An experienced attorney in Kilburn & Strode’s Tech & Engineering team, Benni specialises in advising his clients on business-critical patent and design matters.
 
Whether he’s securing protection for cutting-edge technology, assessing third-party rights that could block market entry, or navigating disputes, clients value Benni for his pragmatic, commercially focused advice and his ability to distil complex IP issues into clear, actionable strategies.
 
Benni’s practice covers the full lifecycle of IP, from building strategically aligned patent and registered design portfolios through to handling contentious proceedings. Benni has significant experience advising on freedom-to-operate and due diligence projects in the context of product launches, licensing negotiations, and mergers and acquisitions, where identifying and mitigating IP risks is essential to business outcomes. In contentions matters, Benni has acted in high-stakes patent oppositions and appeals before the EPO and design invalidity actions before the EU IPO. He also supports his clients in developing offensive and defensive litigation strategies in Europe more generally and advises in relation to the increasingly important Unified Patent Court (UPC).
 
Benni has built extensive expertise in the medical technology sector, working with clients on medical devices, diagnostics, treatment planning software, and high-end imaging systems. Alongside this, he advises across a wide range of industries, from aviation and automotive to bioprocessing, CleanTech, and robotics.
 
Comfortable working with both mechanical and software-based innovations, Benni has significant experience in obtaining and analysing patents for algorithms and AI/Machine Learning inventions across a wide range of industries.

Qualifications

European Patent Attorney
Chartered UK Patent Attorney
Representative before the Unified Patent Court (UPC) (2024)
MPhys. Physics with Philosophy (1st Class hons.), University of Manchester
PGCert. Intellectual Property Law, Queen Mary University London
Intellectual Property Litigation Certificate
'From concept to market: medical device development for patent professionals’ – a bespoke course designed by Kilburn & Strode and Educo Life Sciences.
 

Memberships

Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA)
The Institute of Professional Representatives before the European Patent Office (EPI)

B. Pfundner, Mastering the business of patents, Kilburn & Strode (2019) 

B. Pfundner, Essential guidance on patenting software-based inventions at the EPO, Kilburn & Strode (2020)