Elkington + Fife LLP > London, England > Firm Profile

Elkington + Fife LLP Offices

Elkington + Fife LLP
7th floor New Penderel House
283-288 High Holborn
WC1V 7HP
England
Visit website 020 7936 8800 020 7353 4329

Elkington + Fife LLP > The Legal 500 Rankings

TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > PATMA: Patent attorneys Tier 2

Elkington + Fife LLP is praised for housing some of ‘the very best UK and European patent attorneys’, who expertly handle oppositions and appeals before the EPO. The department also excels in electronics patent drafting, as well as the handling of the entire lifecycle of pharmaceutical-related patents. Richard Gillard is a key name of note in the chemistry and life sciences department, while Nick Ertl has expertise in patents surrounding medical imaging and sensors, display technology, electronic circuits, domestic appliances, and telecommunications equipment. James Anderson has notable experience in the engineering sector and is also well versed in the mechanical and materials arena. Bio-technology expert Glyn Truscott and electromechanical specialist Ellie Seymour are other active group members. The team is divided between the firm’s London and Sevenoaks offices.

Practice head(s):

Richard Gillard; James Anderson; Daniel Portch; Glyn Truscott; Rob O’Callaghan; Erik Scheuermann

Other key lawyers:

Richard Cooke; Jens Grabenstein; Ellie Seymour; Paul Brookes; Oliver Kingsbury; Lee Mullen; Mark Scott; Nick Ertl

Testimonials

‘Elkington + Fife are among the very best UK and European patent attorneys. They offer a very personal service. Their individual touch makes them excellent to work with.’

‘Glyn Truscott and Richard Gillard are excellent. Richard is a go-to for EPO oppositions.’

‘The team is extremely professional and knowledgeable. They manage our workload very efficiently and keep us informed. The communication is excellent. Admin and attorneys alike are all consistently good.’

‘The patent attorneys and the admin that we have worked with are all extremely personable. There are many firms that could do the job. What makes Elkington stand out is that the people are all lovely to work with! Added to that, the patent attorney we work mainly work with is very responsive and able to turn quality work around quickly.’

‘We use this practice for drafting highly technically-complicated inventions requiring advanced electronic engineering knowledge. Elkington + Fife’s ability to deliver high-quality product for a fixed reasonable cost and in a better than average timeframe is unmatched. They are not wholly reliant on a key partner but have the breadth of attorney coverage that allows them to continue to deliver, even when one individual is unavailable.’

‘The individuals with which I work, including Oliver Kingsbury and Rob O’Callaghan, provide strategic advice, with options that recognise the time constraints of an in-house counsel. This is added value by not merely describing the legal situation but providing concrete choices with prospects of success to help guide a decision in the most efficient means possible.’

‘The individuals with which I work dig in without overcharging to provide solid advice.’

Key clients

AbbVie Inc.

Accord Healthcare

Agco Corp

AIM Sport AG

Alcon Laboratories Inc.

Amgen Inc.

Analog Devices Inc.

Apeel Sciences Inc.

Astex

Balfour Beatty

Bayer

Beam Therapeutics

Benuvia Therapeutics, Inc.

Bial

Celleron Therapeutics

Corning Incorporated

Coventry City Council

Dana Farber Cancer Institute

Deka Research & Development Corp.

Essex Bio-Technology Limited

FLARM Technology

Fujifilm Speciality Ink Systems Limited

Graphene Composites Limited

IBM

Imagination Technologies

Infineon Technologies AG

FabricNano Limited

Fujifilm

Gritstone Bio

Kiniksa

Jazz Pharmaceuticals

Malvern Panalytical B.V.

Merck Pharmaceuticals

Merck KGaA

Microline Surgical Inc.

Milliken & Company

Morphosys / HIBio

Mundipharma

Nascent Biotechnology Inc.

NantKwest, Inc.

Nestlé

NHS

Novartis

Ossifi-Mab

Oxford Cancer Biomarkers Ltd

Pacific Biosciences

Philips

Pfizer

Polpharma

Procter & Gamble

Prothena Biosciences

ReNeuron

Sandoz

Sanofi

Samsung

Senti Biosciences

Serimmune Inc.

SLAMCore Ltd

Solvay

Strategic Support Ltd

Takeda

TempEasy Limited

Teva

The Coca-Cola Company

The Dow Chemical Company

Thrive Earlier Detection

Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust

u-blox AG

Universal Quantum

University of Kent

Valink Therapeutics

Versuni

Viatris

Visterra

VitaFlo

Xylem Inc.

Zymeworks

Work highlights

  • Assisting Harvard-affiliated Dana-Farber Cancer Institute with drafting and prosecution work.
  • Assisting Infineon Technologies AG with drafting and prosecution.
  • Represented Viatris in EPO opposition-appeal proceedings resulting in revocation of Novartis patent protecting the combination of everolimus and exemestane for treating HR+ breast cancer.

TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > PATMA: Trade mark attorneys Tier 3

The trade marks group at Elkington + Fife LLP has an impressive list of well-known clients, including large commercial firms and foreign associates, who utilise the team’s strengths in handling UK and European trade mark portfolios. The practice is also adept at filing applications and opposition work. ‘Titan of the trade mark industry’ and practice head Chris McLeod is praised as ‘a standout performer and seasoned veteran’. Allister McManus is another notable name in the group and his practice encompasses clearance, prosecution, and contentious work.

Practice head(s):

Chris McLeod

Other key lawyers:

Mark Scott; Allister McManus

Testimonials

‘A very good, professional team with a good work ethic and efficient advice.’

‘Chris McLeod is a standout performer and seasoned veteran.’

‘E&F’s trade mark team are quick, pragmatic, and fun to work with. They handle all trade mark matters smoothly with a clearly defined process, working like a well-oiled machine. As a client, you know where you are at all times. They have also managed to simplify the process of both applications and disputes, so it is easy for clients to understand but the advice is still excellent with a very high success rate.’

‘Chris McLeod is a titan of the trade mark industry. His approach to matters is direct, commercial and cuts through the complex legal issues to get straight to the key points. He has a great sense of humour, which lightens the sometimes-dry subject of trade marks, and I find him an absolute pleasure to work with.’

‘My clients have been unfailingly impressed by Chris McLeod’s approach and the results delivered for their businesses. Chris is lightning fast at responding to emails and queries meaning speedy progress is always being made on all our matters for clients.’

‘Allister McManus is a helpful and responsive trade mark attorney who is a pleasure to work with.’

‘This company was recommended to us, and we have found them to be excellent. They are quick to respond to our enquires and always provide detailed responses.’

‘Our main contact is Chris McLeod, who is extremely helpful and accommodating, participating in video calls and meetings with us when necessary.’

Key clients

Formula One Management Limited

Corning Incorporated

Philips B.V.

Koninklijke Philips N.V.

Signify Holding B.V.

Fujifilm Speciality Ink Systems Limited

Fulham Football Club

Fulham Stadium Limited

Spire Healthcare Limited

Lambretta Operations Limited

BASF SE

Evonik Industries AG

Corsearch Luxembourg S.à r.l.

FabricNano Limited

Valink Therapeutics Inc.

Limited (Lilium-X Limited)

CyberLink Corporation

Perfect Mobile Corp.

The Health Lottery Limited

Courtney Investments

Imperial College of Science

Grantham Institute

Malvern Panalytical B.V.

OSA Fine Spirits

Decon Laboratories Limited

Better Nature Limited

Unity Shipping Ltd

Unity Real Estate Ltd

Slaughter and May

Merkenbureau Knijff & Partners

Blank Rome LLP

Collyer Bristow

Nishimura & Asahi

Marcuria

Spencer West LLP

Borenius Attorneys

Memery Crystal LLP

RGB Legal Services Limited

Work highlights

  • Advising Formula One Management Limited on the protection of the F1, Formula 1, Grand Prix, and associated trade marks.
  • Assisting Fujifilm Speciality Ink Systems Limited with conducting trade mark register searches and filing numerous design applications, UK and EU trade mark applications, international registrations, foreign national applications, and oppositions in relation to the client’s established industrial ink brands PRO-JET, RXD, AQUAFUZE, SERICOL COLOR+ and inkjet dots logo.
  • Assisting Corning Incorporated with filing trade mark and design applications and oppositions, settling disputes, and successfully defending revocation and cancellation actions.

Elkington + Fife LLP > Firm Profile

Elkington + Fife LLP is a leading firm of patent and trade mark attorneys with a worldwide reputation. It regularly punches far above its weight in terms of the quality of work and clientele. The partners and fee-earners are acknowledged experts in their fields, many having worked previously in-house in large multinational corporate IP departments or law firms. A consistently high standard of work is achieved by having a high degree of partner involvement in most work. The firm prides itself on giving high-quality responsive advice which is also commercial in nature and geared to the needs of its clients. The needs of clients are paramount and it is happy to look at ways of fitting its service to its clients’ individual requirements. It is not afraid to listen.

The firm: Elkington + Fife LLP has strong and expanding chemical, bioscience, electrical and mechanical departments. Partners Richard Gillard, James Anderson and Oliver Kingsbury have substantial patent opposition practices before the EPO. Nick Ertl has developed a significant outsourcing service for filing patents for a number of large multinational clients.

Elkington + Fife’s partners and fee-earners have a wealth of experience in their respective areas. Partners are experts on pharmaceutical patent supplementary extension certificates (SPCs) in Europe with the firm handling the SPC filing programs for numerous blockbuster drugs. Oliver Kingsbury has handled numerous pan-European SPC filing programme for major pharmaceutical companies. Chris McLeod handles a large portfolio of trade mark applications and opposition cases both before the UK IPO and at the EUIPO via the firm’s EU associates. He also has substantial experience in dealing with worldwide trade mark disputes.

As a whole, Elkington + Fife handles work for an enviable list of worldwide multinational companies including many household names and a number of top US companies listed in the Fortune 500. At the same time, through the firm’s office in Sevenoaks, its clients have a strong regional presence in the Kent and South East area.

Elkington + Fife LLP is also active at a professional level, having members on the councils of CIPA, INTA and CITMA committees. The partners regularly speak at conferences and act as editors contributing to the CIPA ‘black book’ or as senior editor to the CITMA and CIPA Trade mark Handbook, the leading authority on UK trade mark practice.

Types of work undertaken: The firm provides the expected full range of prosecution services including the preparation, filing and prosecution of UK, European and international patent applications, the clearance and searching of trade marks in the UK, Europe and worldwide and the filing of UK, EU trade marks, international and foreign trade mark applications and registered design applications. On the patents side, advice includes IP due diligence investigations and practical assistance on patent portfolio strategies.

Work is divided between three strategic departments:

Chemicals/biosciences: The department has a large opposition practice before the EPO and has acted for a number of the top 15 international pharma companies. The firm also acts for a number of British and US universities and UK-based hi-tech and engineering firms. Particular areas of expertise include nanotechnology, SPCs and life cycle management.

Electrical and mechanical: Elkington + Fife LLP has both a strong EPO opposition and patent filing practice. It is particularly experienced in helping electronics firms with their outsourcing and overflow drafting of applications, particularly in complex technologies.

Trade marks: The firm has substantial expertise in trade mark clearance both in the UK and worldwide and the handling of all aspects of UK, EUTM, foreign and international applications. The Elkington + Fife trade mark team also has substantial experience in relation to handling UK and EUTM oppositions and Europe and worldwide trade mark disputes, with experience of handling cases up to the Boards of Appeal and the General Court. The firm handles work for a wide spectrum of clients including blue-chip companies in the chemical, pharmaceutical, telecommunications, IT, toy retail, automobile and engineering, medical and entertainment industries.

Offices: London and Sevenoaks

Main Contacts

Department Name Email Telephone
Pharmaceutical chemistry, polymer/inorganic chemistry Richard Gillard
Pharmaceutical chemistry Oliver Kingsbury
Pharmaceutical chemistry Richard Cooke
Pharmaceutical chemistry, polymer/inorganic chemistry Lee Mullen
Pharmaceutical chemistry, polymer/inorganic chemistry Samantha Busher
Polymer/inorganic chemistry, semiconductor technology Erik Scheuermann
Biology, biotechnology Glyn Truscott
Physics, general engineering James Anderson
Software, business methods Nick Ertl
Software, business methods Daniel Portch
Electronics, Software, & IT Rob O'Callaghan
Trade marks, copyright, designs Chris McLeod
Biology, biotechnology Jens Grabenstein
Pharmaceutical chemistry, polymer/inorganic chemistry Mark Scott
Physics, general engineering Ellie Seymour
Pharmaceutical chemistry & food technology Andy Nicoll
Consumer products, chemistry Richard Scott
Software, business methods, general engineering Zachary Jelley
Pharmaceutical chemistry, polymer/inorganic chemistry Paul Brookes

Meet The Team(s)

Staff Figures

Number of UK partners : 19
Number of other UK fee-earners : 26
Total number of staff : 100