Darren Smyth > EIP > London, England > Lawyer Profile

Darren Smyth

020 7440 9510 dsmyth@eip.com

Work Department

EIP Elements, EIP Designs, EIP Legal, EIP Energy.

Position

Partner, UK and European Patent Attorney, Design Attorney

Career

Darren has technical expertise in a range of fields, including pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, food chemistry, polymers, oligonucleotides, organic LEDs, semiconductors, metallurgy, batteries, and process chemistry.

He has 20 years of experience in private practice, having joined EIP from a position as Partner at the largest IP practice in the UK. Darren has considerable experience in handling difficult cases, contentious matters, and complex advisory work. He has particular experience of opposition and appeal hearings at the EPO, and has advised in relation to patent litigation in the UK and other European countries. Darren also has recognised expertise in the field of registered designs.

Within EIP, Darren is Head of Knowledge, ensuring that that all our attorneys and support staff have the most up-to-date information about legal developments, and overseeing continuous improvement in our internal systems.

Darren is on the editorial board of the Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice, to which he also frequently contributes. He blogged for The IPKat from 2012 to 2017 and also maintains a personal blog as IP Alchemist. Darren is a founding committee member of IP Out, the LGBT+ networking group within the IP Inclusive initiative which promotes diversity and inclusion within the UK Intellectual Property professions, and was a speaker at its inaugural event. Darren is well placed to advise clients on the new Unified Patent Court (UPC) – see further details at EIP Amar, our alliance created to support clients in any litigation before the UPC.

• 2012 — present
  Partner, EIP
• 2003 — 2011
  Partner, Marks & Clerk
• 1998 — 2003
  Associate, Marks & Clerk

Languages

Japanese, Spanish, French, German.

Memberships

Royal Society of Chemistry; Society of Chemical Industry; Society of Dyers & Colourists; AIPPI; was a member of the original editorial board of the Journal of Intellectual Property Law and Practice and rejoined the board in 2013.

Education

• European Patent Attorney
• UK Chartered Patent Attorney
• 1996 — 1998
  Post Doctoral Fellowship, Royal Society and JSPS, Tokyo Institute of Technology
• 1992 — 1996
  Doctor of Philosophy, New College, Oxford University
• 1988 — 1992
  Master of Arts, New College, Oxford University

Leisure

Choral singing.