PATMA: Patent attorneys

Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Anthony Albutt
D Young & Co LLP
Experience in private practice in Germany and the UK coupled with industrial experience in the energy industry and in IT consulting (in both Europe and the US), has allowed Anthony to represent clients across a range of technologies extending from telecommunications and medical devices to the oil industry and automotive/aerospace engineering. He leads D Young & Co’s mechanical practice in London and acts for some of the most prominent organisations in their respective fields. Anthony represents clients before the European Patent Office’s Examining and Opposition Divisions and also before the Boards of Appeal. In the UK, he acts before the United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office in both ex-parte and inter-partes proceedings. Anthony is also qualified to represent clients in the Higher Courts as a patent attorney litigator. A regular visitor to the US and to Asia, Anthony frequently lectures on law changes and developments in Europe.
Adrian Bennett
AA Thornton
Adrian is currently the firm’s partnership chairperson with responsibility for working with the other partners to set the long term strategic direction of the firm.A partner within the engineering, physics and mechanical devices patent department since 2007, Adrian Bennett has approaching 20 years' experience in the profession, with a focus in mechanical engineering. His specialist areas of knowledge include fluid mechanics, oil and gas exploration technology, hand-held power tools, engine design, control systems, aerodynamics and aircraft design. Adrian has considerable experience in the original drafting of patent applications and their prosecution around the world. He also has considerable experience at leading oral proceedings at the European Patent Office and regularly handles these matters, including proceedings before the Examining Division and particularly proceedings before the Opposition Division and Board of Appeal. Other principal areas of work include advising clients in infringement matters, for example by way of freedom to operate opinions, and instructing counsel as appropriate.Adrian's clients include individual inventors, start-up companies, SMEs and large corporations, in industry sectors such as oil and gas exploration, medicament dispensing devices, automated cow milking machinery, heat exchangers, separator devices, hand-held power tools, and personal hygiene and hair treatment devices, amongst others.Adrian is a member of the firm's systems group, who is responsible for IT hardware and software, including the specialist IP software systems that support the smooth and efficient running of the firm.
John Brunner
Carpmaels & Ransford LLP
John has extensive experience assisting tech and healthcare companies in all aspects of the patent lifecycle in the UK, Europe and globally, from invention mining, drafting and prosecution through to opposition, invalidity and enforcement proceedings. In particular, IAM in the Patent 1000 has noted his ‘superb’ ability to prosecute patent applications in Europe. In the healthcare space, John built the foundational patent portfolio for a top 10 pharma company for their various drug delivery platforms and defended them at opposition. In recent years, he acted in multiple EPO opposition cases against Huawei in relation to various software patents. He has also acted for LifeScan at the EPO in relation to their glucose management diagnostics technology, both on prosecution and opposition matters. More recently, he has been brought in to handle the European patent portfolios of fast-growing and innovative companies, such as Align Technology, Quantum-Si and Auris Health. John also acts for J&J Vision in relation to their ophthalmic laser surgery and intra-ocular lens technology. John advises a range of companies, from start-ups to multinationals, on a range of European IP issues, including infringement and enforcement of patents and design rights, and licensing issues. He is routinely brought in to handle complex FTO and clearance projects for a variety of US and European companies across the healthcare sector. As the lead patent attorney on various litigation cases in the UK, including Align Technology v ClearCorrect in relation to the former’s Invisalign® technology, and AMO Development v Alcon in relation to Alcon’s LenSx® ophthalmic laser surgery platform, John has brought in-depth technical knowledge and strategic perspectives to bear on these cases from a European standpoint. John is an Engineering graduate of the University of Oxford, where he specialised in biomedical engineering and electronics. He is a council member of the UK Group of the International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (AIPPI). Prior to joining Carpmaels & Ransford, he worked for a leading technology product development consultancy in Cambridge.
Allie Elend
Venner Shipley LLP
Allie is a European and Chartered Patent Attorney and heads up the Chemical and Life Sciences team in our Cambridge office. Allie specialises in chemical subject matter, in particular pharmaceuticals, small molecule medicinal chemistry, active pharmaceutical ingredients, synthetic chemistry including chiral synthetic chemistry, formulation chemistry, polymorphic forms, first and further medical uses, peptides and proteins, and also cleantech, drug delivery, antisense technology, transdermal patches, medical devices and agrochemicals.  She also has experience in polymer chemistry, films and fibres, materials, petrochemicals, and process chemistry. Allie has extensive experience in drafting and prosecuting British, European and international patent applications, as well as in patent prosecution in other countries using local attorneys. She manages large international patent portfolios and works with her clients to develop a cohesive IP strategy. Allie enjoys representing her clients at opposition and appeal hearings before the European Patent Office, where she has an enviable track record of success. She also has considerable expertise in infringement and validity issues and regularly clears her clients’ products prior to launch. Allie has a particular interest in the pharmaceutical industry.  Her clients include international and medium-sized pharmaceutical and chemical companies, start-ups, academic institutions and universities, as well as private individuals.
Avi Freeman
Beck Greener LLP
Experienced in working with market leading companies from fields as diverse as optics, communications, computer hardware and software, and electronic and mechanical engineering, Avi also takes great satisfaction in assisting start-ups and young companies, especially when the IP infrastructure he has helped to create supports their growth. He also enjoys supporting international hi-tech companies, either directly or through local patent attorneys. Widely admired for his experience in the engineering, physics and electronics sectors, Avi has considerable expertise in advising on and obtaining patent protection for computer hardware and software. Valued by clients for his strong strategic sense, technical knowledge and real-world business skills, he prides himself on taking time to understand their products and deliver pragmatic advice, on time and to budget. Avi is skilled at drafting, filing and prosecuting cases at the European Patent Office and at the UK Intellectual Property Office, acting for multinational corporations and start-ups alike. He has comprehensive experience of post-grant procedures at the EPO, achieving a high success rate in oppositions and appeals. Avi also has a large caseload before international patent offices, particularly the USPTO, where he prosecutes applications on behalf of direct clients with the assistance of local counsel. In addition to his patent workload, Avi also advises on the protection of both registered and unregistered designs. His problem solving skills mean that Avi is often brought in by clients when value added advice is at a premium, or asked to take over troublesome cases from other firms. Active in thought leadership, Avi writes and publishes in the field of computer-implemented inventions, an area in which he is internationally recognised. He travels widely to the US, Asia and the Middle East, speaking and presenting on matters of European law ranging from general developments, like the European unitary patent, to the more specific, such as the European and UK approach to the protection of computer-implemented inventions. Avi, having been invited, recently chaired a round table on the subject of AI at the Asian Patent Attorneys Association Council Meeting.
Hugh Goodfellow
Carpmaels & Ransford LLP
Hugh is the Managing Partner at Carpmaels & Ransford and a Partner in the Life Sciences team.  He has a large prosecution practice, spanning Europe and beyond, and he is a regular visitor to the European Patent Office (EPO), handling many oppositions and appeals. He has pan-European expertise in the filing and prosecution of supplementary protection certificates nationally, as well as considerable experience before the European Court of Justice, including the widely cited Queensland (C-630/10), Neurim (C-130/11) and Abraxis (C-443/17) referrals. Hugh has an “expansive practice” (IAM Patent 1000) with clients ranging from large and long-established global companies (e.g. Janssen, Takeda, Bristol Myers Squibb, Regeneron and Vertex) through to growing biotech companies (e.g., Akari, Radius Health, Hubrecht Organoid Technology, Translate Bio and Westway Health). During his career, he has been responsible for establishing the filing strategy and generating IP portfolios for a number of start-ups, guiding some of these clients all the way from early conception, through financing rounds and subsequent public flotation. His particular area of current focus includes biologics – in particular, therapeutic antibodies, complex immunology, biosimilar defence work and stem cell technology. Collectively, these experiences have developed Hugh’s ability to consistently and successfully protect foundation intellectual property and forecast potential future problems from the viewpoint of both IP generation and freedom to operate. Hugh has been noted as a “top-tier advisor” who “seamlessly links the firm’s prosecution division with its dispute resolution arm” (IAM Patent 1000). Hugh received his BA (Hons) in Biochemistry and his MA and DPhil from the University of Oxford. His experience at the bench was spent investigating mechanisms of drug resistance in cancer cells. In addition to his work at Carpmaels & Ransford Hugh is a trustee for the UK charity Pancreatic Cancer Action.
Justin Hill
Dentons
Justin Hill is a partner and Head of the Firm’s Patent Prosecution and Opposition practices across Europe. All of the leading independent legal directories have consistently recognized Justin as a Leader in the Field of Intellectual Property. Legal 500 has recently referred to Justin as "hugely impressive" and Chambers Legal ranks him as leader in an elite group of Band 1 European patent attorneys saying "Justin Hill stands out for his exceptional commercial knowledge, understanding of new technologies and IP developments". Justin is a European patent attorney and a patent attorney litigator and has previous experience working in research and in industry. His practice includes advising on the preparation and prosecution of UK, European and international patent applications, designs, trade marks, know-how and copyright issues. Justin is a strategic thinker with international perspectives and IP portfolio management expertise. He sees IP rights as assets for supporting commercial objectives that need to be managed on time and within budget. Justin assists his clients with IP policy formulation and implementation, highly efficient IP filing programs, competitive intelligence and positioning, revenue generation opportunities, IP risk management and IP disputes. He also provides infringement and validity opinions, as well as specializing in opposition and appeal proceedings before the European Patent Office. Justin spends a considerable amount of his time in IP negotiations as well as in patent litigation matters before the high court and other national courts. Justin has a first class honors degree and a Ph.D. from Imperial College in London. The patent attorney team comprises talented scientists and engineers and can handle any area of technology. Justin sits on the advisory boards of VC and other companies and is a Tech London Advocate. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys, a Member of the Institute of Professional Representatives before the European Patent Office, a Representative before the Office of Harmonization of Internal Markets, and serves on the CIPA advisory Committee for Computer Technologies, as well as the Firm’s Life Science Steering Committee.
Craig Turner
AA Thornton
Dr Craig Turner is a partner within the chemistry, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals patent team and has been in the profession for over 17 years. Craig’s patent practice covers both contentious and non-contentious matters in the fields of chemistry, chemical engineering, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology. Craig’s clients include large corporations in the oil and gas, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology industry sectors. Craig heads up the patent team for one of the firm’s biggest clients, an American multinational corporation and one of the world’s largest oil field service companies. Other clients include SMEs, start out companies and academic institutions. Craig is a member of the firm’s finance management group and is involved in the implementation of the financial strategy and plans for the firm.
Next Generation Partners
Junior partners with significant recognition from clients and peers in the market and key roles on multiple matters.
Catherine Jewell
Beck Greener LLP
“Enthusiastic and committed” patent and trade mark expert Catherine Jewell is admired by clients for a mastery of the detail that allows her to present complex advice in a user-friendly way. Whether in the patent or trade mark sphere, Catherine impresses with her legal and technical skills and her professionalism. She has drafted and prosecuted patent applications for clients with diverse needs and budgets, representing large multinationals in prosecution, opposition and appeals at the European Patent Office and UKIPO, while also helping smaller clients to develop their products from concept to market, including drafting patent applications and advising on trade mark registrations. Catherine’s patent practice is focused on the chemicals field. During her time as a patent attorney she has worked with a wide variety of technologies, including energy applications such as photovoltaic systems, general organic chemistry, materials chemistry, ceramics and polymers, drug delivery systems such as self-assembling lipid-based formulations, and pharmaceutical chemistry. Catherine has handled inventions ranging from veneered floor tiles to epoxidation processes, siloxanyl polymers, zeolites and graphene coatings. Also experienced in trade marks, Catherine advises on strategies for handling, extending and maintaining international portfolios of marks. She conducts and advises on searches and defends her clients’ brands through opposition proceedings and the negotiation of settlement agreements. Catherine is qualified to practise as a trade mark attorney under the laws of both the UK and the Republic of Ireland, allowing her to continue to practise before the EUIPO in relation to European Union Trade Marks and Designs post-Brexit. Catherine is part of the team responsible for Beck Greener’s award-winning CSR function. This has seen her play a key role in overseeing the firm’s long-term transformation from a fully office-based working environment to a hybrid model with home-working. She also plays a leading role in implementing the STEM: Branching Out project, intended to help raise the profile of the legal profession among disadvantaged communities, and to broaden the appeal of careers in IP. Fully committed to thought leadership, Catherine is a regular lecturer at the UCL School of Pharmacy as part of their Masters degree in Pharmaceutical Entrepreneurship, and is the joint author of “3D Printing Techniques in the Pharmaceutical Sciences – Intellectual Property Issues” in the Springer overview publication “3D Printing of Pharmaceuticals” (2018).
Leading associates
Rising stars with regular involvement in their team's key work, and recognition from peers or clients as being ones to watch.

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