Boult Wade Tennant
Sector » Automotive

Automotive

Areas of focus:

    Autonomous vehicles
    Electric vehicles
    Engines

The automotive industry is continually developing. Current drivers of innovation in the sector include improvements in performance, safety, efficiency and environmental credentials.

The sector’s major focus is the transition to electric vehicles. With range anxiety being at the forefront of customers’ consideration, optimising battery capacity and vehicle efficiency is critical. Advances in battery management, drive efficiency and regenerative breaking are key to the industry. 

Alongside electrification, developments in internal combustion engine technology continue, particularly with a view to minimising emissions and maximising fuel efficiency. 

Looking further ahead, resources in the automotive sector are also being directed to the development of autonomous vehicle technology. 

The automotive team
Our automotive team is ideally positioned to assist manufacturers and inventors on protecting their innovations in the transition from hydrocarbons, through hybrid and to fully electric vehicles. We have extensive experience in supporting clients in protecting their inventions in this sector. We have wide experience working on protecting battery management systems, battery chemistry, battery architecture as well as broader vehicle technologies. We are also adept at advising clients on oppositions and enforcement of patents in the automotive sector.

“The transition from combustion engines to electric traction is perhaps the biggest single change in the automotive industry in more than a century. It’s an exciting time to be protecting the innovations that underpin that.”

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The automotive industry is continually developing. Current drivers of innovation in the sector include improvements in performance, safety, efficiency and environmental credentials.

The sector’s major focus is the transition to electric vehicles. With range anxiety being at the forefront of customers’ consideration, optimising battery capacity and vehicle efficiency is critical. Advances in battery management, drive efficiency and regenerative breaking are key to the industry. 

Alongside electrification, developments in internal combustion engine technology continue, particularly with a view to minimising emissions and maximising fuel efficiency. 

Looking further ahead, resources in the automotive sector are also being directed to the development of autonomous vehicle technology. 

The automotive team
Our automotive team is ideally positioned to assist manufacturers and inventors on protecting their innovations in the transition from hydrocarbons, through hybrid and to fully electric vehicles. We have extensive experience in supporting clients in protecting their inventions in this sector. We have wide experience working on protecting battery management systems, battery chemistry, battery architecture as well as broader vehicle technologies. We are also adept at advising clients on oppositions and enforcement of patents in the automotive sector.

What sets us apart
Development in the automotive industry is a complicated process, often involving multidisciplinary teams distributed round the world. Our own multidisciplinary teams – all within Boult – work with our clients to seek the broadest and best results. Collaboration is second nature to us. As such, we’re well-placed to advise across the full spectrum of technologies within the automotive sector and bring expertise in Europe, the UK and Germany. We are also adaptable in meeting the requirements of automotive clients, working carefully with them to draft, file and enforce their patent applications and patents.

Although the use of autonomous vehicles on the public highway is not common in most jurisdictions, there is already considerable use of autonomous machines in neighbouring sectors. Having worked with clients in those adjacent sectors, we are well-versed in the underlying technology, giving us a head-start on the development of autonomous technologies for use on the highway.

Recent highlights

Assisting a growing company to develop its patent portfolio focussed on the use of artificial intelligence to improve the operation and safety of autonomous vehicles.

Automotive team

Partners

Dr Simon Binnie
Partner Reading
Tessa Bucks
Partner London
Paul Hicks
Partner Cambridge
Dr Simon Kahn
Partner London
Dr Jonathan Palmer
Partner Reading
Dr Jo Pelly
Partner Reading
Jason Pelly
Partner Reading
Jonathan Pratt
Partner London
Matthew Ridley
Partner London
Dr Oliver Rutt
Partner London
Dr James Short
Partner London
Neil Thomson
Partner Cambridge
Dr Nigel Tucker
Partner Reading
Dr Nick Widdowson
Partner Cambridge

Senior associates

Dr Frances Baxter
Senior Associate Cambridge
Dr Adam Capewell
Senior Associate Reading
Ross Chapman
Senior Associate Reading
Jemma Jacobs
Senior Associate London
Sarah Le Mesurier
Senior Associate London
Joshua McFarlane
Senior Associate London
Dr Victoria Russell
Senior Associate London
Dr Robert Waddingham
Senior Associate Cambridge

Attorneys

Lizzie Alexander
Patent Attorney Reading
Dr Lucy Cunningham
Patent Attorney Cambridge
Michael Kahan
Patent Attorney London
Charlotte Hrecinuc
Patent Attorney Reading
Jade Watt
Patent Attorney Reading

Assistants and trainees

Anna Jones
Patent Trainee London
Dr Jonny Taylor
Patent Assistant London