
Swindell & Pearson Ltd — England
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About
We are experts in securing and enforcing intellectual property rights across the world, in the form of patents, trade marks and designs. We have served our clients’ intellectual property needs for over 140 years. Local, national and multinational companies trust our attorneys with their patent, design and trade mark portfolios. - We aim to build long-term, enduring relationships with our clients We have long-term relationships with many of clients. Some of these client relationships have been built over decades. This is because we care about helping our clients develop and grow their businesses. We believe this is demonstrated in the services that we provide and the trust that has been built up with our clients over the years. - We care about our clients We go beyond the transactional, learning about what our clients’ plans are for the future and how we can support them in achieving their goals. Sometimes our clients contact us with knowledge of exactly which intellectual property services they need. Other times, they know where they want their businesses to be, but they need our practical knowledge of the intellectual property landscape to identify how intellectual property can help them to get there. We know that this can only be done with a thorough understanding of a client’s business. - We are dedicated specialists in technical and legal matters Our attorneys have obtained degrees in a wide variety of science and engineering subjects from some of the world’s leading universities. It’s not unusual to encounter an attorney that has a higher degree or PhD. As a community of experts, we work hard to remain on the cutting edge of technical and legal matters so that we can best serve our clients. We organise monthly internal seminars to share best practice. We travel the globe to speak at international conferences and learn from others. The firm: Swindell & Pearson offers intellectual property services comparable to the very best firms in Europe. Its quality control is exceptional whilst its Midlands based location allows it to deliver genuine value for money for the benefit of clients. As a mid-sized firm, Swindell & Pearson is able to provide a flexible and accommodating approach for the benefit of clients. The firm is commercially minded, attentive and responsive. Clients always know who has done a piece of work and they are able to speak to that person directly. The firm doesn’t have unnecessary partner layers between clients and its attorneys. Attorneys like to get to know their clients and adapt to their needs. Every client is important to the firm and attorneys are committed to developing long-lasting, trust driven relationships that deliver genuine value for both sides. It’s why so many of its multinational clients trust and rate the firm so highly. “Provides excellent, professional, and timely service”. “Brings sanity and a path forward to a sometimes chaotic and constantly changing landscape”. “Very professional and dedicated team always thinks outside of the box and comes up with different options to solve any issue”. Just some of the ways in which clients have recently commended the firm which reflect its focus on providing exceptional client care. Swindell & Pearson boasts one of the UK’s top advanced technology patent teams and is proud that multinational companies seek out the firm to represent them in their valuable patent matters. The firm’s trade mark team is praised by clients as “Packed with experience, it knows what client care is all about and what it takes to create and drive IP value”. Alongside providing a full range of trade mark services in the UK, Europe and worldwide, the firm also represents clients in the High Court and the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court (IPEC) on the most intricate and complex of trade mark disputes. Several of the firm’s attorneys bring experience of working in-house whilst recently attorneys have been posted on secondment at clients’ offices. This informs the firm’s commercially focused approach to intellectual property and ensures attorneys truly understand their clients’ requirements. The firm has significant strength in depth in the semiconductors, nanotechnology, telecommunications, automotive and software fields. Several attorneys have also recently developed technical knowledge within the fields of machine learning and artificial intelligence and are already working with their clients to protect valuable inventions within these areas. Types of work undertaken: Swindell & Pearson’s patent practice provides exceptional patent drafting, filing, prosecution and case management services. With considerable knowledge and experience of drafting patents before the European Patent Office (EPO), attorneys are not only able to draft high quality patent applications and prosecute them successfully to grant with advantageous claim scopes but also have experience in using EPO oppositions to its client’s advantage. Expertise includes drafting applications suitable for UK, European and international patent prosecution, managing international patent portfolios, advising on patent infringement and third-party conflicts, contentious proceedings including infringement and revocation proceedings, opposition and appeal proceedings before the EPO, patent auditing, patent assignments, licensing and due diligence. The firm regularly drafts valuable patent applications for prosecution across the world as well as responding to office actions. Attorneys are familiar with the different requirements of many jurisdictions and are therefore able to draft and prosecute applications to the best effect in multiple regions. Swindell & Pearson handles many large, complex families of applications and attorneys are particularly experienced in providing strategic advice to help clients obtain the strongest protection that is most appropriate for them. Swindell & Pearson’s trade mark practice has a very strong reputation for assisting clients in relation to their trade mark requirements throughout the world. Expertise includes advising on trade mark infringement and third party conflicts, filing and registration of trade mark applications in the UK, Europe and worldwide, managing large international trade mark portfolios, trade mark clearance searches, oppositions, revocation and invalidation proceedings, advising on the effective use and exploitation of trade marks, watching services, advice in relation to trade marks on the internet, advice on counterfeit products, assignments and licensing. The firm also provides additional services for designs and industrial copyright. ### Memberships - CIPA - ITMA - Association of European Trade Mark Owners (MARQUES) - International Trade Mark Association (INTA) - American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) - Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO)
Office locations
Stafford
Stafford
Swindell & Pearson Ltd The Moat House 133, Newport Road Stafford ST16 2EZ West Midlands
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton
Swindell & Pearson Ltd I114-5 Victoria Square, Wolverhampton WV1 1LD West Midlands
Derby
Derby
Swindell & Pearson Ltd 48 Friar Gate Derby DE1 1GY East Midlands
Burton Upon Trent
Burton Upon Trent
Swindell & Pearson Ltd Clay House Horninglow Street Burton Upon Trent DE14 1NG West Midlands
Stoke On Trent
Stoke On Trent
Swindell & Pearson Ltd Genesis Centre, North Staffs Business Park Innovation Way Stoke-on-trent ST6 4BF West Midlands
Birmingham
Birmingham
Swindell & Pearson Ltd Spaces @ The Mailbox 3 Wharfside Street Birmingham B1 1RD West Midlands
Tyne And Wear
Tyne And Wear
Swindell & Pearson Ltd Rotterdam House 16 Quayside Newcastle Upon Tyne Tyne And Wear NE1 3DY North
Sheffield
Sheffield
Swindell & Pearson Ltd Regus @ The Balance 7th Floor, 2 Pinfold Street Sheffield S1 2GU North
Practice areas
Lawyers in this office
Christine Anglesea
Christine is an IP director and member of the firm’s tech and engineering practice groups. Christine has amassed significant experience of drafting and prosecuting patent applications in high tech and physics areas of technology. In particular she has worked on computer implemented inventions, telecommunications, nanotechnology, audio processing and health devices. During her time at Swindell & Pearson, Christine has established trusted relationships with some of the firm’s multinational clients by providing consistently high-quality work within agreed budgets and time frames. Christine drafts patent applications which are suitable for use all over the world. She has a reputation for drafting clear and comprehensive patent applications and enjoys working closely with inventors and clients to make sure that the patent applications are technically correct and focussed on the client’s commercial interests. Christine prosecutes a significant number of patent applications before the European Patent Office and is very experienced in the nuances of European law. She is skilled in optimising patent applications for prosecution in Europe and in formulating strategies for obtaining allowance of these patent applications before the European Patent Office. Before joining Swindell and Pearson Christine graduated from the University of Cambridge where she studied experimental and theoretical physics and learned to adapt her northern accent so that southerners could understand her. When she is not at work, Christine spends most of her time caring for her young family and occasionally swimming with her local swimming club Etwall Eagles. · Intellectual Property
Kieron Taylor
Kieron Taylor is an IP director and a member of the firm’s trade mark and litigation practice groups. Kieron is a chartered UK trade mark attorney, a member of the UK Chartered Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys and an authorised litigator in the High Court. Kieron’s trade mark practice includes work in many different fields of technology and commerce. Kieron has particular expertise in the fields of fashion, charities, building, construction, food and beverages, retail and industrial products. Kieron manages global IP portfolios for a number of major brands. He advises on elements of trade marks and allied rights including protection, exploitation and also enforcement on a multijurisdictional level. His clients range from individual rights holders and SMEs to multinational trade mark owners. Kieron seeks to fully understand his client’s business and seeks to focus on the heart of any problem to provide advice that is as commercially relevant as possible. He is fiercely loyal to his clients and brings attention to detail and a very thorough knowledge of the law, which he combines with his strong business focus to provide excellent service to a growing number of clients from the UK and from across the world. Kieron is very active in litigation and always seeks to provides commercially astute advice. He has personally acted for clients in a wide variety of tribunals including at the High Court, Court of Appeal and the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court. He is also very active for clients appearing regularly in ex-parte and inter-partes hearings at the UKIPO, being one of the most frequently instructed attorneys to act in hearings at the UKIPO year on year. Kieron travels frequently to the US and regularly attends conferences held by the International Trademark Association (INTA). Kieron joined the firm in 2007 and has 20 years of experience as an IP attorney. He has an undergraduate degree from the University of Birmingham and a master’s degree in law from Nottingham Trent University. · Intellectual Property
Martin Terry
Martin Terry is an IP director and member of the firm’s tech practice group. A European and chartered patent attorney, he has over 15 years’ experience of patent drafting, prosecution and opposition work in Europe and the UK. Martin has extensive experience coordinating patent filing programmes and patent prosecution in many countries around the world including: the US, China, Japan, Korea, India and Canada. He also routinely provides advice on freedom to operate and enforcement matters. He has extensive experience handling oral proceedings at the European Patent Office and has successfully defended his clients’ patents at both opposition and appeal proceedings. Martin enjoys handling work in a wide range of technical fields. He offers expertise across a large number of technology sectors, including: mobile telecommunications, satellite navigation systems, semiconductor technologies, computer implemented inventions and medical devices. A significant proportion of his work is in assisting in-house IP departments for large multinational corporations, who appreciate his high service levels and ability to make things easier for them. They also value his ability to successfully prosecute some of their more problematic cases. Martin is frequently called upon to take over cases whose prosecution has been tricky. Martin also greatly enjoys working closely with his SME clients. He takes great pride in establishing and nurturing long term relationships and getting a deep understanding of his clients’ businesses and specific requirements as well as earning their trust so as to become their dependable and trusted IP adviser. He routinely develops strategies for his clients to build their IP portfolios. In addition to seeking patent protection, as a European design attorney, he is also able to assist his clients in seeking design protection for their products and innovations. Martin also helps his UK based clients take advantage of HMRC’s “Patent Box” - thereby significantly reducing their Corporation Tax. Before entering the patent professions, Martin graduated with a first class master’s degree (with honours) in physics with astrophysics from the University of Bristol. Prior to joining Swindell & Pearson in 2010, he initially trained and professionally qualified with a leading firm of patent & trade mark attorneys in London. Martin has formerly chaired the firm’s patent law committee which monitors changes in UK, European and foreign patent law. Outside of work - prior to having children - Martin enjoyed travelling around the world. These days he gets much pleasure in dragging his family out on walks and cycle rides in and around Derbyshire and the Peak District. He also enjoys cricket and regularly plays for his local team, Delta Rail CC. He is an avid drinker of tea. · Intellectual Property
Paul Higgin
Paul Higgin is an experienced UK and European patent attorney. Paul likes to maintain long term relationships with his clients and aims to provide good value, consistently. Although Paul is now a senior member of the firm, he still enjoys helping new clients achieve their ambitions through patents and welcomes new client enquiries. Paul is highly recommended in the 2016 to 2020 editions of ‘The Legal 500’. He has been in the patent profession for over 25 years and has developed significant patent experience in a wide range of technologies including telecommunications, electronics and microelectronics, semiconductors, software and computer systems, nanotechnology and medical devices. Paul has drafted over 600 patent applications and is adept at “distilling the essence of an invention” in complex technology areas. For example, Paul has drafted patents essential for GSM, Bluetooth, WiFi and LTE standards and has recently been helping clients with 5G, machine learning, internet of things, digital health, spatial audio and virtual reality. Paul also has first-hand experience of asserting (and defending against) patents in licensing and litigation, and can advise on optimal strategies for drafting, prosecuting and enforcing standard essential and high value patents. Originally qualifying at a London firm of patent attorneys, Paul then joined Nokia where he was promoted to senior IPR counsel and a member of the strategic patent licensing team. Paul has actively participated in cross-licensing negotiations worth many hundreds of millions of Euros (Qualcomm, Alcatel, NEC, Bosch, Schlumberger, Samsung, LGE). Paul then joined Swindell & Pearson as a founding member of the tech practice group, which he leads. Paul has personally recruited and trained 10 other patent professionals currently in the tech practice group. One of Paul’s strengths is managing a team to provide consistent high quality, at a reasonable price, across every member of the team. The tech practice group has been commended for its activities in automotive, electronics, mechanics and medical engineering in the Legal 500. The team has also been commended for its “strength in the telecoms and semiconductor sectors”. Paul has advised and trained clients on protecting innovations near the borderline of what is and is not considered to be patentable, for example, computer software, user interfaces and business methods. Paul has also been an innovator of a number of strategies that help achieve fast grant and improve international prosecution for US originating cases, that have been widely adopted in the patent profession. Paul, originally from Belfast, read natural sciences at the University of Cambridge majoring in experimental and theoretical physics. He then took a post-graduate degree in semiconductor science and electronic engineering at Imperial College, London where he researched the manufacture of quantum structures. Paul enjoys living in rural Derbyshire. He often travels, sometimes to scuba dive. He still enjoys learning and recently successfully completed the Stanford University course on machine learning. · Intellectual Property
Scott Harrison
Scott is an IP director in the firm’s tech and engineering practice groups. He drafts, files and prosecutes patent applications in the UK and Europe. Scott is well versed at managing large patent families, having worked on hundreds of US, Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Australian patent applications during his career. In addition, he has filed and managed patent applications in some less common jurisdictions, including for example Vietnam, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. He has considerable experience of crafting offensive and defensive patent strategies for a wide range of clients, from multinationals to SMEs and start-up businesses. High quality patents that Scott has obtained, after mapping their claims onto competitor products, have been used in multimillion pound licensing programs. Scott has obtained patents that have been used by a start-up client to obtain investment of over £1 million. He has also helped a number of UK companies develop patent strategies to obtain significant tax relief on their products through use of the Patent Box, reducing their Corporation Tax burden by around half to approximately 10%. Scott particularly enjoys oral advocacy and regularly appears at the European Patent Office in both examination and opposition proceedings. Scott has successfully defended patents that he has drafted and prosecuted at the European Patent Office and revoked those owned by competitors of clients. His practice encompasses a number of fields in the tech and engineering sectors. On the tech side, he has drafted, prosecuted and advised on patent applications in a wide variety of fields including telecommunications, computer architecture, image processing, computer security, artificial intelligence and blockchain. In engineering, Scott has worked with inventions relating, for example, to aerospace technology, armoured vehicles, composite materials, rocketry, lighting and door and window hardware. Scott travels frequently to the US and regularly attends conferences held by the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) and the Intellectual Property Owners (IPO) Association. He sits on the Corporate IP Management Committee of the IPO Association. Before entering the profession, Scott graduated with a first class degree in physics from Imperial College London. He spent his third year studying and researching nuclear physics and optics at La Universidad de Cantabria in Spain. Scott joined Swindell & Pearson in 2003 and became an IP director in 2011. Outside work, Scott loves travelling to new countries and meeting new people. He also enjoys playing sport and can often be found at Molineux, home to Wolverhampton Wanderers FC, at the weekend. · Intellectual Property
Tim Gilbert
Tim is an IP director with specialisms in both engineering and tech. His main role is to secure patent and registered design protection which meets the business needs of his clients, both in the UK and worldwide. Tim’s clients range from small start-ups to internationally-renowned universities and world-famous companies. One of Tim’s favourite parts of his role is developing and maintaining strong relationships with clients: he regularly visits clients’ premises in order to discuss cases and discuss important developments in their business (including upcoming products, competitors’ products and market trends). By developing such a deep understanding of clients’ intellectual property and their business contexts, Tim is able to make valuable suggestions to clients about how to leverage their intellectual property. Tim is recommended in the Legal 500 with the testimonial ‘Tim Gilbert is extremely customer focused, open to feedback and responsive to our requests. Our positive experience of S&P has so much to do with the way he has personally managed our account. We are most grateful for his attention to detail and his prompt actions, which have kept us on track over the past few years.’ Tim’s legal skills extend to complex situations such as infringement, ownership of intellectual property, software patenting, and applying the legal systems of other countries. He can also prepare patent applications that are optimised for the ‘Patent Box’ corporation tax scheme. Tim handles technology across most of the physical sciences, including telecoms, computing and general engineering. Before joining the profession, Tim graduated with a PhD in Civil Engineering from the University of Birmingham. His thesis is entitled ‘Aerodynamic Effects of High Speed Trains in Confined Spaces’. Testing included catapulting 1:25 scale model trains along a track at speeds of up to 200mph past aerodynamic sensors. Outside of work, Tim enjoys spending time with family. He enjoys playing guitar, going to concerts, and playing tabletop games. · Intellectual Property