Tom Parry

Background

Tom is an experienced European and Chartered (UK) Patent Attorney handling patent work in high technology fields, with a particular focus on obtaining patent applications in the computer technology field. 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.

Tom joined Dehns in 2012, qualified as a patent attorney in 2016, and became 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 large amount of original drafting work for complex inventions in the electronic and computer technology fields, including computer implemented (software) inventions, as well as for advanced technology inventions for example arising from Dehns’ university clients. Tom’s 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 portion of his work is in the engineering and consumer product space.

Expertise

Tom has extensive experience handling patent applications in the fields of electronics and computer technology, including microprocessor/computing arrangements, neural network processing, data compression/encoding, compilers, and software applications. This includes experience with both classical and quantum computing arrangements (see, e.g., here). Tom also has expertise with power electronics, scientific instruments, electrical grooming devices, railway engineering, digital mapping/navigation, cooling towers, and control systems.

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 (First class), Natural Sciences (Physics), University of Cambridge, 2010

Other

After graduating from the University of Cambridge, prior to starting at Dehns, Tom worked in the Optoelectronics group at the same university investigating organic transistor devices.