Mewburn Ellis LLP > Cambridge, England > Firm Profile
Mewburn Ellis LLP Offices
THE MAURICE WILKES BUILDING
ST JOHN'S INNOVATION PARK, COWLEY ROAD
CAMBRIDGE
CB4 0DS
England
Mewburn Ellis LLP > The Legal 500 Rankings
TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > PATMA: Patent attorneys Tier 1
With offices in London, Bristol, Manchester, Cambridge and Munich, Mewburn Ellis LLP is well-placed to offer a seamless European service to its roster of clients and handles both the filing and prosecution of UK and German patent applications, as well as managing global IP portfolios for multinational companies. In Manchester, Jeremy Webster heads up the chemistry practice, which focuses on the full range of chemical innovations, as well as advanced material materials, such as graphene and battery technologies, and polymers. The engineering and ICT team, which is led by Manchester-based Graeme Moore and houses both patent attorneys and design specialists, has demonstrable experience in software, bioinformatics and quantum computing mandates. From the firm’s Bristol office, Simon Kiddle spearheads the life sciences practice. The team advises on patents in biologics, bioinformatics, cell therapies, vaccines, precision medicines and future food. The firm has recently seen an uptick in contentious matters, demonstrating a strong track record in high-value oppositions at the EPO. In a notable appointment, biopharma specialist Robert Andrews recently became the firm’s first chief inclusion and diversity officer.Practice head(s):
Graeme Moore; Simon Kiddle; Jeremy Webster
Other key lawyers:
Robert Andrews; Richard Johnson; Julie Carlisle; Adam Gregory; Andrew Mears; Emma Graham; Dan Thornton; Paul Dunne; Callum McGuinn
Key clients
Cambridge Enterprise Ltd
Creo Medical Ltd.
Danisco US / DuPont
Genentech Inc / F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG
Karsten Manufacturing Corp.
Mitsubishi Corporation
Nerudia/Imperial Brands
Toray Industries, Inc.
Zealand Pharma
Work highlights
- Defended a patent belonging to F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG against 11 opponents in an EPO opposition hearing.
- Handling key patent applications for Hitachi Ltd.
- Acting for Toray on the prosecution of its European patent portfolio and inter-parties representation before the EPO’s Opposition Divisions and Boards of Appeal.
TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > PATMA: Trade mark attorneys Tier 1
Mewburn Ellis LLP has demonstrable experience in providing strategic brand management advice and is well-placed to leverage the capability of the firm’s Munich office to offer trade mark and design services at the EUIPO following Brexit. With UK offices in London, Bristol, Manchester and Cambridge, the team frequently collaborates with the firm’s solicitors when advising on commercial agreements, disputes and other related matters, such as domain names and copyright issues. The practice’s caseload includes opposition, cancellation and revocation proceedings, as well as domain disputes and infringement actions, and clients range from start-ups and investors to international brands, universities and research institutions. In London, key contacts in the team include practice leader Kate O’Rourke, Andy King and Jacqueline Pang, while Rebecca Anderson-Smith is based in Bristol and manages the trade mark portfolios of pharmaceutical companies.Practice head(s):
Kate O’Rourke
Other key lawyers:
Andy King; Jacqueline Pang; Rebecca Anderson-Smith; Rebecca Campbell; Claire Evans
Testimonials
‘Attention to detail means Mewburn are always able to provide us with appropriate advice taking into account the wider picture.’
‘Rebecca Anderson-Smith’s organisation and team management really makes the team stand out.’
‘Rebecca Anderson-Smith has worked on our portfolio for quite some time – her timely reporting and attention to detail has always ensured that our portfolio is best protected.’
Key clients
The Estate of Whitney Houston (via Chiesa Shahinian & Giantomasi PC of New Jersey)
Dogs Trust
Foo Fighters (via Rimon PC of Miami)
Sandvik
MF Brands (Lacoste, GANT, The Kooples)
Intersnack/KP Snacks
Alliance Pharmaceuticals
In-N-Out Burgers
Axon (TASER)
Karsten (PING)
Greggs
Beauty Bay
Hallmark Cards/Crayola
Pattishall, McAuliffe, Newbury, Hilliard & Geraldson LLP
Stryker
Morrison & Foerster LLP (San Francisco)
Modiano (Moncler, Juventus)
Youngs Brewery
Fross Zelnick Lehrman & Zissu PC (New York)
TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Intellectual property Tier 3
Mewburn Ellis LLP > Firm Profile
Mewburn Ellis is the forward-looking European IP firm. We are a business that puts our clients, our people, and our values at the heart of everything we do. It is what we believe makes us stand out in the IP community. We’re passionate about our clients and their businesses and how IP can help them achieve their goals and make a real difference to the world in which we live. We work with our clients as trusted advisors sharing their journey and playing a positive role. It’s important to us that our recommendations are relevant.
The firm continues to grow, and we are now over 330 strong and our experts are spread throughout our five offices in Europe – London, Bristol, Manchester, Cambridge, and Munich – we work at all stages of the IP life cycle and advise about patent, trade mark and registered designs, as well as any IP-related disputes and legal and commercial requirements. Our technical expertise spans the entire chemistry, materials, engineering, ICT, and life sciences fields. Our trade mark attorneys understand brands, their power and their importance and are the European trade mark attorneys of choice for a wide range of clients, from sole traders to well-known corporate clients as well as many high-ranking UK and foreign law firms. Our specialist IP lawyers work closely and seamlessly with our attorneys building multidisciplinary teams in order to leverage their exceptional technical know-how and to co-ordinate IP transaction and dispute resolution services. All our advice and support is given with a high degree of commercial understanding and pragmatism.
We are renowned in the profession for our successful track record in high value, complex and multi-party oppositions at the EPO. We have an exceptional track record at defending patents we have drafted and prosecuted ourselves. Our success rate in patent oppositions is so revered that companies often transfer responsibility for defending their patents to us during opposition even when we were not responsible for the original drafting or prosecuting the case.
Flexible in the way we work, we listen to our clients and adapt to fit their commercial objectives ensuring we are effective and efficient partners. Always client focused we deliver practical solutions designed to address whatever opportunity or challenge they face. We adapt and build multidisciplinary teams based on our client’s specific needs, harnessing the unique combination of IP expertise that we possess across the firm to provide a unified approach and maximum benefit to our clients. Our clients scored us 9/10 for outstanding service delivery & overall satisfaction (client Satisfaction survey carried out by Acritas part of Thomson Reuters) and more than a third of our clients have worked with us for over 20 years.
Mewburn Ellis is leading the way, embracing change and growth, doing it well and with a focus on high quality. We have applied these same principles to inclusion and diversity (I&D) and sustainability. We have moved into a new and exciting era. We’re committed to not only evolving our own firm but helping to transform the IP industry. We have been awarded a Silver medal by EcoVadis, the sustainability ratings agency – which also assesses diversity initiatives and commitments. We are proud to say that this puts us in the top 25% of the 90,000 companies worldwide that have achieved the rating and the top 19% in the legal and accounting industry. This makes us the first IP firm with a presence in the UK to be awarded a silver medal.
Main Contacts
| Department | Name | Telephone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chemistry | Jeremy Webster | jeremy.webster@mewburn.com | 01612477722 |
| Life Sciences | Simon Kiddle | simon.kiddle@mewburn.com | 01179451234 |
| Engineering & ICT | Graeme Moore | graeme.moore@mewburn.com | 01612477722 |
| IP Dispute Resolution, Legal, Transactions | Sean Jauss | sean.jauss@mewburn.com | 01179451234 |
| Trade Marks | Kate O'Rourke | kate.o'rourke@mewburn.com | 02077765300 |
Lawyer Profiles
| Photo | Name | Position | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Stephen Gill | Partner, Patent Attorney | View Profile |
 | Katherine Green | Partner, Patent Attorney | View Profile |
Staff Figures
Number of partners : 46 Number of other fee-earners : 122 Total staff : 320Languages
German EnglishMemberships
Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA) International Federation of Intellectual Property Attorneys (FICPI) International Trade Mark Association (INTA) American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) Japan Intellectual Property Association (JIPA) Chartered Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys (CITMA)Diversity
Mewburn Ellis is leading the way, embracing change and growth, doing it well and with a focus on high quality. We have applied these same principles to inclusion and diversity (I&D). We have moved into a new and exciting era. We’re committed to not only evolving our own firm but helping to transform the IP industry as a whole.
We began our journey in 2020, adding I&D to our strategic priorities and business plan. Working with I&D specialists Brook Graham we conducted a firmwide survey to help us understand the experiences, views, and ideas of our people. This was followed by a series of focus groups, which looked in more detail at key themes. From this we developed a strategic framework to help our thinking.
Our survey highlighted how challenging a topic I&D is. It means different things to different people. There were common themes, but also significant differences. Agreeing priorities was challenging as we didn’t want these to be imposed by the leadership team, but shaped by all our people.
Following this we decided to focus our energies on engagement, learning and personal development, recruitment, leadership and inclusive leadership training, and governance. We created a new board level role of Chief Inclusion & Diversity Officer and established a 12 member I&D Collaboration Group (CG) drawn from all parts of the firm.
We’ve undertaken an external audit of our recruitment and have implemented the RARE contextual recruitment system. We’re also in the process of training all our leaders on I&D with over 50 going through this process. All members of our Management Board have personally signed up to the IP Inclusive Senior Leader’s Pledge and we now have a detailed I&D strategy for the firm. We actively support charities in line with our I&D priorities of: listening and mental health, gender equality and social mobility and have donated over £65,000 so far to these causes.
We’re starting to achieve recognition for our work too and two attorneys have been listed in the World IP Review Diversity 2022 publication which lists the top 100 lawyers with a focus on I&D. Chosen from over 1300 nominations one is listed in the Top 25 and one in the 20 Trailblazers who have under 10 years’ experience but are already making their mark. In September 2022 we were awarded a Silver medal by EcoVadis, the sustainability ratings agency – which also assesses diversity initiatives and commitments. We are proud to say that this puts us in the top 25% of the 90,000 companies worldwide that have achieved the rating and the top 19% in the legal and accounting industry. We are the only IP firm in the UK to have achieved a Silver medal.
In a relatively short period of time, we have made great progress and are proud of this. The firm is already a better place for our people and conversations and activities are being undertaken that would never have happened before we started this journey. We have more to do, but we have the tools and appetite to build a truly inclusive culture. This is the right thing for our people and our business.