Partner (London) and VP (San Francisco)

Nick specialises in strategic patent portfolio management in the fields of software, electronics and emerging disruptive technologies.  His passion lies in providing strategic European IP advice with a practical and international perspective to companies’ key IP decision makers such as C-suite execs and in-house counsel.  Primarily based in London, Nick splits his time between Kilburn & Strode’s London and San Francisco offices.  This allows him to provide a uniquely international perspective on European IP.
 
From assisting a music technology startup with the necessary due diligence to land a multi-million dollar investment round, defending core patents of an aviation giant before the Opposition Division of the EPO, to developing and asserting an oil tools company’s global patent portfolio to secure their position as market leaders, Nick’s focus is always on providing IP advice that aligns with business needs to provide tangible commercial benefits.
 
Technically, Nick has an academic background in electronic engineering, including practical experience designing and fabricating spintronic FETs. While Nick has a great amount of professional experience in handling inventions relating to telecoms, computer systems and semiconductor devices, and has a passion for audio and music technology, his practice has become focused around the protection of software inventions. In practice this means working with companies specialising in everything from machine learning to artificial intelligence, and bioinformatics to fintech.
 

Qualifications

European Patent Attorney
Chartered UK Patent Attorney
IP Litigator - Patent
Foreign Legal Consultant (FLC) – State Bar of California
MEng Electronic Engineering with Music Technology Systems - University of York

Memberships

Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA)
The Institute of Professional Representatives before the European Patent Office (EPI)
Audio Engineering Society (AES)
Silicon Valley Intellectual Property Law Association (SVIPLA)
San Francisco Intellectual Property Law Association (SFIPLA)

Selected Publications

‘Understanding the converging approach to software patentability at the EPO, JPO and USPTO, Palo Alto (December 2017)
 
‘The US Alice Decision has a positive impact for UK litigators’.

‘Latest update on Europe’s new patent court, the UPC’, San Francisco (February 2017)

‘IP and Brexit’, Santa Clara (November 2016)

‘Exploring the Impact of Europe’s Unified Patent Court on IP Strategy’, New York (March 2016)

‘The Unitary Patent System and the Unified Patent Court: The Practical Effects of Europe’s New Patent System on Worldwide Licensing’, Palo Alto (February 2016)