Our People

background

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.

background

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

higher education

beng university of birmingham 1988

background

david is a solicitor with experience across a variety of areas of intellectual property practice, including patents, designs, trade marks and passing off.  he joined dehns in 2022.

as a former pharmaceutical research scientist, david has a particular interest in contentious and non-contentious patent and regulatory matters affecting the life sciences sector. he has also assisted clients with patent opinions, freedom to operate and validity assessments and issues concerning pharmaceutical product lifecycle management.

type of clients and client work

david handles ip work for clients ranging from individuals and small start-up companies to major multinationals. in addition to contentious matters, david also advises on licensing and contractual agreements relating to the development and exploitation of intellectual property rights.

technical expertise

prior to qualifying as a lawyer, david spent over a decade as a pharmaceutical research scientist at clinical centres in london (king’s college london), paris (inserm) and new york (nyu medical centre), before leading a neuroscience pre-clinical drug discovery team at glaxosmithkline.

qualifications and memberships

• solicitor (e&w), 2013
• legal practice course (lpc), 2011
• graduate diploma in law (gdl), 2010
• international association for the protection of intellectual property, uk

higher education

postgraduate diploma in intellectual property law and practice, university of oxford, 2017

phd, clinical biochemistry, king’s college london, 1996

bsc, biochemistry, university of wales, 1991

other

david previously worked in beijing and hong kong for several years and has assisted clients with enforcement strategies in china and southeast asia.

david was recognised as a “notable practitioner” in the 2023 edition of managing intellectual property’s ip stars.

representative matters

horsham nutraceuticals ltd & anor v manna pro products llc [2019] ewhc 1935 (ch)

glew & ors v amro biotech & ors [2019] ewhc 3183 (ch)

icescape ltd. v ice-world international bv [2018] civ 2219

fontem holdings 1bv v ten motives ltd [2015] ewhc 2752 (pat)

viiv healthcare ltd v teva uk ltd [2015] ewhc 1074 (ch)

background

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.

background

emer is a uk and european patent attorney. she joined dehns as a senior associate in 2023. prior to joining dehns, emer trained and qualified with another london patent firm, before working for several years as a freelance patent attorney. she has a first class honours degree in natural sciences (physics) from the university of cambridge.

emer qualified as a european patent attorney in 2008 and as a uk patent attorney in 2009.

type of clients and client work

emer has significant experience liaising directly with uk-based and international clients, encompassing invention capture, drafting new patent applications, freedom to operate analyses, and coordinating prosecution of patent portfolios worldwide. she has successfully represented clients at oral proceedings before the epo and at ipo hearings.

expertise

with an academic background in physics, emer’s technical experience spans a variety of sectors including physics and optics, mechanics, software and telecoms, medical devices and automotive and aerospace engineering.

qualifications and memberships

• certificate in ip law (distinction), queen mary, university of london, 2006
• european patent attorney, 2008
• uk chartered patent attorney, 2009
• intellectual property litigation certificate, 2012
• fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys
• member of the european patent institute

higher education

ba hons (first class), university of cambridge, natural sciences (physics) 

background

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

background

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 2^nd 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)

background

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

background

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

background

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

background

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.

background

sarah is a qualified uk and european patent attorney, and a chartered engineer. sarah joined dehns in 2019.

sarah has previous experience as an in-house ip counsel in a large multi-national company, and as a patent attorney in private practice. prior to becoming a patent attorney, sarah was as an examiner at the epo in munich for six years. after completing her degree, sarah worked for a multi-national engineering firm for seven years. she held various engineering and programme management roles, working in the uk, europe and asia.

type of clients and client work

sarah works with a range of clients covering all engineering technical fields.

her work includes drafting patent applications, and filing and prosecuting uk, european and pct patent applications.

she can advise clients on other aspects of patent law, including patent filing strategy, epo oppositions and appeals, enforcement of ip rights, infringement, validity and licensing. sarah has experience in managing patent portfolios in a wide range of territories worldwide. she also has experience with registered designs.

expertise

sarah works on a wide variety of subject-matter in all engineering technical fields.

qualifications and memberships

• uk chartered patent attorney, 2016
• european patent attorney, 2015
• fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys
• member of the european patent institute
• basic litigation skills course, 2017
• chartered engineer
• member of the institute of mechanical engineers

higher education

m.eng engineering science, oxford university 1999

background

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.

background

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 2023 and 2022 edition of managing intellectual property’s ip stars publication.

background

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

background

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 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.

alexandra will be attending the ecta annual conference in antwerp, belgium, from the 19th – 21st june 2024. please get in contact if you would like to arrange a meeting.

background

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)
• uk patent attorney, 2021
• european patent attorney, 2021
• fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys

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’.

background

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

higher education

mphys, university of sheffield, 2015

pgcert intellectual property law, queen mary university, london, 2019

background

catherine is a qualified uk and european patent attorney. she joined dehns in 2006. catherine graduated from imperial college london in 2003 with a first class master of science degree in physics. as part of this degree she spent a year studying physics at l’institut national polytechnique de grenoble. catherine also completed a phd in high energy physics at imperial.

catherine was made an associate of the firm in 2012 and, since 2015, has been working as a consultant patent attorney to the firm.

type of clients and client work

catherine has acted for individual inventors, small and medium sized companies and universities from the uk and scandinavia. she also acts for a number of large international corporations.

catherine is experienced in drafting new patent applications and prosecuting applications before the uk and european patent offices. she also oversees the prosecution of large families of patent and design applications in countries all over the world.

catherine also provides advice on matters of freedom-to-operate, infringement and validity, and due diligence.

expertise

catherine has worked on a wide range of technologies in physics and engineering fields, including medical devices, artificial surfaces and drainage products, graphics processing software, beverage dispensers, oil cleaning apparatus, thermodynamic modelling software, offshore wind turbines, mobile phone technology, hydrogen fuel cells, oil pipeline and separator technology, cracking furnaces, automotive engine technology, aircraft turbines, hyperspectral imaging devices and elevator control systems.

catherine has particular experience in working with companies whose inventions are still at a relatively early stage.

qualifications and memberships

• 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

phd, high energy physics, imperial college london, 2007

msci (first class) physics with a year in europe, imperial college london, 2003

catherine’s phd research involved studying polarised charged current deep inelastic scattering interactions between protons and electrons at the hera particle accelerator in hamburg.

background

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

background

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

background

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. 

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.

background

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

other

david will be attending the ficpi abc meeting from the 15th – 18th june 2024. please contact david if you would like to arrange a meeting.

background

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.

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.

qualifications and memberships

background

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

higher education

meng, engineering science, university of oxford

background

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.

background

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.

background

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 uk and european patent attorney in 2020 and became an associate of the firm in 2021.

type of clients and client work

jonathan works with clients of a variety of 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, 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: polymer chemistry, organometallic catalysis, neutraceutical and pharmaceutical chemistry, solar cell materials, diagnostic assay methods, tracer chemistry for subterranean reservoirs, and materials chemistry.

qualifications and memberships

• uk patent attorney, 2020
• european patent attorney, 2020
• 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

background

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.

background

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

background

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

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.

background

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.

background

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

background

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

background

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

background

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 litigator 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.

background

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

higher education

master of business administration, bi – norwegian school of management, 2000
msc (sivilingeniør), ensg (france), geological engineering/geophysics, 1986

other

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 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 2023 edition.

background

alex is a uk and european patent attorney. he 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.

alex handles a variety of engineering related patent work. he is also a uk chartered trade mark attorney.

type of clients and client work

alex’s experience includes advising direct clients, such as universities, spin outs and multinationals, on developing their intellectual property and patent portfolios, and the creation and implementation of patent filing strategies.

much of his work includes drafting and prosecuting patent applications, and providing advice on freedom to operate issues. he also handles european opposition work including the presentation of cases at opposition and appeal hearings.

in addition to his patent work, alex also advises clients in relation to the protection of their designs.

expertise

alex handles work in a number of engineering fields, including automotive engineering, fuel cells, ventilation appliances, fluid mechanics, gas separators, medical devices, pharmaceutical containers and packaging, construction and building technology, offshore structures, sub-sea electrical and optical connectors, and electro-osmotic pumps and mixers.

qualifications and memberships

• uk chartered patent attorney, 1987
• european patent attorney, 1987
• uk chartered trade mark attorney, 1990
• registered trade mark agent, 1990
• fellow of the chartered institute of patent attorneys (cipa)

higher education

bsc (hons), university of bristol, civil engineering, 1982

other

alex is a regular visitor to japan, providing a number of large japanese clients with advice on uk and european patent and design practice. he also regularly attends the annual meeting of the asian patent attorneys association (apaa).

alex provides advice to private inventors at patent clinics organised by the chartered institute of patent attorneys.

alex was named as a “recommended” patent attorney in the 2017 and 2018 editions of legal 500 and mentioned in the 2022 edition.

background

chris is a uk and european patent attorney.

he joined dehns in 1980 with a degree in physics from southampton university, and became a partner in 1987. as well as his patent attorney qualifications, chris is a certified litigator and is therefore qualified to conduct patent litigation in all the courts in the uk. chris is a former head of our engineering patent group. he became a consultant to the firm in 2021

type of clients and client work

chris has handled patent work in the physics, engineering, electronics and telecommunications fields, as well as design and industrial copyright work. as well as prosecution work, he was heavily involved in many contentious matters as well as infringement/validity opinions.

in recent years chris successfully represented major international clients in epo opposition and appeal proceedings involving some of their highest profile and most important patents, a number of which have been litigated in parallel in the national courts.

chris is one of the uk’s most experienced epo opposition practitioners, and typically represented clients in around twenty opposition and appeal hearings each year; his success rate in these proceedings is extremely high.

chris has also acted on a number of occasions as an expert witness in uk high court proceedings on issues such as patent validity amendment.

expertise

chris has experience of handling patent work in the physics, engineering and electronics fields, as well as design and industrial copyright work. the technical fields of the various cases mentioned above have included patents relating to disposable absorbent products, tissues, health care, paper making, batteries, printing and medical products. he has also been heavily involved in a number of major telecommunications cases, including litigation of patents concerning the gprs standard and concerning mobile email systems.

higher education

bsc, southampton university, physics, 1980

other

chris was recognised as a “notable practitioner” in the 2023 edition of managing intellectual property’s ip stars.

christopher pett is a former senior partner and is now a consultant to the firm. he 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 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 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 awarded a phd in physical chemistry from the university of london (1985).

phil jeffrey is a former partner in dehns’ engineering group and is now a consultant to the firm.

phil joined dehns in 1994, having graduated from southampton university with an honours degree in physics and a phd in holographic information processing. he became a partner in 2002.

roberto 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.

background

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.

background

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, mass spectrometry and flash memory devices.

qualifications and memberships

• 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

background

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

• 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.

background

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

• 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

background

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 in various fields relating to mechanical engineering such as medical devices, textile products, consumer goods, lng valve systems, material science and 3d printing.

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)

background

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

• 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.

background

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

• 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)

background

prior to joining dehns in 2019, layton graduated from the university of birmingham in 2018, with a first class meng degree in mechanical engineering. layton spent his final year at university specialising in micro-electro-mechanical systems (mems), before spending some time in the nuclear industry.

layton qualified as a uk and european patent attorney in 2023.

type of clients and client work

layton handles the prosecution and drafting of patent applications before the epo, ukipo, ustpo, jpo and cnipa. clients include multinational corporations, smes and university spin-outs. layton also has experience handling fto and infringement matters.

expertise

layton is familiar with subject matter in various mechanical, electro-mechanical and physics fields. examples include technology related to mass spectrometry and ionisation techniques, medical devices, control systems, aerospace technology, o&g tooling/apparatus and tobacco heating products (“thp”).

qualifications and memberships

• chartered uk patent attorney, 2023
• european patent attorney, 2023
• student member of the chartered institute of patent attorneys (cipa)
• pg certificate in intellectual property, bournemouth university, 2020

higher education

meng. (hons) in mechanical engineering (first class), university of birmingham 2018

background

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 work encompasses a wide variety of engineering and physics fields, including: audio devices; wireless and mobile communication devices, networks and protocols; optical 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

• 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.

background

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

background

after obtaining his phd in physics from the ruperto-carola-university of heidelberg, germany, marcus started his training as a patent attorney in 2019 at a different firm, joined dehns in 2022 and qualified as a german patent attorney, a european patent attorney and a european trade mark and design attorney in 2023.

type of clients and client work

marcus advises on all aspects of the patent process, including drafting applications, prosecution in multiple jurisdictions and post-grant proceedings before the german patent and trademark office (dpma) and the european patent office (epo).

the majority of marcus’ clients are multinationals in germany, the us, china and japan as well as small/medium sized companies.

expertise

marcus’ expertise as a patent attorney includes: mechanical engineering, control engineering, automation of technical processes, electrical engineering, optics, microscopy, medical technology and oct.

qualifications and memberships

• german patent attorney, 2023
• european trade mark and design attorney, 2023
• european patent attorney, 2023

higher education

• phd, ruperto-carola-university of heidelberg, germany, 2019
• thesis on plasmonic probing of the metal-hydride transition of nanoparticles
• master of science (physics), university of stuttgart, germany, 2016
• bachelor of science (physics), university of regensburg, germany, 2014

other

marcus is fluent in german and english.

background

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

background

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.

background

amy is currently a technical assistant in the dehns chemical group. she joined dehns in 2019 after completing her dphil in organic chemistry at the university of oxford. prior to this, amy graduated from the university of york with a first class mchem degree in chemistry, during which she spent her final year working at a large pharmaceutical company in switzerland.

amy qualified as a european patent attorney in 2023.

types of clients and client work

amy 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. amy handles prosecution of patent applications in europe, and has experience of prosecution in a number of other jurisdictions including china, japan, the us, korea, canada and brazil. amy also assists with client work outside of prosecution, including freedom to operate analysis and patent application drafting.

expertise

amy has gained experience working on patent applications relating to a wide variety of technologies in the chemical field, including polymer chemistry, organometallic catalysis, nutraceutical and pharmaceutical chemistry, drug delivery formulations, and materials chemistry.

qualifications and memberships

• european patent attorney, 2023
• intellectual property law post-graduate certificate, (queen mary university of london)
• student member of cipa (chartered institute of patent attorneys)

higher education

• mchem, chemistry with a year in industry (first class with distinction), university of york, 2015
• dphil, organic chemistry, university of oxford, 2019 (thesis title: chemical tools to probe the function of trim33)

background

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

other

callum will be attending the obn science social on the 16th april 2024. please contact callum if you would like to arrange a meeting.

background

dan joined dehns in 2019 after completing a phd at the university of bath in the field of organic chemistry. his research focused on developing novel methodologies for the catalytic synthesis of amides. prior to this, daniel graduated from the university of bath with a first class msci degree in natural sciences, during which he explored novel synthetic routes for the formation of a common beta-blocker drug.

dan qualified as a european patent attorney in 2023.

types of clients and client work

dan works with a variety of clients, including universities and large multinational corporations. dan handles prosecution of patent applications in europe, and has experience of prosecution in a number of other jurisdictions including china, japan, the uk and the us. dan also assists with freedom to operate analysis and drafting patent applications.

expertise

dan’s work covers a wide range of chemical subject-matter, including pharmaceuticals, polymers, ceramics, functional materials and coatings, catalysis and food additives.

qualifications and memberships

• european patent attorney, 2023
• postgraduate certificate in intellectual property law, queen mary university of london, 2021
• student member of the chartered institute of patent attorneys

higher education

phd, chemistry, university of bath, 2019 (thesis title: novel methodologies for the catalytic synthesis of amides)

msci, natural sciences, university of bath, 2015

background

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 in oxford, investigating the translocation mechanisms of protein antibiotics across the outer membrane of escherichia coli.

duke qualified as a european patent attorney in 2021 and is working towards qualification as a uk patent attorney.

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 has gained experience working on patent applications relating to a wide variety of technologies in the life sciences sphere, including antibodies, anti-cancer therapies, genome editing techniques, diagnostic techniques, fish farming and pharmaceuticals.

qualifications and memberships

• authorised representative before the unified patent court (upc) (2023)
• european patent attorney, 2021
• pgcert (intellectual property law), queen mary university of london, 2018
  
• student member of the chartered institute of patent attorneys
  

higher education

mbiochem (molecular and cellular biochemistry), university of oxford, 2017

background

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.

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

• basic litigation skills course, 2017
• european patent attorney, 2023
• certificate in intellectual property law, queen mary university of london, 2020
• student member of the chartered institute of patent attorneys (cipa)

education

meng aeronautical and aerospace engineering, university of leeds, 2019

background

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

• 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

background

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

background

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

background

alex joined dehns in september 2022 after graduating with an honors bachelor’s degree in manufacturing and design engineering, where he worked on designing and manufacturing a testing rig and software for the analysis of active guidewire crossing performance. he is a technical assistant in the engineering team for the munich office.

expertise

alex has significant experience working with subject-matter in a wide range of technical fields.  notable areas of expertise include: integrated networks automation systems, mems manufacturing, manufacturing operations management, digital manufacturing and robotics, engineering materials, medical devices, tool design and metal forming, thermo-fluids and, control engineering.

higher education

be (hons) – manufacturing and design engineering, technological university dublin, 2022

background

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.

background

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.

background

alex joined the dehns brighton office in september 2023 as a technical assistant.

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.

higher education

meng in general engineering (materials), university of sheffield, 2023

background

amelia is a technical assistant in the dehns biotechnology group and joined the dehns london office in september 2023.

prior to starting at dehns, amelia completed an msc in genomics. 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 with a first-class degree in biochemistry from the university of southampton.

higher education

msc genomics, university of southampton, 2023

bsc (hons) biochemistry, university of southampton, 2022

background

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 technical assistant 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.

background

armin joined dehns in 2021 as a technical assistant 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)

background

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 technical assistant.

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

background

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 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)

background

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).

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.

background

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

background

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.

higher education

meng – aerospace engineering, university of southampton, 2023

background

eddie is a technical assistant in the dehns biotechnology group. he joined the dehns brighton office in august 2022 after completing a phd 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.

qualifications and memberships

• student member of the chartered institute of patent attorneys

higher education

• bsc (hons) biochemistry, newcastle university, 2017
• phd, university of bristol, 2022

background

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 technical assistant 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.

background

emily is currently a technical assistant 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)

higher education

mphys (hons), university of warwick, physics, 2021

background

george joined the dehns engineering group in september 2023 as a  technical assistant. he graduated from the university of southampton in 2023 with a bachelors degree in ship science, where his studies focused on offshore renewable energy solutions. george also received the ship science award for marine craft concept design (2022) for his work on a low emission wind farm support vessel.

higher education

bsc ship science, university of southampton, 2023

other

as part of his degree, george studied the fundamental concepts associated with ship manoeuvring and a range of computational, experimental and analytical techniques for the assessment of directional stability. this knowledge was utilised in his dissertation where he produced a dynamic model to test the speed and position of rowing craft using a range of stroke inputs. george is familiar with the various common propulsors used in the maritime industry, and how these affect the manoeuvrability of the vessel when used in conjunction with the steering gear. he also has significant background knowledge on the subject including current inter-ship communications systems, the iala buoyage system, basics of the sea trials procedure and the maritime safety context within which the importance of navigational competency fits. furthermore george has experience operating led displays for the navigation of small craft along the south coast of england, including in congested waterways such as the solent.

background

georges joined dehns in 2022 as a technical assistant 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 control engineering, power electronics, and semiconductor devices.

higher education

meng (hons) engineering, university of cambridge, 2022

background

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.

higher education

mchem (hons) chemistry (with a year in industry), university of york, 2023.

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.

background

holly is a technical assistant in the dehns biotechnology group. she joined the dehns london office in june 2022.

before to starting at dehns, holly completed her phd at the university of edinburgh. her research focused on resolution pathways in acute and chronic skin wounds with a goal to find future therapeutic avenues to accelerate healing. prior to this, holly graduated from the university of aberdeen with a bsc degree in pharmacology.

qualifications and memberships

• pgcert intellectual property law, queen mary university of london, 2023
• student member of the chartered institute of patent attorneys (cipa), 2022 – present

higher education

• phd, university of edinburgh, 2021
• bsc (hons) pharmacology, university of aberdeen, 2017

qualifications and memberships

• pg certificate in intellectual property law, bournemouth university, 2019
• student member of the chartered institute of patent attorneys

background

isobel is a technical assistant in the dehns biotechnology group. she joined the dehns london office in september 2023.

prior to joining, isobel completed an integrated master’s degree in molecular and cellular biochemistry at the university of oxford, with her final project focusing on eukaryotic transcription termination. following this, she worked in high-throughput genomics research at the wellcome centre for human genetics.

higher education

mbiochem, university of oxford, molecular and cellular biochemistry, 2022

background

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.

higher education

bsc (hons) natural science, university of durham, 2023

background

james is a technical assistant 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.

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.

background

having joined dehns in 2020, james is currently a technical assistant 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.

background

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 technical assistant in the dehns chemistry group.

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

background

jolyon is a technical assistant in the engineering group of the brighton office.  he joined dehns in november 2016, after graduating in july of that year.  in his degree he focused mainly on mathematical structures and quantum mechanics, though his final year project related to the stability of micro-emulsions and micro-bubbles.

type of clients and client work

jolyon works mostly with large multinational companies, and some smaller local clients. mainly he handles prosecution of patent applications in europe and the uk, but is also familiar with prosecution in canada, china, japan, and the usa.  outside of prosecution work, jolyon also drafts new applications, and provides advice on oppositions and validity.

expertise

jolyon works on a wide spectrum of technologies, oil and gas exploration, communication technologies, sanitary products, exoskeletons, fire suppression devices, flash memory devices, mass/ion mobility spectrometry, sensors for aircraft, consumer electronics, 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

background

joseph joined dehns in september 2022 as a technical assistant 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 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.

background

josh is a technical assistant 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.

higher education

msci physics (first class), university of birmingham, 2023

background

lydia joined dehns in september 2021 as a technical assistant 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)

background

martha joined dehns in 2021 as a technical assistant 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.

background

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 biomedical engineering and medical devices.

qualifications and membership

• certificate in intellectual property law, queen mary university of london (2021)
• student member of the chartered institute of patent attorneys (cipa)

higher education

meng (hons) mechanical engineering / biomedical engineering, university of southampton, 2020

background

matthew graduated from the university of cambridge with an msci in natural sciences, specialising in materials science, where he was awarded the armourers and brasiers’ prize and medal for the second highest mark in final year materials science examinations. his final year project focused on using scanning electron microscopy (sem) to analyse the microstructure of a novel turbine disc superalloy throughout stages of processing.

matthew joined the engineering department at dehns in september 2022 as a technical assistant.

higher education

msci in natural sciences, university of cambridge, 2022

background

melissa joined dehns in september 2021 after graduating with a first class bachelor’s degree in physics. she is a technical assistant 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

background

michael joined dehns in september 2023 from the world of academia, having previously worked as a research associate at jodrell bank observatory and later as a specialist at the square kilometre array observatory. his academic background in physics and astrophysics was blended with a heavily technology-based research career including development in analogue and digital electronics, cryogenics and receiver design including high-frequency phased arrays, in addition to the bread-and-butter of traditional radio astronomical observing that later led him to engage with radio spectrum regulation in his most recent role.

higher education

phd, astronomy & astrophysics, the university of manchester, 2018

msc, radio imaging and sensing, the university of manchester, 2012

mphys (hons), physics with astrophysics, the university of york, 2011

background

michael is a technical assistant 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

background

prior to joining dehns, nicola completed her studies at durham university for a physics bsc degree. during her final year, nicola completed a high energy physics research project investigating the characteristics and lifetime of muon particles.

nicola joined the engineering team at the dehns london office in september 2023 as a technical assistant.

higher education

durham university – physics, 2023

background

owen joined dehns in september 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.

higher education          

meng materials science, university of oxford, 2023

qualifications and memberships

student member of the chartered institute of patent attorneys (cipa)

background

rhodri is currently a technical assistant in the dehns engineering group. he graduated from the university of nottingham in 2019 with a first class meng mechanical engineering degree and joined dehns in 2021. his final year research project focused on researching new designs of biomedical bone screws with the aim to improve their performance and reliability by enhancing osseointegration. rhodri has also worked professionally as an engineer in the oil and gas, renewable energy and software industries.

types of clients and client work

rhodri is experienced in handling the prosecution of patent applications at the european patent office, and has prosecution experience in other jurisdictions such as the uk and the us. rhodri also assists with client work outside of prosecution, including oppositions and appeals at the epo and patent application drafting.

expertise

rhodri has experience handling cases across a variety of technical fields. particularly, these include: gas turbine engines, radar, consumer appliances, manufacturing and packaging, elevator and escalator systems, integrated electronics and software.

qualifications and memberships

• postgraduate certificate in intellectual property law, bournemouth university
• student member of the chartered institute of patent attorneys (cipa)

education

meng, mechanical engineering including an industrial year, university of nottingham, 2019

background

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 technical assistant 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.

background

scott is a technical assistant 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.

qualifications and memberships

• student member of the chartered institute of patent attorneys

higher education

mphys, physics and astronomy (first class honours), durham university, 2021

background

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 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 is currently training for his exams as a german patent attorney and for the european qualification examination.

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

background

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 technical assistant 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

• 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)

background

theodora is a technical assistant 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.

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

background

will is currently a technical assistant 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

background

zak joined dehns as a technical assistant 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.

higher education

msci (hons) physics, university of birmingham, 2022

background

charlotte joined the firm in 2021, after graduating from the university of birmingham in 2021 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

• postgraduate certificate in trade mark law and practice, queen mary university of london, 2023 – distinction
• student member of the chartered institute of trade mark attorneys (citma)

higher education

bsc (hons) in geography, university of birmingham, 2020

background

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

• postgraduate certificate in intellectual property law, queen mary university of london, 2021 – distinction
• student member of the chartered institute of trade mark attorneys (citma)

higher education

• bsc (hons), university of bath, chemistry for drug discovery, 2020
• msc, queen mary university of london, management of intellectual property, 2021

background

nikolle initially joined the firm as 2016 as a patent and trade mark paralegal, after graduating with a law degree. during her successful time as a paralegal, nikolle developed her knowledge of trade mark formalities and qualified as a citma trade mark paralegal. nikolle secured the position of trainee trade mark attorney in 2022.

expertise

nikolle assists the associates and partners with all aspects of trade mark law.

qualifications and memberships

student member of the chartered institute of trade mark attorneys (citma)

higher education

llb law (hons), oxford brookes university 2016

background

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

• postgraduate certificate in trade mark law and practice, queen mary university of london, 2023
• student 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

ben 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 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 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.

jeanette 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 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 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 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 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 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 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.