Electronics, telecoms and computer science

Paul has an MSc in Microsystems and Nanotechnology from Cranfield University and a BEng in Electronic Engineering from Dublin City University in Ireland.

Paul has experience of working in a wide range of engineering fields including mobile communication devices, lasers, led lighting systems, chip-card systems, voltage regulation, power supply systems, photovoltaics, magnetic drive systems and automation systems.

Paul’s MSc thesis involved researching micro-metre nozzle array fabrication, specifically investigating the use of various engineering techniques to optimise the fabrication time, whilst maintaining the quality of the arrays.

During his time at Cranfield, Paul studied various micro- & nano-machining techniques including electron beam lithography, ion beam lithography, nano-imprinting and various etching and IC fabrication techniques. Furthermore, Paul also studied various microscopy techniques such as scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy.

Prior to joining Avidity IP, Paul was a member of the Intellectual Property Committee at Domino Printing Sciences, a previous employer (see below), where he was responsible for reviewing the patentability of ideas submitted by the engineers and technicians in Domino’s UK headquarters.

Paul worked for Domino Printing Sciences, in Cambridge, as a manufacturing engineer in their Laser, Commercial Printing and Current Product groups. During this time he worked on a broad range of electronic and mechanical related engineering projects.

Chartered UK Patent Attorney; European Patent Attorney; European Trade Mark Attorney; European Design Attorney; Degree in Applied Physics and Materials Science from Manchester Metropolitan University.

John has a background at partner level in UK private practice and more recently as an in-house attorney in the SBG (Server Based Gaming) industry.

In the latter role, John managed outsource IP service providers in areas such as wide area networked entertainment devices, graphics for virtual sports betting applications, digital content download to portable communication devices and VoIP in PLN applications, as well as providing ranging direct IP services to the business.

The latter included advice on patent and trade mark freedom to use issues and advice delivered at board, senior management and in-house software developer level on Open Source licences. In particular, John was key in developing an Open Source policy, taking responsibility for its communication across the organisation following Board approval.

John has advised on freedom to operate issues relating to open source licences, patents and trade marks, prepared and prosecuted patent applications in the UK and at the EPO and prepared and prosecuted trade mark and design applications in the UK and at OHIM.

John has spent a number of years as an attorney within a corporate legal services environment, working alongside other legal specialists to provide integrated intellectual property services to the business, including instructing inventors on aspects of the patent application process, negotiating with third parties to ensure freedom to operate and providing the board with strategic intellectual property advice.

Malcolm is a UK and European Patent Attorney and a Registered Trade Mark Attorney. He has had a current Litigator’s Certificate since 2001.

Malcolm’s leadership role remains blended with primarily contentious IP practise in and outside Europe, and in particular with EPO opposition and appeal practise in high value matters.

Although outside his area of technical expertise, Malcolm has traditionally managed a number of clients in the electronic, telecoms and internet areas. This function has included critical strategic roles in a number of EPO oppositions with successful client outcomes, counselling several clients with arm’s length perspectives on US litigation issues and a past appointment in a mentoring role for the IP manager of a European telecoms company.

Malcolm has always had an intense and imaginative approach to legal practice, witnessed by a success rate of near 80% in contentious matters and a recognised talent for creative arguments.

As a European Patent Attorney, Malcolm’s practice is primarily EPC patent practice. This has become increasingly concentrated on opposition and other contentious matters over the last 10 years.

He has also built a substantial default recovery practice, and frequently has lapsed cases referred to him for attempted restoration. Malcolm’s success rate in default recovery is over 90%. This special interest in purely legal issues has led to appearances before the Legal Board of Appeal of the EPO.

Apart from patent practice expertise, Malcolm has a range of trade mark responsibilities, mostly in contentious practice areas and in supervising attorneys in our Trade Marks Group. Malcolm successfully prosecuted some of the very first EU applications for registration of 3D marks, some of which have since been enforced against infringers in Europe.

Malcolm was Managing Partner of HLBBshaw until its incorporation and has been CEO since March 2006. He has led the development of the business through organic growth, acquisitions and reorganisation from a small practice to a company of around 100 staff.

He has been responsible for the process of transformation of the practice from the owner-managed, inward-facing culture of the predecessor business to that of a forward-looking organisation in full engagement with both its internal and external stakeholders.

Chartered UK Patent Attorney; European Patent Attorney; European Trade Mark Attorney; European Design Attorney; Degree in Astrophysics (1st Class), University of Hertfordshire including scholarship at Dublin City University (1 year advanced programme to study Applied Physics); PhD Astrophysics, University of Hertfordshire; Masters in the Management of Intellectual Property (Distinction), Centre for Commercial Law Studies, University of London.

Original drafting and prosecution of patent applications in the field of electronic driving systems for display systems and lighting; image processing algorithms and semiconductor device structure; power management circuits, sensors and wireless communications.

Alex’s ability to grasp complex technical subject matter quickly and his reputation for drafting patent applications has led to an increasing prosecution docket in many related technical areas such as magnetic drive systems; computer network systems; and signal processing systems.

Alex has project managed and advised a major UK corporate on a Joint Development Agreement involving four parties and provided advice on freedom to operate issues for US and European clients.  Working closely with the Oppositions and Appeals Business Unit of Avidity IP, Alex has advised on areas related to electronic subject matter as well as being lead attorney on a number of oppositions whilst in-house and in private practice. He also maintains a lively docket in fields close to the borderline of patentability such as inventions related to computer software, business methods and mathematical methods.

Prior to joining Avidity IP, Alex was an in-house patent attorney at Cambridge Display Technology (CDT) and was responsible for management and prosecution of all inventions arising out of device physics, printing and image processing fields.

Alex was the lead patent attorney during CDT’s acquisition of Next Sierra, a Silicon Valley based company involved in analog circuits, mixed analog-digital design, mixed voltage design, high voltage design, and complex digital circuit design. Their products included network and storage products, custom chips, display driver chips, microcontrollers, and MPEG encoders and decoders.

In the past, Alex sat on the Emerging Technologies sub-committee of the Displays and Lighting UK Knowledge Transfer Network. He was also Chair of the Physics and Law group of the Institute of Physics, UK from 2007 to 2010.