Mike Jennings > AA Thornton > London, England > Lawyer Profile
AA Thornton Offices
Octagon Point
5 Cheapside
LONDON
EC2V 6AA
England
- Firm Profile
- Go to...
Mike Jennings
Work Department
Electrical, electronics, telecoms and IT.
Position
Partner Mike Jennings leads AAThornton’s highly rated Electrical Patents group. He specialises in patent protection, patent oppositions and IP strategy advice for a range of technologies including areas of physics, electrical engineering and computer-related inventions.
Mike has more than 20 years’ experience handling patent drafting and prosecution of European, UK and PCT patent applications in areas such as computer systems, storage and software including computer modelling and simulation, automated controls, electromagnetic and optical sensing technologies for locating hydrocarbons and for detecting gases, and telecommunications. Mike handles a substantial opposition case load and has an enviable success rate in EPO oppositions and appeals thanks to commitment and proactivity.Mike also advises on software patentability and infringement and validity of patents.
Mike’s clients include multinational corporations and leading companies in the UK and many other countries, including clients in the oil and gas industry, the telecommunications sector, engineering, gas detection, consumer electronics and computing.
Career
Joined the patent profession in 1990 and spent his early years in private practice with a leading UK firm and with IBM before two years with Spruson & Ferguson in Sydney, Australia. Mike gained several years’ experience as an in-house senior patent attorney for IBM in the UK, handling invention reviews, patent drafting and prosecution and as lead attorney in patent licensing. He joined AA Thornton in 2007 and became a partner in 2008.
Memberships
Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA), including Computer Technology Committee; European Patent Institute (EPI); AIPPI; and appointed to quality working group within Standing Advisory Committee before the EPO (SACEPO) for 2017-2020, liaising between industry and EPO management.
Education
University of Bristol (BSc Hons Physics).
Leisure
Mike grew up on the south coast of England and loves messing about in boats with his very active family.
Lawyer Rankings
London > TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Intellectual property: patents (contentious and non-contentious)
‘Superb’ AA Thornton’s expertise encompasses patent disputes, patent prosecution and opposition work, as well as the management of global patent portfolios. Practice head Geoff Hussey routinely advises clients in relation to IP ownership structures and licensing, amongst other matters. Other recommended lawyers include Adrian Bennett, Craig Turner and Mike Jennings, who all possesses extensive litigation experience. Daniel Byrne has worked on telecoms, pharma and renewable energy patent litigation.
London > TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > PATMA: Patent attorneys
AA Thornton is praised by clients for its ‘deep understanding of the complexities within the biotech landscape’, and it handles large volumes of patent filing applications to the EPO and UKIPO. The practice’s client base is broad ranging, encompassing SMES, individual investors, and international corporations across Europe, North America, India, and the Far East. Sectors of strength for the team include life sciences, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, computing, telecoms, construction, engineering, manufacturing, oil and gas, and aerospace industries, amongst others. The team is especially skilled in patent work regarding complex computer-implemented technologies, for example, quantum computing, artificial intelligence, computer simulation, and modelling. Managing partner Adrian Bennett leads the engineering, physics, and mechanical devices group with significant experience in EPO opposition proceedings. ‘Excellent attorney’ Craig Turner heads up the chemistry, biotechnology, and pharmaceuticals team, and he has extensive expertise in contentious matters. Turner is supported by senior associate Leonita Paulraj and Marianne Privett, who manages global patent portfolios. Mike Jennings chairs the electrical engineering, electronics telecoms, and IT patents department.
Lawyer Rankings
- PATMA: Patent attorneys London > TMT (technology, media and telecoms)
- Intellectual property: patents (contentious and non-contentious) London > TMT (technology, media and telecoms)
Top Tier Firm Rankings
Firm Rankings
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > PATMA: Patent attorneys
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > PATMA: Trade mark attorneys
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Intellectual property: patents (contentious and non-contentious)
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Intellectual property: trade marks, copyright and design