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John Tothill

John Tothill

Dehns, South East

Work Department

Electronics

Position

John joined Dehns in 1991 and became a Partner in 1999. He studied physics and materials science with options in electronics, microelectronics and optical materials at the University of Cambridge. In 2017, John was appointed as Dehns’ Head of Tech, Software and Engineering, with overall responsibility for the firm’s Electronics and Communications, Software and Artificial Intelligence, Physical Sciences and Materials, and Engineering groups.

John is responsible for large patent portfolios for a number of high-technology multinational corporations. This includes drafting patents for new inventions and prosecuting patent applications in the UK, Europe, the USA and throughout the world, as well as advising on contentious issues and addressing any validity challenges that arise.

He also has particular interest and experience in assisting and advising SMEs, new and start-up companies in high technology industries both in the UK and Europe. This includes developing intellectual property portfolios, exploiting intellectual property assets and addressing the intellectual property of competitors.

John drafts and prosecutes patent applications in all areas of high technology, including electronics, microelectronics and microprocessors, computing, software, telecommunications, optics and other physics and engineering fields. John has particular expertise in drafting patents for filing in the USA and in prosecuting patent applications in the USA.

John also regularly advises on infringement and validity of patents in these fields and on related issues, including the exploitation and use of intellectual property rights.

He has also been heavily involved in a number of major telecommunications cases, including litigation of patents concerning the GPRS standard and mobile email systems, and has particular experience in advising on patents relating to telecommunications standards and in licensing negotiations relating to patents alleged to be essential to standards.

Career

Authorised Representative before the Unified Patent Court (UPC), 2024

UK Chartered Patent Attorney, 1996 (Awarded Strode Prize for final examinations)

European Patent Attorney, 1996

Certificate in IP Law, Queen Mary College, University of London, 1992

Intellectual Property Litigation Certificate, 2012

Languages

English

Memberships

Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA)

Member of the European Patent Institute

Education

MA (First Class), University of Cambridge, Natural Sciences (Physical), 1991

Mentions