Our experience
Our Advanced Engineering Team is made up of highly qualified attorneys with Master’s and PhD level qualifications, some with post-doctoral research experience, and a Chartered engineer.
Several members of the Team have first-hand experience of working in mechanical engineering and automotive engineering environments. Their industrial experience includes a major automotive manufacturer, FTSE 100 companies, and an F1 team, working in the design and testing of vehicle steering systems, vehicle production engineering, combustion engine development, and process engineering. We also have attorneys who have been seconded to the in-house IP team of a multinational manufacturer. This real world experience gives us a critical understanding of how our clients operate. This allows us to work effectively as part of our clients’ team, providing commercially relevant strategic advice and obtaining tailored protection which maximises value.
The Team also includes a former EPO Examiner and an attorney with a Higher Courts Litigation Certificate qualified to act for clients in the High Court, along with attorneys with considerable experience of opposing and defending patents at the European Patent Office. This means that we can offer our clients a complete IP service that enables them to not only rely on us to protect their IP, but to advise on third party risks and clear the way of those risks when necessary.
With technical backgrounds that include Mechanical Engineering, Automotive Engineering, Aeronautical Engineering, Chemical Engineering and Engineering Science, our attorneys work on projects relating to engine and drive train systems and components, electric drive systems, turbines, filters, power supply mechanisms, sensors and control systems, and communication devices and advanced manufacturing methods.
Our clients know that the world of Advanced Engineering is highly competitive, and we pride ourselves in our ability to protect incremental developments in this domain of well-established and crowded technical fields using a combination of patents, utility models and registered designs.
Furthermore, we have extensive experience of the filing and prosecution of patents in many countries around the world including jurisdictions of particular relevance to the engineering field – US, Europe, Japan and the BRIC countries. We work with our clients to tailor the protection in each country so that we offer the most cost-effective global filing strategy.
Our clients
Our client base ranges from leading global manufacturers to SMEs, promising start-ups seeking investment, and universities. For example, we are:
- working with large international automotive parts manufacturers based in the US and Japan to secure protection for inventions in Europe relating to electric motors and steering systems;
- working with a division of one of the largest automotive suppliers in the world to protect a range of innovative engine components, including bearings, con-rods and thrust washers;
- assisting an electric vehicle manufacturer with entering the European market, including developing their European patent portfolio;
- acting as an extension of the in-house intellectual property team of a multinational tobacco company working with them to protect their products and advanced manufacturing processes in a substantial number of global markets;
- assisting a manufacturer of heavy machinery to develop its IP portfolio and limit the freedom of their competitors to produce competing products;
- helping a leading wind turbine manufacturer to identify and protect innovations, analysing third party patents and providing freedom to operate advice;
- working with a designer and manufacturer of temperature, speed and pressure sensors for the aerospace industry to establish protect for their products in a number of key global markets.
- advising a manufacturer of remotely-operated underwater vehicle systems on the protection of its systems and on navigating and attacking third party rights; and
- advising an international airline on its freedom to operate and the protection of its seating innovations and layouts.
