Withers & Rogers

Ben Palmer

Partner Ben Palmer is a patent attorney in the Advanced Engineering group. Ben is interested in all aspects of advanced engineering and is experienced in advising clients on a broad range of technology areas, including in the aerospace, automotive, robotics, electric motor, renewable energy, medical equipment, micro valve, oil & gas, and construction equipment sectors. Ben works with a variety of clients from SMEs to multi-national corporations and his practice involves drafting and prosecuting patent applications and advising on commercial issues, such as obtaining the most useful scope of protection and reducing the risk of infringement of competitors’ patent portfolios.  He also has a successful track record in defending clients’ patents at appeal proceedings before the European Patent Office.

Diego Black

Greg Stepney

Partner Greg Stepney is a patent attorney in the Life Sciences & Chemistry group. Greg is interested in all aspects of chemistry and has worked with the full spectrum of chemical inventions over the course of his career.  Some of the diverse fields in which he has helped clients include industrial-scale fine chemicals, pharmaceuticals, oil & gas, halocarbons, polymers, food and drink, agriculture, printing methods and inks, nonwoven materials, detergents, photochemistry, materials chemistry and batteries. The majority of Greg’s work is conducted at the European Patent Office, where he has a long and successful track record defending and attacking patents in opposition and opposition-appeal proceedings.  Away from the EPO, Greg conducts patent prosecution and portfolio management in upwards of 70 countries, drafts new applications and provides advice relating to patent validity and infringement.

Howard Wright

Partner Howard is a senior member of the Electronics, Computing & Physics group. He is also chairman of Withers & Rogers Renewals LLP, a sister business which specialises in renewing IP rights and translating patents and other technical documents. Howard has extensive experience in patenting inventions in a broad range of technologies. These include medical apparatus, computer-related inventions, mechanical inventions and semiconductor devices. Howard has worked with many multinational, medium-sized and smaller companies, as well as with individuals. Much of his work is with SMEs for whom patents can play a huge part in their success. He also works closely with many patent attorneys overseas. His clients include Thorn Security Limited. Howard often travels to Taiwan to visit a number of the firm’s clients there. Howard has successfully represented both applicants and opponents in oral proceedings at the European Patent Office (EPO). He represented one US company in a group of oppositions and appeals against a large German corporation. His client experience includes writing a patent attorney’s report for a client that formed part of its prospectus when it was listed on the London Stock Exchange. He has also advised on the validity of patents and on the risk of infringement.  Another client required a positive opinion as to the validity of their patents as part of a round of fund-raising, and with Howard’s help, they were able to make some straightforward post-grant amendments to put the patents’ validity virtually beyond question. For another client, Howard advised in modifying the design of their prototype product so as to avoid risk of infringement of a competitor’s product. Although the modifications were costly as a result of the need to retool, the final design was nearly 15% more efficient than the original prototype.

Justin Wilson

Partner Justin Wilson is a patent attorney in the Life Sciences & Chemistry group. Justin primarily works on drafting and prosecuting patent applications in the UK, Europe and around the world, and devising appropriate patenting strategies to protect his clients’ technologies to the greatest extent possible. He has also handled a number of oppositions and appeals before the European Patent Office and has been involved in several due diligence projects, including in relation to stock market listings and potential acquisitions. Justin has particular expertise in gene and cell therapies and as a result heads up Withers & Rogers’ cell & gene therapy specialist practice group. More broadly, Justin also has experience across a range of technologies in the life sciences, in particular in biochemistry, immunology and pharmacology. Some of the specific areas he has worked on with clients include: new active pharmaceutical ingredients; formulations of pharmaceuticals; drug delivery systems; screening and diagnostic methods using genetic and/or protein markers; therapeutic antibodies; vaccines; RNA therapeutics; gene therapies; therapeutic T-cells; diagnostic kits; bacteria and methods for genetically engineering bacteria, and biofuels. Justin also has experience in Supplementary Protection Certificates (SPCs). Justin works with a range of different clients so he is comfortable adapting and tailoring his advice to suit their needs. He does work for a number of academic institutions, both in the UK and Europe. He also works with small and medium size companies, as well as large multinational organisations.

Mark Caddle

Partner Mark Caddle is an Attorney in the Trade Mark group. Mark is experienced in global trade mark filing programmes, clearance searches and contentious matters. He routinely advises on and manages trade mark opposition and cancellation proceedings. Mark assists clients in many sectors, including consumer electronics, food and drink, pharmaceuticals and financial services. As well as working with multinational companies, he has particular expertise in advising start-ups and SMEs how best to protect their intellectual property.

Michael Jaeger

Partner Michael is a patent attorney in the Electronics, Computing & Physics group. Michael’s patent work has covered the fields of telecoms, telephony, encryption, video transmission, memory devices, display screens, copiers and detectors, as well as mechanical inventions such as FMCG.  His clients currently cover the fields of Voice over IP, video transmission, satellite technologies, tracking devices and prosthetics. Michael has worked on a number of cases relating to computer implemented inventions (software) and notably was able to achieve a successful outcome in this area for one of his clients at a UK Patent Office Hearing. Michael has worked for a number of clients who operate within the television domain. His experience covers hardware design, such as plasma and LED screens, as well as video transmission system design. Michael’s practice has encompassed set top box design and manufacture, conditional access systems and content selection and delivery algorithms. He has prosecuted dozens of patent applications in this field and continues to regularly represent clients at oral proceedings before the European Patent Office. He has a keen interest with start-ups and has worked with a number of such companies to secure patent protection for their innovative products.  Michael has a great familiarity with the UK’s Patent Box tax incentive scheme and has run seminars and advised many clients in this area. Michael has extensive experience working with direct clients where he has been involved in design, patent and copyright litigation as well as restorations, a central limitation at the European Patent Office and due diligence exercises for complex corporate transactions. Michael heads the firm’s Space group.  Michael is a member of the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys’ (CIPA) Professional Development Working Group, which organises educational events for CIPA’s members, and is often found chairing webinars.  Michael is also a member of the Licencing Executives Society and the American Intellectual Property Law Association, whose events he regularly attends.

Nicholas Jones

Partner Nicholas Jones is a patent attorney in the Life Sciences & Chemistry group, and leads the Pharmaceutical sector group. Nicholas handles work in the fields of medicinal chemistry and drug design, synthetic organic chemistry, formulation, new medical indications, radiopharmaceuticals, advanced drug delivery, biopharmaceuticals, biosensors, drug delivery devices, coatings, agrochemicals, and chemical processes for the mining industry.  He also advises on Supplementary Protection Certificates for medicinal products and plant protection products. Nicholas works with a number of domestic and overseas clients. He has worked for many years with companies in the Takeda Pharmaceutical Group, both in Japan and in Europe. He is a regular visitor to Japan, where he also works with a number of other pharmaceutical and chemical clients, including companies in the Sumitomo Group.  He works with the Portuguese pharmaceutical company BIAL – Portela & Ca. SA., the Swedish biosensor manufacturer Attana AB and the Norwegian pharmaceutical company BerGenBio ASA.  In the US, he works with Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals and the radiopharmaceuticals producer Curium (Mallinckrodt Nuclear Medicine), as well as a number of companies in the Koch Industries Group.  He also works closely with UCL Business Ltd (the technology transfer business of University College London).

Nick Wallin

Partner and head of the Electronics, Computing & Physics group Nick Wallin is the lead partner in the Electronics, Computing & Physics group, the largest practice group in the firm. He is also an experienced patent litigator who has handled cases before the UK Court of Appeal and High Court, and the EPO Boards of Appeal. Nick works for a wide range of clients, in fields ranging from geospatial data processing to electro-surgical instruments and medical imaging, through to sensors for defence purposes and the oil and gas industry.

Philip Horler

Partner Philip Horler is a patent attorney in the Electronics, Computing & Physics group. Philip specialises in analog and digital electronic circuitry and semiconductor design, fabrication and operation.  He also has a wide-range of experience in other technology areas including: telecommunication systems; scientific instruments; automotive engineering and control technologies. Additionally, Philip regularly advises clients on the patentability of software and business methods in the UK and Europe and has significant experience with computer implemented inventions, including encryption and blockchain related technologies.

Russell Edson

Partner Russell Edson is a Paris-based patent attorney in the Advanced Engineering group. Russell is a qualified British, French and European Patent Attorney and co-head of the firm's French Office. In addition to his broad experience in private practice dealing with patent and design prosecution and Freedom to Operate (FTO) advice, Russell also gained in-house experience on a year-long part-time secondment to a multinational consumer product company based in Geneva. Russell has particular experience in mechanical technology areas including oil exploration and extraction, medical instruments, automotive, aerospace, packaging and manufacturing technology, as well as computer implemented control systems and graphical user interfaces.

Tania Clark

Partner Tania Clark is an attorney in the Trade Mark group.  She is also a member of the Designs group. Tania has handled multinational trade mark and design applications and is a keen advocate of the Madrid Protocol and Hague systems. Tania has worked with clients in most sectors and her present portfolio includes companies across a wide range, including finance, online gambling, prepared foods, electronics and prostheses. Tania has strong communication skills and is adept at negotiating settlements of conflicts. She has had considerable experience in managing worldwide filing programmes.