Senior Associate
Postgraduate Certificate in Intellectual Property, Bournemouth University
BA Natural Sciences, University of Cambridge
MSci Materials Science, University of Cambridge
UK Patent Attorney
European Patent Attorney
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Tom read Natural Sciences at the University of Cambridge, studying chemistry and physics before specialising in Materials Science with areas of study including: thin films, energy harvesting, thermodynamics, biomedical materials, materials for optoelectronic devices, and nuclear materials. Tom’s Master’s project involved the study and construction of sustainable composite structures for use in magnetoelectric energy harvesting devices and free standing thin films for use in such devices.
Tom completed an internship at Cambridge Nanosystems, a UK leader in commercial graphene technology and also carried out a placement at the University of Göttingen in Germany where he researched avalanche dynamics in metallic glasses.
Tom joined Keltie after graduating in 2018. Since joining Keltie, Tom has worked mainly in the Engineering team, dealing with a range of subject matter including automotive technology, renewable energy, marine structures, medical devices and glass processing and working with a range of clients from individuals to SMEs and multinational corporations.
Tom qualified as a UK and European Patent Attorney in 2022.
04.11.2024
T 56/21 – A missed opportunity for providing legal certainty on adapting the description at the EPOIt is typically a requirement at the EPO to amend the description for conformity with the allowable claims before grant of a patent; however, there have been a number of diverging decisions on the matter. The latest decision finds that there is no legal basis for enforcing this requirement, which might suggest that it will no longer be necessary to adapt the description. However, there are other decisions which support the requirement to adapt the description. In view of this, and because the Board of Appeal in this case opted not to involve the highest authority at the EPO in order to clarify the situation, it is unclear as to whether or not the requirement to adapt the description will remain.
23.08.2024
G 1/23 - Potential changes ahead for what constitutes “state of the art”?The EPO Enlarged Board of Appeal has now issued its preliminary (and non-binding) opinion on G 1/23. This referral (from the Technical Board of Appeal in T 438/19) seeks to clarify whether a commercially available product, with an undisclosed composition or internal structure, must be analysable and reproducible by the skilled person in order to constitute prior art under Article 54(2) EPC.
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