Nick is also an experienced patent litigator who has handled cases before the UK Court of Appeal and High Court, and the EPO Boards of Appeal. Nick works for a wide range of clients, in fields ranging from geospatial data processing to electro-surgical instruments and medical imaging, through to sensors for the oil and gas industry.
With a technical background in electronics, software, and communications, Nick spent time working at BT labs in the fields of speech synthesis and video-conferencing before joining the patent profession in 1997. After qualifying as a European patent attorney he returned to BT for a period as in-house patent counsel before joining Withers & Rogers in 2004. Nick became a partner in the firm in 2006, and in 2008 handled the successful Symbian v Comptroller-General of Patents case that confirmed the patentability of operating systems for computers. In 2012 Nick became the lead partner for the firm’s Electronics, Computing & Physics practice group, and in 2016 took on the statutory role of Head of Legal Practice for the firm. Nick specialises in developing and executing cost-effective IP procurement and development strategies for his clients, combining his in-house and private practice experience together to provide an “outsourced in-house” IP counsel service for his clients.
Education & background
Nick holds Master’s degrees in Electronics Systems Engineering (MEng, York) and Intellectual Property Litigation (LLM, Nottingham Trent) achieving first class honours in his MEng, and a Distinction in his LLM. In March 2023, he was registered as a representative before the new Unified Patent Court, one of the first European patent attorneys to be entered on the list of UPC representatives.
On a personal note…
Nick is a keen music fan and attends gigs and festivals whenever he can. He is also an avid reader (particularly hard sci-fi), plays tennis several times a week (a pandemic hobby that stuck), and acts as unpaid part time cabbie to his two sons. He is also a season ticket holder at AFC Wimbledon (soccer) and at The Oval (cricket), whilst still retaining a soft spot for his hometown team Middlesbrough FC.
