Venner Shipley LLP

Allie Elend

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.

Anwar Gilani

Anwar is a European and Chartered Patent Attorney in our Chemical and Life Sciences team, based in our Cambridge office. He works on a wide range of technologies including organic semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, polymers and clean technology. After completing a B.Sc. in chemistry and a Ph.D. in organic chemistry Anwar worked as an examiner at the UK Patent Office in the areas of novel organic compounds and medical devices before moving in-house for a Cambridge technology company. Holding the role of IP manager, his responsibilities included managing the prosecution of a large patent portfolio covering Europe, USA and the Far East as well as working with inventors on new patent filings, freedom to operate activities and patent licensing. His experience includes drafting new applications, prosecution before the UK and European patent offices, managing and budgeting for worldwide patent portfolios, IP due diligence activities and freedom to operate analysis.

Pawel Piotrowicz

Pawel is a European and Chartered Patent Attorney in our Electronics, Software and Communications team. He has industry experience having previously worked as a researcher for a major multinational electronics company developing memory devices. He represents a wide variety of clients in the high technology sector including a significant number of private inventors and start-up companies and clients located in the UK, Europe, Japan and the US and large multinational companies. Pawel specialises in the fields of physics, electronics and computer software, and also in inventions which are multi-disciplinary in nature. His areas of expertise include semiconductor devices, embedded systems, power electronics, automotive electronics, nanotechnology, spintronics, printed electronics, RFID devices, telecommunications, computer networks, computer simulation, optical systems, sensors and medical devices. He handles applications, oppositions and appeals at the European Patent Office and the UK Intellectual Property Office. He is familiar with overseas practice, particularly the US, Japan, Korea and China, obtaining protection for his clients via local associates.  He also give opinions on infringement and validity. Pawel is regularly invited by companies and universities to lecture on intellectual property and to hold intellectual property ‘clinics’.  He has been reported in the press and given radio interviews on intellectual property.

Stephen Johnson

Stephen is a European and Chartered Patent Attorney in our Chemical and Life Sciences team. Stephen has a wide range of experience across all aspects of patent law, from the drafting, filing and prosecution of British, European and international patent applications, to working on opposition and appeal cases before the European Patent Office and undertaking infringement clearance tasks. Throughout his career, Stephen has specialised in new technologies across a variety of chemically orientated fields. A particular focus of his interest concerns synthetic organic, medicinal, and process chemistry, pharmaceutical formulations, polymorphic forms, and the medical uses of small chemical entities. Stephen is also familiar with new technologies across a variety of other chemically orientated fields, having acted as agent for patent applications pertaining to lubricants & fuel oils, oil well compositions, polymers, catalysts, organic semiconductors, lithium iron battery technologies and medical devices.

Tim Russell

Tim is a European and Chartered Patent Attorney. He heads up our Chemical and Life Sciences team and has a background in chemistry and the pharmaceutical industry. Tim advises clients in the pharmaceutical sector, helping them develop their IP strategy and helping them achieve desired outcomes by combining his legal, scientific and commercial experience. Tim also works for clients in other chemistry-related industries such as absorbents, additives, agrochemicals, chemical processes, detergents, fine chemicals, food chemistry, liquid crystal displays, oil & gas, and polymers. Tim advises a wide range of client types both large and small, e.g. multinationals, start-ups, and universities, in the UK, Europe and internationally. Tim’s work has evolved such that he is an expert on EPO oppositions and appeals as well as providing freedom-to-operate advice, enforcement advice, and litigation support. He has been successful in many EPO oppositions and appeals and his input in corresponding contentious proceedings in other parts of the world is frequently requested by clients. This experience helps Tim provide invaluable advice to patent holders and 3rd parties involved in complex post-grant issues. Tim can also apply this knowledge of post-grant proceedings to help clients devise an effective patent filing and prosecution strategy that maximises the chances of their patents surviving any post-grant challenges by 3rd parties. Tim’s experience in the pharmaceutical and chemical fields covers various subject-matter including adjuvants, catalysis, compositions, personalised medicine, polymorphic forms, small molecule active ingredients, synthetic processes, and first and further medical uses.