distinction
higher education
- llb law, university of bristol, 2018
other
- lauren was the winner of the “best patent paralegal” award in the 2022 national paralegal awards as a result of the work she did during her time as a patent paralegal.
UK/European Patent Attorney
Benedict Allum
software, physics, electronics Email Benedict View profile benedict allumbackground
benedict originally joined dehns in 2013 after completing a masters degree in physics at the university of cambridge. he rejoined the firm in 2020 after a few years spent working as a software developer and machine learning engineer.
benedict qualified as a uk and european patent attorney in 2021.
type of clients and client work
benedict works with a range of clients including large multinational corporations and smes. his work includes drafting patents for new inventions and prosecuting patent applications in the uk, europe, the usa and throughout the world.
expertise
benedict works across a variety of electronics, applied physics and it fields. he has particular experience in software, graphics processing, and flash memory devices.
qualifications and memberships
- intellectual property litigation certificate, 2023
- chartered uk patent attorney, 2021
- european patent attorney, 2021
- intellectual property law post-graduate certificate (brunel university), 2014
- member of the european patent institute (epi)
higher education
msci, natural sciences (physics), university of cambridge, 2012
Duke Quinton
biotechnology Email Duke View profile duke quintonbackground
duke joined dehns in 2017 after graduating from the university of oxford with an undergraduate master’s degree in molecular and cellular biochemistry. during his final academic year, duke worked in the kleanthous group, investigating the translocation mechanisms of protein antibiotics across the outer membrane of escherichia coli.
duke qualified as a european patent attorney in 2021 and qualified as a chartered (uk) patent attorney in 2024.
types of clients and client work
duke works with a variety of clients, including small/medium-sized enterprises, universities and multinational companies. duke handles prosecution of patent applications in europe, and has experience of prosecution in a number of other jurisdictions including canada, china, japan, the uk and the us. duke also assists with client work outside of prosecution, including freedom to operate analysis and patent application drafting.
expertise
duke handles patent applications relating to a variety of technologies within the life sciences, including antibodies, anti-cancer therapies, genome editing techniques, medical diagnostic techniques, fish farming and pharmaceuticals.
qualifications and memberships
- chartered (uk) patent attorney, 2024
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc), 2023
- european patent attorney, 2021
- pgcert (intellectual property law), queen mary university of london, 2018
- fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys (cipa)
- member of the european patent institute (epi)
higher education
mbiochem (molecular and cellular biochemistry), university of oxford, 2017
Ellis King
mechanical engineering Email Ellis View profile ellis kingbackground
ellis graduated from imperial college london in 2019 with a first-class msci physics degree, and joined dehns in september of that year. during her degree she studied a wide range of topics including solid state physics, astronomical imaging, and computational neuroscience. ellis also studied for a year at the university of heidelberg, where she completed her masters project with the institute of environmental physics, developing an algorithm for evaluating local methane sources and patterns using data from a cavity ring-down spectrometer. ellis had previously been a summer intern with dehns in 2018.
ellis qualified as a uk and european patent attorney in 2023.
types of clients and client work
ellis handles work in multiple jurisdictions with a variety of clients, ranging from individuals to multinational corporations, and is involved with the drafting, prosecution, and litigation of patents across various areas of technology. ellis also has experience with the drafting, filing, and prosecution of design applications.
expertise
working within the engineering team at dehns, ellis handles work across a wide range of subject-matter, including refrigeration systems, petroleum engineering, aerospace engineering, and medical devices.
qualifications and memberships
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2024
- european patent attorney, 2023
- uk (chartered) patent attorney, 2023
- student member of the chartered institute of patent attorneys (cipa)
- certificate in intellectual property law, queen mary university of london, 2020
higher education
msci, physics, imperial college london, 2019
other
in 2023, ellis was awarded the gill prize by cipa for best overall performance in the the final qualifying patent exams.
Emily Anstis
mechanical engineering, physics Email Emily View profile emily anstisbackground
emily anstis a european and chartered uk patent attorney. she joined the firm in 2011, and has an ma in physics from oxford university. emily previously spent a summer studying nanoparticles using secondary ion mass spectrometry and other surface analysis techniques at the national physical laboratory.
type of clients and client work
the clients emily works with include large multinational companies and smes. she has experience handling large patent portfolios. emily’s work includes drafting new patent applications, handling prosecution of patent applications worldwide, and handling european opposition procedures.
expertise
emily works on a wide variety of subject matter in physics and engineering fields.
qualifications and memberships
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2024
- european patent attorney
- uk chartered patent attorney
- intellectual property law post-graduate certificate (brunel university)
- intellectual property litigation certificate
- fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys
- member of the european patent institute
higher education
ma (oxon), physics, university of oxford
Gabriel Llanos Subijana
engineering Email Gabriel View profile gabriel llanos subijanabackground
gabriel is a uk (chartered) and european patent attorney in the dehns engineering group. he joined dehns in 2023, after graduating from the university of southampton and spending over four and a half years at another intellectual property firm.
during his degree, gabriel studied a wide range of subjects and specialised in sustainable energy systems. his projects included investigating the effect of lubricant composition on the cracking of wind turbine bearings and assessing the feasibility of using hydrogen for heating homes in southampton.
gabriel is a spaniard who grew up in brussels and is therefore fluent in spanish, french and english.
type of clients and client work
gabriel has experience in working with clients ranging from large corporations and smes to individual inventors.
gabriel’s work includes drafting patent applications for new inventions, prosecuting patent applications before the uk and european patent offices, as well as in various other jurisdictions such as the usa, china and japan.
expertise
gabriel has a broad range of experience and expertise in mechanical engineering such as medical devices, textile products, consumer goods, lng valve systems, material science and 3d printing, as well as in software and ai.
qualifications and memberships
- european patent attorney, 2022
- uk (chartered) patent attorney, 2023
- fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys (cipa)
higher education
meng mechanical engineering – sustainable energy systems, university of southampton (2018)
Hector Manly
mechanical engineering, physics Email Hector View profile hector manlybackground
hector is currently a technical assistant, working towards qualification as a uk and european patent attorney. following a four year master’s degree in physics at oxford university, with specialisation in astrophysics and biophysics, he joined dehns in september 2016, and now works at the firm’s brighton office.
type of clients and client work
hector works with a variety of clients, ranging from multinational corporations to smes. working with these clients, he has extensive experience of patent prosecution in mainstream ip jurisdictions including europe, japan, korea, china, usa, canada, gb, as well as regular experience in further jurisdictions such as australia, brazil, indonesia, russia.
he works with several partners and associates at dehns, both on the drafting and prosecution of patent applications, and with defensive and offensive third party proceedings. additionally, hector has experience working with clients to prepare freedom to operate opinions for upcoming product launches.
expertise
he works with a wide variety of engineering patents in industries which include oil and gas exploration, semiconductors, medical devices, mass spectrometry, tobacco industry products, and telecommunications.
qualifications and memberships
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2023
- certificate in ip law, queen mary university of london, 2017
- fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys (cipa)
higher education
mphys (physics), oxford university, 2012.
his final year at university was spent researching self-assembled structures and devices in the field of nanotechnology as part of the dna group in the clarendon laboratory, oxford.
Hendrik du Toit
mechanical engineering Email Hendrik View profile hendrik du toitbackground
prior to joining dehns as a technical assistant in 2019, hendrik worked in academic research and development at ucl developing reactor systems for the synthesis of nanomaterials used in lateral flow tests for point of care diagnostics. hendrik qualified as a european patent attorney in 2022 and later qualified as a chartered uk patent attorney in 2024.
between his meng, phd and post-doctoral research, hendrik has hands-on experience in the fields of bioprocessing, biofuel cells, glucose monitoring, nanomaterials, point-of-care diagnostic medicine, lab-on-a-chip reactors, rapid reactor prototyping (cad, cnc, photolithography, 3d printing and more), manufacturing and analytical science.
type of clients and client work
hendrik currently works with a variety of engineering clients including large multinational companies and smes. his work includes filing and prosecuting patent applications to grant before the uk and european patent offices, and providing technical advice to clients during opposition procedures. hendrik also has experience of prosecution in a number of other jurisdictions including australia, brazil, canada, china, japan, korea and the us.
expertise
hendrik has particular experience with inventions in the fields of aerospace, oil and gas exploration, spectrometry, scientific instruments, telecommunications, antibacterial coatings, battery technology, consumer products, medical devices, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (hvac), paper products, robotics and smart devices.
qualifications and memberships
- chartered uk patent attorney, 2024
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2023
- european patent attorney, 2022
- pgcert (distinction), intellectual property law, queen mary university of london, 2020
- member of the chartered institute of patent attorneys
higher education
- phd, chemical engineering (development of miniature enzymatic biofuel cells as potential power sources for implantable medical devices), university of bath, 2015
- meng (1st class honours), chemical engineering, imperial college london, 2011
Jack Mullins
mechanical engineering, physics, electronics Email Jack View profile jack mullinsbackground
jack joined dehns in 2019 after completing a phd in electrical and electronic engineering at the university of manchester, where he applied optical and electronic measurement techniques to study recombination active defects in silicon. prior to this, jack graduated from the university of manchester with a first class honours mphys degree in physics, during which he studied for a year at the university of paris sud xi in france. his master’s project focused on modelling of resist materials for use in electron beam lithography.
jack qualified as a uk and european patent attorney in 2023.
types of client and work
jack works with a variety of clients, including small/medium-sized enterprises and multinational companies. his work includes drafting and prosecuting patent applications in a variety of fields before the uk and european patent offices, as well as supporting prosecution in other jurisdictions including china, japan, korea, and the us. jack also has experience of assisting with patentability advice and of providing support during opposition proceedings.
expertise
jack works on cases covering a wide range of subject matter within physical sciences and engineering, including semiconductor devices, electronics, signal processing, software, and mechanical engineering.
qualification and memberships
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2024
- european patent attorney, 2023
- uk patent attorney, 2023
- intellectual property law post-graduate certificate, queen mary university of london, 2020.
- student member of the chartered institute of patent attorneys.
higher education
- phd, electrical and electronic engineering, university of manchester, 2019 (thesis title: dlts study of recombination active defects in solar silicon).
- mphys physics with study in europe (first class), university of manchester, 2014.
Jeremy Howarth
mechanical engineering Email Jeremy View profile jeremy howarthbackground
jeremy graduated from durham university in 2017 with a master’s degree in engineering. during this course he studied a range of topics covering electronics, mechanics, thermodynamics and fluid mechanics. in his final year, jeremy investigated methods of cost estimation in the manufacturing engineering sector.
jeremy qualified as a uk and european patent attorney in 2023.
types of clients and client work
jeremy works with a wide variety of clients, from sole inventors to large multinational corporations. he supports the work of several partners and associates in all aspects of patent drafting and prosecution, and also has experience in filing utility models and registered designs.
expertise
jeremy’s work involves handling cases covering subject matter from a broad range of engineering disciplines, including automotive engineering, electronics, radio communications, water and gas distribution systems, and medical devices. jeremy has experience working with inventors to identify and capture ideas, and developing effective ip protection strategies on a case by case basis. jeremy also assists in monitoring and assessing third parties’ patent portfolios and advising on validity, infringement, and freedom to operate.
qualifications and memberships
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2024
- uk patent attorney, 2023
- european patent attorney, 2023
- certificate in ip law, queen mary university of london, 2019
- fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys
higher education
meng general engineering, durham university (2017)
Matt Dixon
mechanical engineering Email Matt View profile matt dixonbackground
matt joined dehns in 2020 as a technical assistant in the engineering department shortly after graduating from the university of southampton with a first-class honours meng mechanical engineering degree. in the second half of his degree, matt specialised in biomedical engineering, with his master’s project focusing on developing a medical device aimed at protecting the elderly from falls.
type of clients and client work
matt has experience working with a range of clients, including individual inventors, smes, universities and multinational companies
expertise
matt works on a wide variety of subject matter in the engineering sector, with a particular focus on aerospace and biomedical engineering.
qualifications and memberships
- uk chartered patent attorney, 2024
- european patent attorney, 2024
- certificate in intellectual property law, queen mary university of london, 2021
- fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys
higher education
meng (hons) mechanical engineering / biomedical engineering, university of southampton, 2020
Philip Wright
mechanical engineering Email Philip View profile philip wrightbackground
philip joined the engineering department at dehns in 2019 as a technical assistant.
he graduated from the university of leeds in 2019 with a first class meng degree in aeronautical and aerospace engineering. during his studies, philip covered a broad range of topics relating to aerospace and mechanical engineering such as aerospace structures, fluid dynamics, thermodynamics, aerospace propulsion and engineering materials.
philip qualified as a european patent attorney in 2023 and uk patent attorney in 2024.
types of clients and client work
philip works with clients of a variety of sizes, from sole-inventors and start-ups to multinational corporations. his work primarily includes the drafting of new patent applications and prosecution of applications in a number of jurisdictions, such as in europe at the epo and the uk at the ukipo. he is also involved with freedom to operate and patentability analysis as well as supporting oppositions at the epo.
expertise
philip has significant experience working with subject-matter in a wide range of technical fields. notable areas of expertise include: aerospace technology and in particular propulsion systems; mechanical and electrical systems for buildings and vehicles such as hvac, fire control systems and security systems; hydraulic systems and medical devices.
qualifications and memberships
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2023
- uk chartered patent attorney, 2024
- european patent attorney, 2023
- fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys (cipa)
- member of the european patent institute (epi)
- certificate in intellectual property law, queen mary university of london, 2020
education
meng aeronautical and aerospace engineering, university of leeds, 2019
Suzannah Merchant
mechanical engineering, physics Email Suzannah View profile suzannah merchantbackground
suzannah is a european and chartered uk patent attorney in the engineering group. suzannah joined dehns in 2011, having graduated from the university of oxford with a first-class master of physics degree and a doctorate in the field of terahertz spectroscopy.
type of clients and client work
suzannah acts for a wide range of clients, from start-ups, university spin-outs and smes through to multinational corporations. her work includes drafting new patent applications, handling prosecution of patent applications worldwide, handling oppositions and appeals before the european patent office, and preparing opinions on ip matters such as patentability of inventions and freedom-to-operate.
expertise
suzannah’s experience in ip work encompasses a wide variety of engineering and physics fields, including: audio devices; wireless and mobile communication devices, networks and protocols; control and safety devices and protocols; optical detection, measurement and imaging devices; solid state lighting devices; quantum computing; sensor networks; energy generation; mechanical devices; medical devices; and nuclear decommissioning. suzannah also has particular experience in successfully pursuing patent protection for inventions having significant non-technical aspects, which can be especially challenging before the european patent office.
qualifications and memberships
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2024
- chartered patent attorney
- european patent attorney
- intellectual property litigation certificate
- certificate in intellectual property law (brunel university)
- fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys
- member of the european patent institute
higher education
dphil, physics (terahertz spectroscopy), university of oxford, 2012
mphys (first class) physics, university of oxford, 2006
suzannah’s graduate study broadly encompassed aspects of solid state physics and photonics, and in particular was concerned with spectroscopic analysis and opto-electronics. her research focused on the analysis of terahertz data for studying the behaviour of electrons in thin-film semiconductor materials. during her undergraduate degree she specialised in lasers, optics, quantum information processing and theoretical physics.
Thomas Jeal
mechanical engineering, physics Email Thomas View profile thomas jealbackground
tom is a uk chartered patent attorney who joined dehns as a technical assistant in the engineering group in may 2021, having previously worked as a trainee patent attorney at another firm since september 2018. prior to this, tom obtained a degree in physics and astrophysics from the university of birmingham.
tom qualified as a uk patent attorney in 2022 and european patent attorney in 2023.
type of clients and client work
tom works with clients of all sizes, from individual inventors to multinational corporations, obtaining protection for their intellectual property in a large number of jurisdictions including the uk, us, europe, china, japan, and australia. tom has extensive patent drafting and prosecution experience, in addition to undertaking freedom to operate projects and oppositions work.
expertise
tom works predominantly in the fields of engineering and physics, with previous subject matter including medical devices, aerospace components, fluid control valves, and automotive technology.
qualifications and memberships
- european patent attorney, 2023
- uk chartered patent attorney, 2022
higher education
bsc, physics and astrophysics, university of birmingham, 2018
Tim Davies
mechanical engineering, physics, software, electronics Email Tim View profile tim daviesbackground
tim joined dehns in june 2019 after finishing a dphil in materials science at the university of oxford, where he worked on developing new techniques for jointing superconducting wires in mri scanners. prior to that, tim graduated from the university of cambridge with an msci in natural sciences, specialising in materials science, where he was awarded the goldsmiths’ prize and medal for the highest mark in final year materials science examinations. tim qualified as a uk patent attorney in 2023.
types of clients and client work
tim currently works with a variety of engineering clients including large multinational companies. his work includes filing and prosecuting patent applications to grant before the uk and european patent offices, along with assisting with european opposition procedures.
expertise
tim works across a variety of engineering fields and has particular experience in patents relating to semiconductor devices, graphics processing and consumer products.
qualifications and memberships
- basic litigation skills course, 2023
- intellectual property law post-graduate certificate, queen mary university london, 2020
- fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys
higher education
msci in natural sciences, university of cambridge, 2015
dphil in materials science, university of oxford, 2019
German Patent Attorney
Simon Rumswinkel
mechanical engineering, physics Email Simon View profile simon rumswinkelbackground
simon studied chemistry, mineralogy and material sciences in bayreuth and leipzig, germany. after several years of post-graduate work in materials chemistry in salzburg, austria, simon began his training as a patent attorney at kudlek, grunert & partner (kgp), munich, in 2019. he joined dehns at the time of the merger with kgp in 2021.
type of clients and client work
the majority of simon’s clients are multinational corporations and small/medium sized companies. he advises on all aspects of the patent process, including drafting applications, prosecution in multiple jurisdictions, post-grant proceedings and patent infringement and enforcement matters. an important part of his work includes performing and evaluating patent searches and providing opinions on patentability and freedom to operate.
expertise
simon works in a broad range of technical fields with a focus on automotive technology, chemical engineering and analytic devices. his expertise includes thermal management systems, automotive exhaust systems, oil and gas processing such as thermal and catalytic cracking, new synthesis pathways based on oxidative catalytic processes, air separation technology, mass spectrometry and microscopy.
qualifications and memberships
simon has passed his qualification exams for becoming a patent attorney.
higher education
msc in mineralogy and material sciences, universität leipzig, 2015, with a thesis on clay derivatives as additives in concrete.
bsc in chemistry, universität bayreuth, 2012, with a thesis on ultrasound induced porosity in aluminium iron alloys.
other
simon is fluent in german, english and polish
European Patent Attorney
Alex Siddle
mechanical engineering Email Alex View profile alex siddlebackground
alex joined the profession in 2020 after completing his phd at imperial college london. he worked with international colleagues to analyse data from nasa and esa spacecraft to characterise particular regions of mars’ atmosphere. prior to this, alex graduated from lancaster university in 2016 with a degree in physics, astrophysics and space science (mphys). his final year project was focused on studying the aurora at saturn. before joining dehns in 2023, alex worked as a technical assistant at another private practice.
types of client and client work
alex has worked with a range of clients, primarily in the field of engineering. he has experience prosecuting uk, european and pct patent applications, as well as experience in ep oppositions and freedom to operate opinions.
expertise
alex has experience in various engineering sectors, including medical devices, hygiene products, household appliances, and automotive components.
qualifications and memberships
- certificate in intellectual property law, queen mary university of london (2022)
- student member of the chartered institute of patent attorneys
- student member of the european patent institute
higher education
phd, physics, imperial college london, 2020 (thesis title: aeronomy of mars: an observational study of the dynamic martian upper atmosphere).
mphys, physics, astrophysics and space science (first class), lancaster university, 2016.
Amitha Francis
engineering Email Amitha View profile amitha francisbackground
amitha joined dehns in 2023 and is a qualified european patent attorney, having previously worked at another law firm in munich, since 2016.
amitha has previous experience working as a physics lecturer at stella maris college, chennai, india, as well as working as a research associate at iitm in india.
prior to starting work in the field of patents, amitha successfully gained a phd in physics and held postdoctoral positions at the universität augsburg.
type of clients and client work
amitha is experienced in the drafting and prosecution of european patents, as well as representing clients at oral proceedings before the epo examination and opposition divisions. amitha is able to coordinate with patent attorneys and agents in other jurisdictions and is fluent in english, german and tamil.
expertise
amitha’s expertise lies in physics, materials science, semiconductor devices, electronics, mechanical engineering, as well as, medical devices and telecommunications.
qualifications and memberships
- european patent attorney, 2022.
- epi (european patent institute).
higher education
- m.sc in materials science, anna university, chennai, india, 2005.
- mphil in physics, bharathidasan university, trichy, india, 2007.
- ph.d in physics, universität augsburg, germany, 2012.
Callum Matthews
biotechnology Email Callum View profile callum matthewsbackground
callum joined the dehns biotechnology group in 2019 after graduating from the university of oxford with a first class mbiochem degree in molecular and cellular biochemistry. during his final academic year, callum carried out a research project in the department of biochemistry, which involved using molecular dynamics simulations to investigate lipoprotein trafficking in bacteria.
callum qualified as a european patent attorney in 2023.
types of client and work
callum works with a variety of clients, including small/medium-sized enterprises, universities and multinational companies. callum handles prosecution of patent applications in europe, and has experience of prosecution in a number of other jurisdictions including canada, china, japan, korea, the uk and the us. callum also assists with client work outside of prosecution, including freedom to operate analysis and patent application drafting.
expertise
callum has gained experience relating to a wide variety of technologies in the pharmaceutical and biotechnological fields, including recombinant dna and protein products, antibodies, biosimilars, bioinformatics, stem cells, diagnostics assays, therapeutic treatments, virology and vaccines.
qualification and memberships
- european patent attorney, 2023
- pgcert (intellectual property law), queen mary university of london, 2021
- student member of cipa (chartered institute of patent attorneys)
higher education
mbiochem (molecular and cellular biochemistry), university of oxford, 2019
Richard Mead
physics, software, electronics, mechanical engineering Email Richard View profile richard meadbackground
richard is an european patent attorney in the engineering department. he joined dehns in 2017 as a technical assistant and qualified as a european patent attorney in 2022. prior to working for dehns, richard obtained extensive technical knowledge through completion of a phd at the university of cambridge following a master’s degree in physics at the university of southampton.
type of clients and client work
richard works with a variety of clients, including individual inventors, smes, and multinational companies. he primarily works on obtaining patent protection for clients through drafting and prosecution of patent applications before the uk and european patent offices, as well as in various other jurisdictions such as the usa, but also has experience in contentious and advice work relating to other aspects of patent law.
expertise
richard works on cases covering a variety of subject matter within physical sciences and engineering. he has particular experience working on inventions relating to electronics, software, and scientific instruments and is also experienced in inventions concerning the composition, construction, and production methods of various products.
qualifications and memberships
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2024
- european patent attorney, 2022
- student member of cipa
higher education
phd, physics/materials science, university of cambridge, 2017
mphys (hons) physics (first class), university of southampton
Rosie Lawrence
biotechnology Email Rosie View profile rosie lawrencebackground
rosie joined the dehns brighton office in october 2020 after completing a master’s degree (distinction) at the university of southampton. her dissertation classified variants in congenital heart disease patients to investigate the presence of undiagnosed primary ciliopathies.
rosie’s undergraduate degree, at the university of cambridge, focused on genetics in the final year, with a project involving crispr/cas9 mutagenesis of drosophila melanogaster lines. the project aimed to determine the effect of plp mutagenesis on female fertility and egg chamber morphology.
she is a trainee patent attorney in the dehns biotechnology group.
types of client and client work
rosie has experience with a broad range of clients including universities (and their associated spin out companies) and small- to medium-sized companies, and a few multinational corporations.
the majority of her work relates to the filing and prosecuting of patent applications in europe and other jurisdictions worldwide.
expertise
rosie is involved in patent work in many areas of biotechnology and biochemistry, including genomics, recombinant nucleic acid and protein products, screening methods, transgenic plants, diagnostic assays, microbiology and probiotics, virology and vaccines.
qualifications and memberships
- postgraduate certificate in intellectual property law, bournemouth university, 2022
- pre-european qualification exam, 2023
higher education
- ba (hons) natural sciences (biological sciences), university of cambridge, 2019
- msc (distinction), genomic medicine, university of southampton, 2020
other
rosie featured in an episode of dehns’ “the ip podcast” where she discussed her experiences of studying stem subjects at school and then entering a stem profession as a woman – this podcast was part of dehns’ contribution to “international day of women and girls in stem” in february 2023.
Stefan Schraml
mechanical engineering, physics, electronics Email Stefan View profile stefan schramlbackground
stefan is a european patent attorney. he joined dehns in 2020 after having worked for another patent attorney firm for several years. he has a phd in theoretical physics and held postdoctoral positions at the lawrence berkeley national laboratory, berkeley (ca), the universität wien, vienna, and the max-planck-institut für physik, munich, before starting to work in the field of patents.
type of clients and client work
stefan has particular experience in, drafting and prosecuting german and european patents and he has experience in representing clients at oral proceedings before the epo examining, opposition and appeal divisions.
his clients range from universities and small companies to large multinational companies.
expertise
he handles patent work in the electronics, mechanical engineering and physics fields.
qualifications and memberships
european patent attorney, 2019
epi (european patent institute)
higher education
diploma in physics, ludwigs-maximilians-universität münchen, 1998
phd in physics, ludwigs-maximilians-universität münchen, 2001
Tasha Collins
mechanical engineering Email Tasha View profile tasha collinsbackground
tasha graduated from the university of bath in 2016 with a degree in mechanical engineering (meng). she spent a year in industry working as an r&d engineer running projects and designing tests to improve radial spring fasteners. for her final year project, she undertook a quantitative assessment of bone fracture healing using ultrasound. after completing her degree, tasha worked in private practices in cheltenham and bath before joining dehns in 2021 as a technical assistant in the bristol office.
tasha qualified as a european patent attorney in 2023.
type of clients and client work
tasha has worked with a wide range of clients covering all engineering technical fields. she handles drafting, filing and prosecution of uk, european and pct patent applications.
expertise
tasha has experience in a variety of engineering sectors including manufacturing, packaging, medical devices and oil & gas.
qualifications and memberships
- european patent attorney, 2023
- student member of the chartered institute of patent attorneys
- student member of the european patent institute
higher education
meng (hons) mechanical engineering, university of bath, 2016
Trade Mark Attorney
Charlotte Ginnaw
trade marks Email Charlotte View profile trade mark attorney charlotte ginnawbackground
charlotte is a uk chartered trade mark attorney, having qualified in 2024.
charlotte joined the firm in 2021, after graduating from the university of birmingham in 2020 with a degree in geography. during her final year she completed her dissertation on the spatial and temporal variation in the water quality, biodiversity and community composition of two streams in north wales. after finishing university, charlotte set up her own small food business, which gave her a unique appreciation for the importance of brand distinctiveness, and sparked an interest in intellectual property.
types of clients and client work
charlotte assists a wide range of clients from individuals to multinational corporations in a variety of uk, international and overseas trade mark matters. charlotte works with clients from a number of different commercial sectors including food/drink, hospitality, healthcare/fitness, cosmetics, finance/investment and software development.
charlotte has been involved with conducting clearance searches and advising on the availability/registrability of proposed trade marks, filing trade mark applications, advising on, filing and defending oppositions, preparing settlement agreements/undertakings, advising on infringement matters, and advising on domain disputes, including preparing and filing udrp complaints.
expertise
charlotte assists the associates and partners with all aspects of trade mark law, but particularly enjoys helping clients to identify marks that are available for use/registration, and to secure registration of their proposed marks. charlotte also has a particular interest in domain disputes, and has experience in assisting to obtain positive outcomes.
qualifications and memberships
- uk chartered trade mark attorney, 2024
- ip litigator – trade mark, 2024
- professional certificate in trade mark practice, nottingham law school, 2024 – commendation
- postgraduate certificate in intellectual property law, queen mary university of london, 2023 – distinction
- member of the chartered institute of trade mark attorneys (citma)
higher education
bsc (hons) in geography, university of birmingham, 2020
Daniel Wheatley
trade marks Email Daniel View profile trade mark attorney daniel wheatleybackground
dan is a uk chartered trade mark attorney, having qualified in 2024.
dan joined the firm in 2022 after working within a private office at the heart of government. alongside his previous role, dan completed both the msc in management of intellectual property and the postgraduate certificate in intellectual property law at queen mary university of london. whilst dan was first introduced to ip during his undergraduate chemistry course at the university of bath, it was his postgraduate studies, including partaking in the pro bono ‘qlegal’ scheme, that fostered his strong interest in trade mark law.
types of clients and client work
dan assists a wide range of clients from individuals to multinational corporations in relation to trade mark matters in the uk, eu, and worldwide. dan works with clients across a variety of commercial sectors, including engineering, food and beverage, entertainment, travel, and financial services.
dan is regularly involved with advising on the availability and registrability of proposed trade marks; filing trade mark applications; advising on, filing, and defending oppositions; advising on infringement matters; preparing settlement agreements; and attending to trade mark assignments and recordal exercises.
expertise
dan assists the associates and partners at the firm with all aspects of trade mark law, but especially enjoys helping clients overcome difficult obstacles on the path to securing a trade mark registration. dan also has a particular interest in handling contentious matters, and has experience in assisting to obtain favourable outcomes.
qualifications and memberships
- uk chartered trade mark attorney, 2024
- professional certificate in trade mark practice, nottingham law school, 2024 – distinction
- postgraduate certificate in intellectual property law, queen mary university of london, 2021 – distinction
- member of the chartered institute of trade mark attorneys (citma)
- ip litigator – trade mark, 2024
higher education
- bsc (hons), university of bath, chemistry for drug discovery, 2020
- msc, queen mary university of london, management of intellectual property, 2021
Tiernan Graham
trade marks Email Tiernan View profile trade mark attorney tiernan grahambackground
tiernan is a uk chartered trade mark attorney, having qualified in 2024.
tiernan joined dehns in 2021, after graduating from the university of bristol with an undergraduate degree in law, and a master’s degree in international law, for which he achieved first class honours and a distinction respectively. during his second year at bristol he received a letter of commendation from the law school. at bristol, tiernan studied intellectual property law, which he credits with sparking his interest in the area, and in trade mark law specifically.
types of clients and client work
tiernan assists a wide range of clients from individuals to multinational corporations in a variety of uk, international and overseas trade mark matters. tiernan works with clients from a varied range of commercial sectors including cosmetics, energy, finance, food and drink, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, and software.
tiernan has experience of uk and eu trade mark filing, prosecution, and enforcement, including:
-
- conducting pre-filing searches and advising on filing strategy;
- dealing with official objections, including drafting and filing substantive responses;
- filing and defending oppositions, including drafting and filing submissions and evidence;
- reviewing surveillance reports and watch notices, and advising on appropriate actions;
- negotiating, drafting, and finalising settlement agreements.
tiernan has also been involved with filing and prosecuting international applications, including liaising with and instructing overseas agents, and has also assisted with customs issues involving applications for action and counterfeit goods.
expertise
tiernan assists the associates and partners with all aspects of trade mark law, but particularly enjoys helping clients overcome official objections issued by the uk ipo and euipo, in order to secure registration of their proposed marks.
qualifications and memberships
- uk chartered trade mark attorney, 2024
- professional certificate in trade mark practice, nottingham law school, 2024
- postgraduate certificate in trade mark law and practice, queen mary university of london, 2023
- member of the chartered institute of trade mark attorneys (citma)
higher education
- llb, law, university of bristol, 2020
- llm, international law, university of bristol, 2021
Business Support
Ben Bennett
Chief Operating Officer Email Ben View profile ben bennettben joined dehns as chief operating officer in 2023. having graduated with a law degree from cambridge university and obtained an mba from henley business school, ben has subsequently held senior leadership and management roles, as a partner, board member and coo, for nearly 20 years in the legal, accountancy and property sectors.
ben is commercially minded with a deep understanding of the business, dynamics and mechanics of professional services, its strategic challenges and the operational realities. ben positively contributes to driving our client-focussed innovation and growth, and is an integral part of the firm’s leadership team.
Chris Bell
Head of Finance Email Chris View profile chris bellchris is a qualified accountant with over 20 years finance experience, including working with the ‘big 4’ accountancy firms, and at various overseas locations around the world. he is responsible for all aspects of the finance function within the business.
Dileen Van Beek
Head of Formalities Email Dileen View profile dileen van beekdileen has worked in the intellectual property industry for over 20 years and has cipa and citma qualifications, accompanied by a law degree.
she is responsible for the records, patent renewals, trademark renewals and ep validation teams.
Gill McGuire
Professional Support Attorney Email Gill View profile gill mcguirebackground
gill is a european patent attorney and a chartered uk patent attorney. she joined the ip profession in 2002 after graduating from the university of cambridge with a first-class degree in natural sciences, specialising in chemistry. having spent a number of years as a partner in a different firm, gill joined dehns in january 2023 to take on the role of professional support attorney.
type of clients and client work
in her role as professional support attorney, gill oversees learning & development at dehns, including training, cpd, knowledge management and recruitment. her role also involves working with various teams within dehns to support best professional practice.
as a qualified attorney, gill is experienced in working with both large multinationals and small start-up companies in the fields of both pharmaceutical chemistry and industrial chemistry, in particular drafting, prosecuting and defending cases. in addition to advising on prosecution in europe and the major global jurisdictions beyond europe, including us, japan, china and korea, she has extensive experience in advising clients on the management of global patent portfolios, including advising on commercial products with the requisite handling of the complex interplay between patents, supplementary protection certificates and regulatory data protection. gill also has significant experience of running oral proceedings at the epo, in particular opposition and appeal proceedings.
expertise
having spent several years as training partner with overall responsibility for the training of all the trainee attorneys at her previous firm, gill has extensive experience of supporting professional staff including providing support to the trainees in the preparation for professional qualifying exams.
as a qualified attorney, gill’s experience lies in the broad field of chemistry, with particular expertise in the diverse fields of polymer chemistry, catalysis and pharmaceutical chemistry.
qualifications and memberships
- authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) 2023
- uk chartered patent attorney, 2007
- european patent attorney, 2006
- certificate in ip law, university of london, 2003 (awarded bill caro prize for top overall mark)
- fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys
- member of the european patent institute
higher education
msci (natsci) ma (first class) university of cambridge, 2002
other
people are at the centre of every firm and this is particularly true of dehns. with this in mind, gill qualified as a certified coach in 2023.
Jeanette Gjestvang
Business Services Manager, Oslo Email Jeanette View profile jeanette gjestvangjeanette holds an mba in marketing and has over 20 years of experience in management, sales, and marketing across norwegian and international companies. she has been involved in the ip industry since 2010. her current role involves managing the daily operations, marketing and services in the oslo office.
Keith Binks
Head of Facilities and Environmental Management Email Keith View profile keith binkskeith joined dehns in 2016, having spent the previous 17 years in facilities management in the legal sector. based in the london office he is responsible for the firm’s facilities, health & safety, and environmental management. he is also a member of the energy managers association.
Malcolm Hancock
Head of IT Email Malcolm View profile malcolm hancockmalcolm is dehns’ head of it and joined the firm in 2012. prior to this he managed it in the emea region for a global law firm and previously held other it managerial roles. originally, malcolm was a full time professional musician and he is also a veteran of h.m. armed forces.
Michelle Menné
Senior Business Development Manager Email Michelle View profile michelle mennémichelle joined dehns in 2019 and has over 10 years experience working in the legal sector. she is responsible for the development and implementation of dehns’ business development and marketing plans, and enjoys growing strategic partnerships and building the dehns brand in different regions and sectors.
Nicole Haggai
Head of Systems Development Email Nicole View profile nicole haggainicole joined dehns in february 2012 with 10 years prior experience in ip firms in israel and the uk. at dehns, nicole oversees systems administration and integration within the firm.
Olly Bonser
Head of Business Development Email Olly View profile olly bonserolly joined dehns in 2015, having worked in commercial property for the previous 12 years.
with more than 25 years experience in marketing and business development, olly is responsible for the management of all strategic business development and marketing activities at dehns.
olly also hosts our award-winning podcast: “the ip podcast”.
Polly Shaw
Head of HR Email Polly View profile polly shawpolly joined dehns in 2014 having worked in hr in commercial law firms for the previous 10 years. she is responsible for the management and delivery of strategic activity and operational services relating to hr.
Trainee Patent Attorney
Alexander Bindel
Trainee Patent Attorney Email Alexander View profile alexander bindelbackground
after obtaining his msc in astronomy and astrophysics, alexander joined kudlek grunert & partner in 2012 as a technical assistant. he joined dehns following the merger of the two firms in 2021.
type of clients and client work
alexander drafts and prosecutes patent applications before the epo and the german patent and trademark office (dpma) in english and german language. his work also includes performing and evaluating patent searches and providing opinions on patentability and freedom to operate.
alexander works with clients of all size, from local and domestic smes in munich and germany, to multinationals in germany, the us, china and japan.
expertise
alexander’s experience in patent work includes physics, optics and microscopy, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, control engineering, automation of technical processes, automotive technology, elevator technology, heat exchangers, methods of joining and coating material as well as software applications.
in particular, he has knowledge in automotive technology including engine construction, vehicle electronics, motor control and hybrid systems as well as electrical and hybrid driving.
higher education
msc in astronomy and astrophysics, ludwig-maximilians university munich, 2011, with a master thesis at the university observatory munich on “atmospheric transmission on the wendelstein observatory”.
bsc in physics, ludwig-maximilians university munich, 2009, with a bachelor thesis at the university observatory munich on “cosmic background radiation and reionization of the universe”
other
alexander is fluent in german and english.
Alexander Crick
mechanical engineering, physics Email Alexander View profile alexander crickbackground
alex joined the dehns brighton office in september 2023 as a trainee patent attorney.
he graduated from the university of sheffield with an meng in general engineering, specialising in materials science, where he was awarded the pam liversidge prize for the best overall performance in the final year of the general engineering programme.
his final year project focused on developing a new dielectric material for use in high temperature (x9r) ceramic capacitors for aerospace and automotive applications.
type of clients and client work
alex primarily works with large multinational companies. his work includes prosecution of patent applications in the uk and europe.
expertise
alex works across a variety of areas throughout materials science and engineering, with a particular focus on aerospace-related subject matter.
qualifications and memberships
- postgraduate certificate in intellectual property, bournemouth university, 2024
- student member of cipa (chartered institute of patent attorneys)
higher education
meng in general engineering (materials), university of sheffield, 2023
Amelia Price
biotechnology Email Amelia View profile amelia pricebackground
amelia is a trainee patent attorney in the dehns biotechnology group. she joined the dehns london office in september 2023.
prior to starting at dehns, amelia completed an msc in genomics with distinction at the university of southampton. for her dissertation project, she worked with the ai-driven drug discovery company evariste to investigate novel therapeutic treatments for oesophageal adenocarcinoma. before this, amelia graduated from the university of southampton with a first-class bsc degree in biochemistry, with her final project focusing on devising a drug development business plan.
type of clients and client work
amelia has worked with a range of clients, from small-to-medium-sized businesses and sole inventors to larger companies. she has gained experience working in multiple jurisdictions, such as the epo, the uk, the us, australia, brazil, canada, china, india, and japan, with the majority of her work concerning the filing and prosecution of patent applications.
expertise
amelia has worked on a variety of technologies in the fields of biochemistry and biotechnology, including inventions related to nucleic acid detection and amplification, modulation of gene expression, therapeutic uses of pharmaceutical compositions, immunology, and oncology.
qualifications and memberships
- postgraduate certificate in intellectual property law, bournemouth university, 2024
- student member of the chartered institute of patent attorneys (cipa)
higher education
msc genomics, university of southampton, 2023
bsc (hons) biochemistry, university of southampton, 2022
Andrew Griffiths
chemical Email Andrew View profile andrew griffithsbackground
andrew joined the dehns brighton office in september 2024 as a trainee patent attorney, having graduated from the university of oxford in 2024 with an mchem in chemistry.
andrew spent his final year of university working for the neidig group, where he focussed on the chemistry of low-valent iron organometallic complexes. andrew’s work with the neidig group inspired his undergraduate thesis entitled ‘the synthesis and reactivity of low-valent iron alkene and alkyne complexes’. andrew’s work required the use of 57fe mössbauer spectroscopy to both assess iron speciation in-situ, and assist with assignment of the iron species present after reaction. x-ray crystallography was also used to elicit the crystal structures of the complexes synthesised.
higher education
mchem chemistry degree, first class honours, university of oxford, 2024
Anna Stoyanova
mechanical engineering Email Anna View profile anna stoyanovabackground
anna graduated from the university of bath with a meng degree in mechanical engineering with manufacturing and management with a further emphasis on medical engineering and biomechanics.
anna joined dehns’ bristol office as a trainee patent attorney in march 2020.
type of clients and client work
anna’s day-to-day work primarily involves the drafting and prosecution of patent application before the european patent office for large multinational corporations with some direct client work. she regularly liaises with foreign associates regrading patent prosecution in a variety of jurisdictions – notably the us, japan and korea. anna has experience with advising and assisting clients in all stages of opposition proceedings in front of the epo.
expertise
anna is involved in patent prosecution in a variety of fields. however, a majority of her work relates to gas turbine engines, conveyance systems and aerosol-provision devices.
professional qualifications and memberships
- postgraduate certificate in ip law, bournemouth university, 2021
- student member of the chartered institute of patent attorneys (cipa)
higher education
meng (hons), university of bath, mechanical engineering with manufacturing and management, 2019
anna’s dissertation was on statistical analysis of computational meshes for cardiovascular diagnosis.
other
anna has also worked as a process engineer in the fmcg (fast moving consumer goods) field.
Armin Daszki
mechanical engineering Email Armin View profile armin daszkibackground
armin joined dehns in 2021 as a trainee patent attorney after completing a phd in material science at imperial college london. his research focused on the nucleation and microstructure of βsn in lead free solders, particularly in the presence of intermetallic compounds. prior to this, armin graduated from imperial college london with a first class meng degree in materials science and engineering.
type of clients and client work
armin assists a wide range of clients from multinational companies with international patent portfolios, to small enterprises and individual inventors. a particular area of interest includes working with researchers from universities and associated technology transfer offices (tto) from around europe, including norway and the baltic states.
expertise
armin works in a range of technical fields of engineering and sciences. particular areas of technology include commercial and residential refrigeration, oil and gas, sensor systems, gas turbine engines, constructions systems, access control devices, as well as in vivo and ex vivo medical devices an medical diagnosis systems.
qualifications and memberships
- postgraduate certificate in intellectual property law, bournemouth university, 2022
- student member of cipa (chartered institute of patent attorneys)
higher education
meng, materials science & engineering (first class honours), imperial college london, 2016
phd, material science, imperial college london, 2021 (thesis title: nucleation and microstructure study of βsn in lead-free solders)
Benjamin Gray
mechanical engineering Email Benjamin View profile benjamin graybackground
prior to joining dehns, benjamin graduated from the university of exeter in 2019, with a masters degree in physics. in his final year masters project he specialised in biophysics and investigated the physical properties of cell membranes using artificial physical models, particularly droplet interface bilayers.
benjamin joined the engineering department at dehns in november 2019 as a trainee patent attorney.
type of clients and client work
benjamin handles filing and prosecution of patent applications before the uk and european patent offices, and also has experience handling applications in a wide range of other territories worldwide. clients include large multinational corporations, smes and universities. benjamin also has experience drafting new patent applications, and providing patentability and invalidity opinions.
expertise
benjamin handles work in a wide range of mechanical engineering and physics fields. examples include technology related to medical devices, aerospace technology, elevator systems, oil and gas apparatus, and tobacco heating products (“thp”).
qualifications and memberships
- certificate in intellectual property law, queen mary university of london (2021)
- student member of the chartered institute of patent attorneys (cipa)
- member of the institute of physics (iop)
higher education
mphys physics, university of exeter 2019
Cameron Burke
physics Email Cameron View profile cameron burkebackground
cameron joined dehns in september 2022 following his graduation from the university of warwick where he received a first class integrated master’s degree in physics. his studies exposed him to a variety of topics including electronics, quantum mechanics, materials science, and statistical physics. in his final year he researched exocomets in the far-uv, collaborating with experts in the field to devise automated methods for characterising their properties.
types of client and client work
cameron works with a diverse set of clients, from solo inventors to start-ups and small/medium-sized enterprises, all the way to large multinationals. cameron handles prosecution of patent applications in the uk and europe, and also has experience prosecuting in other jurisdictions such as the us, canada, and china. cameron also works with the partners and associates of the firm in all aspects of patent drafting.
expertise
cameron has gained experience relating to a wide variety of technologies in the fields of the physical sciences and engineering. while he regularly works on software patents, cameron has most experience dealing with mechanical inventions and wireless communication systems.
qualifications and memberships
- postgraduate certificate (intellectual property law), bournemouth university (2023)
- student member of cipa (chartered institute of patent attorneys)
higher education
mphys (hons) physics, first class, university of warwick (2022)
Chloe Baker
chemical Email Chloe View profile chloe bakerbackground
chloe joined dehns in 2022 after completing a phd in inorganic chemistry at imperial college london. her research involved the synthesis of switchable organometallic catalysts towards the polymerisation of cyclic esters. prior to this, chloe graduated from the university of sheffield with a first class mchem degree in chemistry, during which she studied for a year at the ruprecht karls university of heidelberg in germany.
chloe also has experience working for global food and beverage company, mondelēz international, and she is fluent in both english and german.
type of clients and client work
chloe works with clients of a variety of sizes, from university spin-outs and smes all the way through to multinational corporations with international patent portfolios.
expertise
chloe has gained experience working on patent applications relating to a wide variety of technologies in the chemical field, including: polymer chemistry, organometallic catalysis, drug-delivery formulations, and materials chemistry.
qualifications and memberships
- student member of the chartered institute of patent attorneys (cipa).
- postgraduate certificate in intellectual property law, bournemouth university, 2023
higher education
phd, inorganic chemistry, imperial college london, 2022 (thesis title: switchable initiators for rac-lactide ring-opening polymerisation).
mchem, chemistry with study in europe (first class hons), university of sheffield, 2017.
Daniel Hirsch McConnon
engineering Email Daniel View profile daniel hirsch mcconnonbackground
daniel joined the dehns munich office in september 2024 after graduating from the university of nottingham with a masters degree in physics. in his studies he specialised in areas including semiconductor physics and quantum optics. his final year dissertation was titled ‘switching mechanisms in hybrid polymer/metal nanoparticle based memristors’, in which he investigated how charge trapping within defect states affected switching between high and low resistive states in memory devices with uses in neuromorphic computing architectures.
type of clients and client work
daniel works with clients of all sizes, from small smes to large multinationals in the us, uk and germany.
expertise
daniel has worked on a variety of cases that involved subject matter from medical devices to complex mechanical systems.
higher education
- msci – physics, university of nottingham, 2023; dissertation title ‘switching mechanisms in hubrid polymer/ metal nanopartilce based memristors’
Daniel Hurst
chemical Email Daniel View profile daniel hurstbackground
daniel graduated from the university of york in 2019 with a first class honours mchem degree, with a year in industry spent within astrazeneca’s early discovery oncology chemistry team. during his final year, daniel investigated the synthesis and use of aryl halides in pharmaceutical chemistry, focusing on the development of a late-stage fluorination reaction. prior to joining dehns in 2021, daniel worked in the cooper group at the university of liverpool, researching the use of mobile robotics for organic chemistry.
types of client and client work
daniel works with a variety of clients, including small and medium sized enterprises, universities and multinational companies. he is heavily involved in the prosecution of patent applications globally, including europe, the uk, china, japan, korea, the us, canada and brazil.
expertise
daniel has experience in a diverse range of chemical fields, including pharmaceuticals, medical methods and devices, oil and gas technology and polymer chemistry.
qualifications and memberships
- postgraduate certificate in intellectual property law, bournemouth university
- student member of cipa (chartered institute of patent attorneys)
higher education
mchem (hons), university of york, chemistry (with a year in industry), 2019
Digeesh Dookraz
engineering Email Digeesh View profile digeesh dookrazbackground
digeesh joined dehns munich office in september 2023, following the completion of a master’s degree in aerospace engineering at the university of southampton.
for his dissertation project, he worked on the design, modelling & optimization of a novel cryogenic mechanical testing chamber, with the primary aim of reducing sample testing time and improving efficiency of the system, whilst still maintaining manufacturability.
in his final year at university, digeesh undertook an intensive group design project where he designed and built a 3-meter wingspan uav floatplane that was capable of take off and landing on water.
type of clients and client work
digeesh works with clients of all sizes, from small smes to large multinationals in the us, uk and germany.
expertise
digeesh handles patent work in a wide range of technical fields. current areas of focus include aeronautical & automotive engineering, medical devices and complex mechanical systems.
qualifications and membership
- postgraduate certificate in intellectual property, bournemouth university, 2024
higher education
meng – aerospace engineering, university of southampton, 2023
Eddie Shaw
biotechnology Email Eddie View profile eddie shawbackground
eddie is a trainee patent attorney in the dehns biotechnology group. he joined the dehns brighton office in august 2022 after completing a phd in dynamic molecular cell biology, at the university of bristol. his research investigated the mechanisms by which a putative chromatin remodelling protein protects cells from dna damage.
prior to completing his doctorate degree, eddie obtained a bsc honours degree in biochemistry from newcastle university. this included an industrial placement year focusing on the discovery of biocatalysis enzymes for synthesis of active pharmaceutical ingredients.
types of client and client work
eddie has experience with a broad range of clients including universities (and their associated spin out companies) and small- to medium-sized companies. he has gained experience in patent prosecution in key ip jurisdictions including the epo, the us, china and japan. eddie has also gained experience in all aspects of patent drafting in collaboration with partners.
expertise
eddie is involved in patent work in many areas of biotechnology and biochemistry, including antibodies, anti-cancer therapies, immunology, microbiology and new medical uses of known compounds.
qualifications and memberships
- student member of the chartered institute of patent attorneys
- postgraduate certificate in intellectual property law, bournemouth university, 2023
higher education
- bsc (hons) biochemistry, newcastle university, 2017
- phd, titled “the role of the chromatin remodelling protein hells in maintaining genome stability”, on dynamic molecular cell biology (funded by the wellcome trust), university of bristol, 2022.
Eleanor Garrigan Mattar
chemical Email Eleanor View profile eleanor garrigan mattarbackground
ellie joined the dehns london office in september 2024, having obtained an integrated master’s degree in chemistry that same year from the university of oxford. her final year thesis concerned the synthesis of self-assembled monolayers to be used as the hole transport layers of photovoltaic devices, and the fabrication of both organic and perovskite solar cells to test their function.
expertise
ellie currently works on polymer-related projects.
higher education
mchem, university of oxford, 2024
master’s (final year project) on ‘investigation of carbazole derivatives for the hole transfer layer of photovoltaic devices’. in this thesis, ellie synthesised small organic molecules which would form self-assembled monolayers (sams) when deposited on a substrate. these could then function as the hole transfer layers (htl) in both organic and perovskite solar cells. ellie also fabricated organic solar cells to test the function of these htls.
Elisabeth Pauli
chemical Email Elisabeth View profile elisabeth paulibackground
elisabeth graduated from the university of edinburgh in 2022 with a first class honours mchem degree. in her final year, she worked in the brechin group where her research was in the field of molecular magnetism and involved the synthesis and magneto-structural analysis of copper/copper-lanthanide polymetallic cages.
elisabeth joined dehns in october 2022 as a trainee patent attorney in the chemical team.
types of clients and client work
elisabeth works with a variety of clients, including universities, smes and large multinational corporations. elisabeth has experience in prosecuting patent applications before the epo and managing international patent portfolios.
expertise
elisabeth’s work covers a wide range of chemical subject-matter, including pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, polymers, semiconductors, composite materials and coatings. she has also contributed towards providing infringement and freedom-to-operate advice to clients in the area of co2 capture and storage, green ammonia synthesis and sustainable water treatment.
qualifications and memberships
- student member of the chartered institute of patent attorneys
- postgraduate certificate in intellectual property law, bournemouth university, 2023
higher education
mchem (hons), chemistry, university of edinburgh, 2022
other
elisabeth is fluent in both english and german.
Emily Dekker
physics, mechanical engineering Email Emily View profile emily dekkerbackground
emily is currently a trainee patent attorney in the dehns engineering group. she joined dehns in 2022 after graduating from the university of warwick with a first class mphys degree. during her master’s project, emily investigated magnetic skyrmions in 2d materials, research which has since been published. prior to joining dehns, emily worked in the photonic nanomaterials group at the university of oxford, researching cavity coupled nitrogen vacancy qubits in diamond for quantum computing.
types of client and work
emily works with a variety of clients, including small/medium sized enterprises, universities and multinational companies. emily has experience handling prosecution of patent applications in the uk and europe, as well as a number of other jurisdictions including the us and china. emily also assists with client work outside of prosecution, including patent application drafting, freedom to operate analysis, and due diligence reports.
expertise
emily has experience with a variety of technologies working within the engineering team at dehns, including quantum technologies, electronics, and aerospace engineering.
qualification and memberships
- student member of cipa (chartered institute of patent attorneys)
- postgraduate certificate (intellectual property law), bournemouth university (2023)
higher education
mphys (hons), university of warwick, physics, 2021
Georges Khoury
electronics, software, mechanical engineering Email Georges View profile georges khourybackground
georges joined dehns in 2022 as a trainee patent attorney in the engineering group following his completion of the integrated master’s degree in engineering at the university of cambridge. during his degree georges specialised in electrical and electronic engineering, with a particular focus in power electronics, semiconductor devices, and control engineering.
types of client and client work
georges works with a range of clients including large multinational corporations and smes. georges handles the prosecution of patent applications in the uk, europe, the usa, and throughout the world. georges also has experience supporting the drafting of patent applications, and supporting european opposition and appeal proceedings.
expertise
georges works across a variety of electronics, it, and engineering fields, and has particular experience in patents relating to semiconductor devices, graphics processing, video codecs, machine learning, software, and power electronics.
qualifications and memberships
- postgraduate certificate (intellectual property law), bournemouth university (2023)
- student member of cipa (chartered institute of patent attorneys)
higher education
meng (hons) engineering, university of cambridge, 2022
Hannah Chaudry
chemical Email Hannah View profile hannah chaudrybackground
hannah joined dehns in septmeber 2023, after she graduated from the university of york in with an integrated masters degree in chemistry, achieving first class honours. she completed her final year masters project on industrial placement at astrazeneca in macclesfield on the synthesis and characterisation of an impurity formed during the production of a late-stage cancer drug. she also implemented methods to reduce the formation of this impurity during the process.
types of client and client work
hannah works with a variety of clients, including small and medium sized enterprises, universities and multinational companies. she has been involved in the prosecution of patent applications before the epo and us.
expertise
hannah has experience in a diverse range of chemical fields, in particular pharmaceuticals, polymer chemistry and coatings.
qualifications and memberships
- postgraduate certificate in intellectual property, bournemouth university, 2024
- student member of cipa (chartered institute of patent attorneys)
higher education
mchem (hons) chemistry (with a year in industry), university of york, 2023.
Helen Lapington
mechanical engineering, software, electronics Email Helen View profile helen lapingtonbackground
helen joined dehns in 2019 after completing a dphil at the university of oxford, in the department of materials specialising in the science and engineering of fusion energy. during this time, helen used micromechanical techniques to study the effects of radiation damage in silicon carbide. as part of this, she also spent some time working in the us on fabrication of silicon carbide composites. helen previously graduated from imperial college in 2013 with an msc in shock physics, where she also completed her bsc in physics.
types of clients and client work
helen has experience with a range of clients, from large multinationals to small companies, handling patent applications both in the uk and europe, as well as a variety of other territories around the world. she works with several partners and associates, providing support for all aspects of patent drafting and prosecution.
expertise
helen works on cases covering a wide variety of subject matter within physical sciences and engineering, including mechanical systems, aerospace, medical devices and electronics.
qualifications and memberships
- pgcert (intellectual property law), queen mary university of london, 2020
- student member of the chartered institute of patent attorneys
higher education
dphil, material science, university of oxford, 2019
msc, shock physics, imperial college london, 2013
bsc, physics, imperial college london, 2012
Holly Rocliffe
biotechnology Email Holly View profile holly rocliffebackground
holly joined dehns as a trainee patent attorney in the biotechnology group in june 2022. before starting at dehns, holly completed her phd at the university of edinburgh. holly’s research focused on studying the resolution of inflammation in skin wound healing with a particular focus on aberrant inflammation and pro-resolving pathways in acute and chronic wounds.
prior to her phd, holly graduated from the university of aberdeen with a bsc in pharmacology. during her undergraduate degree, holly conducted several laboratory projects including researching whether cannabinoid receptor ligands were able to improve insulin signalling in hepatic tissue and optimising microfluidic devices for co-culturing cells for motor neurone disease research.
types of clients and client work
holly has experience working with a variety of clients including solo inventors, small/medium-sized enterprises and larger companies.
she has gained experience in patent prosecution in all key ip jurisdictions including the epo, the uk, the us, canada, china, the republic of korea and japan. holly has also gained experience in all aspects of patent drafting in collaboration with partners.
expertise
since joining the firm, holly has worked in many technical areas of biochemistry/biotechnology. particular areas include antibody and cell-based therapies, immunology, new medical uses of known compounds, diagnostic assays, new pharmaceuticals and vaccines.
qualifications and memberships
pgcert intellectual property law, queen mary university of london, 2023
student member of the chartered institute of patent attorneys (cipa)
higher education
phd, university of edinburgh, 2021
bsc (hons) pharmacology, university of aberdeen, 2017
Iram Ali
physics Email Iram View profile iram alibackground
iram graduated from the university of manchester with a bsc in physics with astrophysics in 2017. during her second year at manchester, she interned at jodrell bank discovery centre, giving tours about the history of astrophysics and the lovell telescope to the general public.
iram joined the engineering group at dehns in june 2018 as a trainee patent attorney.
type of clients and client work
iram has experience in drafting patents in a variety of fields and prosecuting such applications to grant before the uk and european patent offices.
expertise
working in the engineering team, iram has knowledge of a wide range of subject-matter including in the field of mass spectrometers, beverage dispensing systems, fire alarm systems, downhole tools, medical devices, and aerospace systems.
qualifications and memberships
- pg certificate in intellectual property law, bournemouth university, 2019
- student member of the chartered institute of patent attorneys
higher education
bsc. (hons) in physics with astrophysics, university of manchester, 2017
Izzy Jury
biotechnology Email Izzy View profile izzy jurybackground
izzy is a trainee patent attorney in the dehns biotechnology group, having joined the dehns london office in september 2023.
prior to joining, izzy completed an integrated master’s degree in molecular and cellular biochemistry at the university of oxford, with a final project focusing on eukaryotic transcription termination. following this, izzy worked in high-throughput genomics research at the wellcome centre for human genetics.
types of clients and client work
izzy has experience working with a variety of clients, from solo inventors and small/medium-sized businesses to larger companies.
the majority of izzy’s work concerns the filing and prosecution of patent applications, having gained experience working in multiple jurisdictions including the epo, the uk, the us, canada, china, india, the republic of korea and japan.
expertise
since joining the firm, izzy has worked in a variety of technical areas of biochemistry and biotechnology, including technologies related to immunology, antibody and cell-based therapies, nucleic acid manipulations and assays, cell culture, and therapeutic uses of pharmaceutical compositions.
qualifications and membership
- postgraduate certificate in intellectual property, bournemouth university, 2024
- student member of the chartered institute of patent attorneys (cipa)
higher education
mbiochem, university of oxford, molecular and cellular biochemistry, 2022
Jack Clark
mechanical engineering Email Jack View profile jack clarkbackground
jack joined dehns in september 2023, after completing his undergraduate studies at durham. in the final year of his studies, jack completed two projects, one focusing on the teaching methods in stem, whilst the other focused on applications for spectroscopy for medical diagnoses.
types of client and client work
jack has primarily worked with large multinational companies. he mainly handles prosecution of patent applications in the uk and europe but also has experience with prosecution in other jurisdictions including china and the usa.
expertise
jack works across a broad range of technologies in the fields of physics and mechanical engineering including mass/ion mobility spectrometry, oil and gas exploration, fire suppression devices, sensors for aircraft and paper/nonwoven material production lines.
qualifications and memberships
- postgraduate certificate in intellectual property law, bournemouth university, 2024
- student member of cipa (chartered institute of patent attorneys)
higher education
bsc (hons) natural science, university of durham, 2023
Jake Paterson
engineering Email Jake View profile jake patersonbackground
jake graduated from the university of bath in 2018 with a bsc degree in physics. he went on to work at the national physical laboratory as a research scientist specialising in frequency comb technology to redefine the definition of the si unit of the second. he completed a masters degree at the university of cambridge in 2022. his research focused on new ways to perform photoacoustic imaging, a type of imaging for medical and industrial applications.
jake joined the engineering department at dehns in september 2024 as a trainee patent attorney as part of the bristol office.
type of clients and client work
jake works with a variety of clients, ranging from multinational corporations to smes. he regularly handles filing and prosecution of patent applications before the uk and european patent offices.
expertise
jake handles work in a wide range of mechanical engineering and physics fields. examples include gas turbine engines, elevator systems and heat exchangers.
qualifications and memberships
student member of cipa (chartered institute of patent attorneys)
higher education
bsc (hons), university of bath, physics, 2018
mres, university of cambridge, connected electronic and photonic systems, 2022
mres research focused on photoacoustic imaging.
other
jake has also worked at the national physical laboratory as a research scientist in frequency comb technology.
James Lloyd
biotechnology Email James View profile james lloydbackground
james is a trainee patent attorney in the dehns biotechnology group. he joined the dehns brighton office in september 2023.
before starting at dehns, james completed his phd at the university of nottingham. his research focused on using mass spectrometry to study the molecular interactions between clinically relevant drug-receptor complexes. prior to this, james obtained an msci degree in biological sciences from the university of birmingham. this included a laboratory project to engineer the m13 bacteriophage as a scaffold for use in drug delivery and pathogen detection.
qualifications and membership
- postgraduate certificate in intellectual property, bournemouth university, 2024
higher education
msci (hons) biological sciences, university of birmingham, 2018.
phd chemistry, ‘developing carbene footprinting mass spectrometry to interrogate protein-ligand interactions’, university of nottingham, 2023.
James Tunstall
mechanical engineering, physics Email James View profile james tunstallbackground
having joined dehns in 2020, james is currently a trainee patent attorney in the engineering team.
he graduated from the university of warwick in 2018 with a degree in physics and stayed on to study a master’s degree in advanced mechanical engineering, graduating in 2020 with a distinction.
types of clients and client work
james works with a variety of clients, including small/medium-sized enterprises and multinational companies. james handles prosecution of patent applications in europe, and has experience of prosecution in a number of other jurisdictions including taiwan, china, japan, korea, the uk and the us. james also assists with client work outside of prosecution, including patent application drafting.
expertise
whilst james is confident working with subject-matter from a variety of technical fields across physics and engineering, particular areas of technology he works with include smartcards, medical devices, gas turbine engines, fire detection systems, hvac, transport refrigeration systems, oil and gas, and offshore wind turbines.
professional qualifications and memberships
- certificate in intellectual property law, queen mary university of london, 2021
- student member of the chartered institute of patent attorneys (cipa)
higher education
bsc (hons) in physics, university of warwick, 2018
msc in advanced mechanical engineering, university of warwick, 2020
during his studies james covered a wide range of fields including thermal physics, optics, electronics, fluid dynamics, and precision engineering. as part of his master’s degree, james’ research project involved using computational fluid dynamics to optimise the profile of aerofoils.
James Unwin
chemical Email James View profile james unwinbackground
james joined dehns in september 2024, after obtaining a phd in physical and theoretical chemistry from the university of oxford that same year. his thesis utilised coulomb explosion imaging to study ultrafast photodissociation reactions in a variety of few-atom systems. prior to starting his phd he graduated from newcastle university with an integrated masters degree in chemistry, where he achieved first class honours. in his final year he completed a research project which involved teaching a deep neural network to simulate x-ray absorption spectra.
type of clients and client work
james works with a wide variety of clients including small, medium and large sized enterprises, universities and multinational companies.
expertise
james has experience in all aspects of chemistry, with his specialty being subjects on the border between chemistry and physics, in particular photodissociation reactions, photo-induced isomerisations, molecular spectroscopy, and reactions occurring on ultrafast timescales.
higher education
- dphil in physical and theoretical chemistry, university of oxford, 2024, thesis title: ‘characterising the photodissociation dynamics of few-atom systems via x-ray coulomb explosion imaging’
- mchem (hons) chemistry, newcastle university, 2020, project title: ‘teaching a deep neural network to simulate xanes’
Jessica Pike
chemical Email Jessica View profile jessica pikebackground
jessica joined the dehns brighton office in september 2021. she graduated from durham university with a masters in chemistry (mchem) in 2017. her masters project focused on the design and synthesis of ruthenium-based histone deacetylase inhibitors as anticancer agents.
jessica was awarded a phd in imaging chemistry and biology from king’s college london in 2023. jessica’s phd focused on the development and synthesis of novel ligands for the chelation of trivalent radiometals. jessica is a trainee patent attorney in the dehns chemistry group.
expertise
jessica works for a range of clients, including multinational companies as well as smes and smaller companies across a variety of sectors. these include pharmaceuticals, medical devices, agrochemicals, aerosol generating materials, personal care products, and oil field technology.
qualifications and memberships
- postgraduate certificate in intellectual property law, bournemouth university
higher education
mchem chemistry, durham university, 2017
phd in imaging chemistry and biology, king’s college london, 2023
Jolyon Burgess
mechanical engineering, physics Email Jolyon View profile jolyon burgessbackground
jolyon is a trainee patent attorney in the engineering group of the brighton office. he joined dehns in november 2016, after graduating from leeds university in july of that year. at university he focused mainly on mathematical structures, from groups to quaternion algebras, and the development of quantum mechanics from lagrangian and hamiltonian methods, though his final year project related to a comparison of the stability of micro-emulsions with micro-bubbles.
type of clients and client work
jolyon works mostly with large multinational companies, though he has in the past also worked with smaller local enterprises. mainly he handles prosecution of patent applications in europe and the uk, but is also familiar with the nuances of prosecution in canada, china, japan, south korea, russia, and the usa. outside of prosecution work, he also contributes to opposition and appeal proceedings at the epo and advice work such as freedom to operate, infringement, and validity opinions.
expertise
jolyon works on a wide spectrum of technologies, a non-exhaustive list being: oil and gas exploration, communication technologies, sanitary products, orthotic devices such as exoskeletons, fire suppression and/or alarm systems, mass/ion mobility spectrometry, sensors for aircraft, consumer electronics such as aerosol generating and induction heating devices, paper/nonwoven material production lines, and wireless power transferal.
qualifications and memberships
- pgcert (merit), intellectual property law, queen mary university of london, 2018
- student member of cipa (chartered institute of patent attorneys)
higher education
bsc hons theoretical physics, university of leeds, 2016
Joseph Whittall
mechanical engineering Email Joseph View profile joseph whittallbackground
joseph joined dehns in september 2022 as a trainee patent attorney in the engineering group.
joseph joined the firm after first gaining experience in industry; having worked for several engineering smes, both privately owned and part of a ftse 100 conglomerate. in this time, he gained experience in various roles and exposure to working internationally including in the usa, the netherlands, china and singapore.
type of clients and client work
joseph works to support several partners and associates with all aspects of their work in the uk, europe and internationally. in this capacity, he works with clients of all sizes, from university spin-outs and smes all the way through to multinational corporations.
expertise
joseph handles a wide range of subject matter in the fields of physics and engineering, including chemical engineering, electronics, systems engineering and mechanical engineering.
the breadth of joseph’s engineering science degree from oxford university provides a solid foundation for understanding new technologies, and his previous experience in industry enables him to relate to and understand our clients goals.
higher education
- meng engineering science university of oxford 2017
- bp prize for best project performance in chemical engineering 2017
other
joseph has held manufacturing production and supply chain management positions in the past, leading teams of between 20 to 40 people. in this capacity, joseph has gained experience working with and engaging stakeholders from across various departments and business functions, and at all levels.
joseph has worked in various sectors, managing projects and holding management positions for several of the subsidiaries of a global group of life-saving technology companies. these sectors include process & infrastructure safety, power, healthcare and environmental monitoring and analysis.
Joshua Askew
mechanical engineering, physics, electronics, software Email Joshua View profile joshua askewbackground
josh is a trainee patent attorney in the dehns mechanical engineering and physics group.
he joined dehns in september 2023 after graduating from the university of birmingham with a first class masters in physics. in his studies he specialised in precision interferometry for gravitational wave detectors. for his final year project he implemented an active stabilisation system to a fabry-perot interferometer capable of reducing seismic noise in mid-range frequency optical readouts.
types of client and client work
josh works with a variety of clients, ranging from solo inventors to large multinationals. josh regularly handles prosecution of patent applications in europe, and also has experience prosecuting in other jurisdictions such as the uk and us.
expertise
josh has gained experience relating to a wide variety of technologies in the fields of the physical sciences and engineering. particular areas include commercial and residential refrigeration, fire detection systems, and aircraft mechanical systems.
qualifications and memberships
- postgraduate certificate in intellectual property law, bournemouth university, 2024
- student member of cipa (chartered institute of patent attorneys)
higher education
msci physics (first class), university of birmingham, 2023
Lydia Lee
mechanical engineering, physics Email Lydia View profile lydia leebackground
lydia joined dehns in september 2021 as a trainee patent attorney in the engineering team. she graduated from the university of oxford in 2019 with an mphys physics degree, specialising in condensed matter physics, lasers and quantum computing. during her time at university, lydia undertook research internships at the university of york, centre for health economics, and the university of são paulo, institute of energy and the environment.
after completing her degree, lydia spent two years as a scientist at the stfc rutherford appleton laboratory where she developed x-ray detector systems for use in high energy spectroscopy applications.
type of clients and client work
lydia has worked with a variety of clients, ranging from individual inventors, technology transfers offices, smes and large multinational corporations. she works to support several partners in all aspects of patent applications in the uk, europe and a number of other territories around the world.
expertise
lydia has worked on patent applications the fields of physics and engineering. she has particular experience in mechanical engineering and electronics.
qualifications and memberships
- postgraduate certificate in intellectual property law, bournemouth university
- student member of the chartered institute of patent attorneys (cipa)
higher education
mphys physics, first class, university of oxford (2019)
Martha Stevens
software, electronics Email Martha View profile martha stevensbackground
martha joined dehns in 2021 as a trainee patent attorney in the engineering group following the completion of a four year integrated master’s degree in engineering at the university of cambridge.
types of client and client work
martha works with a variety of clients, including small/medium sized enterprises, universities and multinational companies. martha has experience handling prosecution of patent applications in the uk and europe, as well as a number of other jurisdictions around the world. martha also assists with client work outside of prosecution, including patent application drafting, freedom to operate analysis, and ip audits.
expertise
martha has experience of a variety of engineering-related technologies, but she specialises in the fields of software and electronics.
qualifications and memberships
- postgraduate certificate in intellectual property law, bournemouth university
- student member of the chartered institute of patent attorneys (cipa)
higher education
meng, engineering, university of cambridge, 2021
within this general degree martha studied a broad range of subject areas from electronics to civil structures, and eventually specialised in modules related to aerospace, energy and sustainability. for her final year project, martha worked on designing a de-icing system for a lightweight unmanned aerial vehicle in collaboration with the british antarctic survey.
Matthew Cummins
mechanical engineering, physics, software Email Matthew View profile matthew cumminsbackground
matthew joined dehns in september 2022 following his graduation from the university of cambridge with an msci in natural sciences, specialising in materials science, where he was awarded the armourers and brasiers’ prize for the second highest mark in final year examinations. during his degree, matthew conducted research utilising scanning electron microscopy (sem) to analyse the microstructure and characterise the properties of a novel turbine disc superalloy throughout various stages of processing.
types of client and client work
matthew works with a variety of engineering clients including large multinational companies. his work includes prosecution of patent applications in the uk and europe, and assisting with opposition proceedings before the epo.
expertise
matthew works across a variety of areas throughout materials science and engineering, with a particular focus on aerospace-related subject matter.
qualifications and memberships
- postgraduate certificate (intellectual property law), bournemouth university (2023)
- student member of cipa (chartered institute of patent attorneys)
higher education
msci in natural sciences, university of cambridge, 2022
Melissa Chung
mechanical engineering Email Melissa View profile melissa chungbackground
melissa joined dehns in september 2021 after graduating with a first class bachelor’s degree in physics. she is a trainee patent attorney in the engineering group, working for the munich office whilst being based partly in the oxford office.
during her degree, melissa completed research internships where she modelled neutrino oscillations and evaluated methods to optimise sei formation in li-s batteries. in her final year of university, she was awarded a departmental conference prize for a talk presented on the development of analysis methods to evaluate defects in pem fuel cell materials.
types of clients and client work
melissa has extensive experience handling patent prosecution before the european patent office, and has also handled applications in the usa, uk and china, as well as other jurisdictions internationally. melissa has worked with both multinational corporations and individual inventors, and she is familiar with working together with foreign attorneys. melissa has also assisted with opposition work and design applications.
expertise
melissa predominantly handles engineering patents in the mechanical and aerospace industries, including avionics, environmental control systems, additive manufacturing, materials, and hvac and refrigeration systems. she also has experience working in electronics, elevator systems and medical technologies.
qualifications and memberships
- postgraduate certificate in intellectual property law, bournemouth university (2022)
- student member of the chartered institute of patent attorneys (cipa)
higher education
bsc (hons) physics, lancaster university, 2021
Mhari Grindey
engineering Email Mhari View profile mhari grindeybackground
mhari joined the dehns manchester office in september 2024 as a trainee patent attorney. she graduated from the university of york in july 2024, with a degree in physics. her final year research project looked into the degradation of archaeological specimens using micro-raman spectroscopy.
type of clients and client work
mhari has experience working with a variety of clients, ranging from large multinationals to small/medium sized enterprises.
expertise
mhari has worked on a variety of cases, mainly looking at aircraft mechanical systems, electronic cigarettes and communication systems.
qualifications and memberships
- student member of cipa (chartered institute of patent attorneys).
higher education
bsc physics (first class hons), university of york.
Michael Millar
mechanical engineering Email Michael View profile michael millarbackground
michael is a trainee patent attorney in the dehns engineering team. he joined dehns in 2020 after graduating from the university of edinburgh with a first class meng degree in mechanical engineering with management. his studies focused on the fundamentals underpinning mechanical engineering, and included several research projects utilising simulations, including his final year project using finite element methods to improve the surface geometry of bridgman anvils.
types of clients and client work
michael works with a range of clients, from multinational companies to small- and medium-sized enterprises. michael primarily handles prosecution of patent applications in europe, and has experience of prosecution in other jurisdictions such as brazil, canada, china, japan, the uk, and the us. his work also includes freedom to operate reporting and patent drafting.
expertise
michael’s work spans a range of technological fields related to engineering, in particular, relating to aerospace; commercial hvac systems; and automotive engineering.
qualifications and memberships
- pgcert (intellectual property law), queen mary university of london, 2021
- student member of the chartered institute of patent attorneys
higher education
meng mechanical engineering with management, university of edinburgh, 2020
Nicola Bedwin
mechanical engineering, physics, electronics, software Email Nicola View profile nicola bedwinbackground
nicola joined dehns in september 2023 after her graduating from durham university with a bachelor’s degree in physics. she is a trainee patent attorney in the engineering team based in the london office. during her final year, nicola completed a high energy physics research project investigating the characteristics and lifetime of muon particles.
types of clients and client work
nicola works with a variety of clients, ranging from multinational corporations to smes. she regularly handles both the filing and prosecution of patent applications at the european patent office, and has prosecution experience in other jurisdictions such as the uk and china.
expertise
nicola has gained experience handling cases across a wide variety of technical fields. particular areas include commercial and residential refrigeration, aircraft mechanical systems, gas turbine engines, medical devices and integrated electronics and software.
qualifications and memberships
- postgraduate certificate in intellectual property, bournemouth university, 2024
- student member of the chartered institute of patent attorneys (cipa)
higher education
bsc (hons) physics, durham university, 2023
Owen Lawton
mechanical engineering Email Owen View profile owen lawtonbackground
owen joined dehns in 2023, following his graduation from the university of oxford where he received an integrated masters degree in materials science.
owen studied a broad range of topics including manufacturing, batteries and catalysts. in his final year he researched improving catalyst design using first principle modelling approaches.
types of client and client work
owen works with a broad range of clients, from start-ups and spin outs all the way to large multinationals. owen handles prosecution in a wide range of jurisdictions including the uk, europe, the us, japan, korea and china.
expertise
owen has gained experience relating to a wide range of technologies in the fields of physical sciences and engineering. while he regularly works on materials inventions, owen has most experience dealing with mechanical inventions and scientific instruments.
qualifications and memberships
- postgraduate certificate in intellectual property, bournemouth university, 2024
- student member of cipa (chartered institute of patent attorneys)
higher education
meng (hons) materials science, university of oxford
Sam Davis
engineering Email Sam View profile sam davisbackground
sam joined dehns in 2024 after graduating from the university of oxford with a degree in mathematics and computer science. he is a trainee patent attorney in the engineering group in the london office. during his degree, sam completed a number of software engineering internships assisting in the creation of a platform abstraction for computer security.
type of clients and client work
sam works with clients of all sizes, ranging from small individual inventors to large multinational corporations.
expertise
sam has experience working on cases concerning a variety of subject matter from vehicle parts manufacturing to medical devices.
qualifications and memberships
- student member of cipa (chartered institute of patent attorneys)
higher education
ba (hons) mathematics and computer science, university of oxford, 2023
Scott Graham
mechanical engineering View profile scott grahambackground
scott is a trainee patent attorney in the dehns engineering group. he joined the manchester office in september 2022 after graduating from durham university with a first class master’s degree in physics & astronomy.
during his studies, he covered a broad range of topics including quantum mechanics and computing, laser physics, electronics and astrophysics, before completing a final year research project that focused on comparing the specifications and possible usage of the upcoming planned extremely large telescopes, particularly for the case of igm tomography.
type of clients and client work
scott has experience working with a variety of clients, ranging from large multinationals to small/medium sized enterprises.
scott has gained experience handling prosecution of patent applications in europe and the uk, as well as a number of other key ip jurisdictions including the us, japan, china, the republic of korea, australia and canada. he has also gained experience in all aspects of patent drafting, working in collaboration with partners and associates of the firm.
expertise
since joining the firm, scott has worked in many technical areas of physics and engineering. particular areas of experience include aircraft mechanical systems, electronic cigarettes, gas turbine engines, communication systems and mechanical inventions.
qualifications and memberships
- student member of the chartered institute of patent attorneys
- pgcert intellectual property law, queen mary university of london, 2023
higher education
mphys, physics and astronomy (first class honours), durham university, 2021
Suzanne Collins
mechanical engineering, electronics Email Suzanne View profile suzanne collinsbackground
suzanne graduated from the university of bristol with a beng degree in electrical and electronic engineering in 2018. she then went on to pursue a phd in electrical and electronic engineering at the university of bristol. as part of suzanne’s phd, she investigated structural reinforcement of the lightweight air-gap winding electrical machine topology as a potential high power-density and mechanically robust solution to electric aircraft propulsion.
suzanne joined dehns as a trainee patent attorney in january 2023 as part of the bristol office.
type of clients and client work
suzanne works with a variety of clients, ranging from multinational corporations to smes. she regularly handles filing and prosecution of patent applications before the uk and european patent offices, and also has experience handling applications in a number of other territories worldwide – notably the us and japan.
expertise
suzanne works in a range of technical fields of engineering and sciences. particular areas of technology include commercial and residential refrigeration, gas turbine engines, conveyance systems and aerosol-provision devices.
qualifications and memberships
- postgraduate certificate in intellectual property, bournemouth university, 2024
- student member of cipa (chartered institute of patent attorneys)
higher education
beng (hons), university of bristol, electrical and electronic engineering, 2018
phd, electrical and electronic engineering, university of bristol, 2023 (thesis title: composite air-gap electrical windings for light-weighting of future electric propulsion systems)
Theodora Olanrewaju
biotechnology Email Theodora View profile theodora olanrewajubackground
theodora is a trainee patent attorney in the dehns biotechnology group, having joined the oxford office in september 2023.
before starting at dehns, theodora completed her mres at the university of bristol. her research focused on using flow cytometry and activation induced marker assays to study the effect that the presence of superantigens had on t cell proliferation and the expression of activation induced markers following culture with wild type and mutant group a streptococcal strains. prior to this, theodora graduated from the university of bristol with a bsc degree in cellular and molecular medicine from the university of bristol, achieving first class honours. her final year project proposed a method by which sampling of a cancer cell secretome could lead to diagnosis and more effective treatment of high-risk cancers.
types of client and client work
theodora works with a diverse range of clients with a focus on university start-ups. theodora has experience filing and working with patent applications from a range of countries including countries throughout europe, asia and north america.
expertise
theodora has experience in a wide variety of molecular biology inventions, particularly with antibody technology, virology and vaccines.
qualifications and memberships
- postgraduate certificate (intellectual property law), bournemouth university (2024)
- student member of cipa (chartered institute of patent attorneys)
higher education
bsc (hons) cellular and molecular medicine, university of bristol, 2021
mres, cellular and molecular medicine, ‘effect of superantigen on detecting group a streptococcus specific t cell responses’, university of bristol, 2023
Tyler Phillips
engineering Email Tyler View profile tyler phillipsbackground
tyler joined the dehns birmingham office in september 2024 as a trainee patent attorney, having graduated from the university of oxford in 2024 with an mphys in physics. his final year thesis was completed in the johnston group with a research focus on terahertz photonics. his thesis was titled ‘terahertz single-pixel imaging’, in which he investigated using compressed sensing to obtain a high-resolution terahertz image using only a single detector.
expertise
tyler’s work is predominantly in the engineering and physics fields, with subject matter including tobacco industry products, domestic appliances and electronics.
qualifications and memberships
- student member of cipa (chartered institute of patent attorneys).
higher education
mphys physics, university of oxford, 2024; thesis title ‘terahertz single-pixel imaging’.
Will Catton
mechanical engineering Email Will View profile will cattonbackground
will is currently a trainee patent attorney in the dehns mechanical engineering group. he joined dehns in 2021 after graduating from the university of cambridge with a first class master of engineering degree. in his studies he specialised in information engineering with his final year research project focusing on the application of deep neural networks in scene coordinate regression for camera localisation in indoor environments.
types of client and client work
will assists a wide range of clients from multinational companies with international patent portfolios, to small enterprises and individual inventors. a particular area of interest includes working with university spin-outs, including those with a focus on ai inventions.
expertise
will has gained experience relating to a wide variety of technologies in engineering and science. particular areas of technology include commercial and residential refrigeration, beverage dispensation and packaging, ai, aircraft mechanical systems, gas turbine engines, control systems, and medical devices.
he also gained experience in industry whilst at university by working for a start-up developing smart autonomous robots for soft fruit picking as well as a major technology company. in addition to this, he was a member of the university of cambridge’s formula student team, leading the electronics sub-team.
qualifications and memberships
- postgraduate certificate in intellectual property law, bournemouth university, 2022
- student member of cipa (chartered institute of patent attorneys)
higher education
meng (first class), university of cambridge, 2021
Zak Slater
mechanical engineering, physics, electronics Email Zak View profile zak slaterbackground
zak joined dehns as a trainee patent attorney in the engineering group in september 2023 after graduating from the university of birmingham with an integrated masters degree in physics. his final year project was on gravitational wave detection predictions with the lisa satellite system.
types of client and client work
zak has experience with a variety of clients, from large multinationals to start-ups and small enterprises. he handles prosecution and drafting of patent applications in europe as well as prosecution for a number of other jurisdictions around the world. zak also assists with design applications.
expertise
zak has experience with a wide variety of physics and engineering-related technologies. while most experienced with physics and mechanical patents, he also has experience working with electronics and nanoelectronics.
qualifications and memberships
- postgraduate certificate in intellectual property, bournemouth university, 2024
- student member of chartered institute of patent attorneys (cipa)
higher education
msci (hons) physics, university of birmingham, 2022