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With my physics and meteorology background, and the few years I spent working for a university spin-out, I began my profession with a broad remit, and I see myself as a generalist who easily works across different sectors.
I am a Partner in our Reading office, having joined Boult back as a Trainee. I’m a European Patent Attorney and a Chartered Patent Attorney, with additional experience in UK design work. My experience covers a broad range of technical areas, from medical devices to aerospace, and from utility monitoring to secured software techniques.
I love getting to know people and finding out what it is they’re looking for from their patent portfolio so that I can tailor everything accordingly – do they want a patent to help with their venture capital funding, or to provide a defensive position as part of a large portfolio, or is a patent essential to protect their key product against competitors in the marketplace? I truly enjoy personalising my advice by thinking about everything from a client’s perspective. A happy client means a happy me.
I have a lot of experience working with individual inventors and smaller companies who may not have much familiarity with the patent process – I like to make sure that they’re making the most of their limited IP budgets. One of my proudest moments was when I was involved in contentious opposition work defending a client’s broadband internet access patents at the European Patent Office. They were a Californian company in litigation with a multinational telecommunications giant. I really enjoyed fighting for the company and making a real difference for them: we’re still working with them today.
Having trained at Boult myself, my role in training new team members is something that I especially value. Becoming a patent attorney is about learning on the job. I like taking our trainees on a journey where they learn how to apply the law and their scientific knowledge so as to get clients the right protection for their inventions. It is about helping people think around a problem and making sure all possible angles are protected. It’s fantastic seeing someone grow in confidence and become a truly proficient patent attorney.
The development of the Unified Patent Court (UPC) is a topic of particular interest to me. The UPC potentially means big changes in how patents are enforced across Europe and will hopefully provide a more cohesive litigation system for many. I’ve been following the progress of the UPC for many years and am part of the Boult team handling the changes that it brings.
