Tom Hutchinson - engineering patent & design attorney

Regulated by IPReg | Registered in England & Wales No: 07491607

+44 (0)1704 320 084

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Tom Hutchinson has always been interested in science and engineering and spent his formative years designing, building, repairing and "improving" anything from kayaks and boats to motorcycles and radio-controlled boats & aircraft. Having lived in Cyprus from the age of 8 to 18, Tom became a keen dinghy & offshore sailor, windsurfer and canoeist and spent most of his summers cruising and doing boat-related work around the Mediterranean. However, Tom always wanted to work in a "practical", engineering or science-related area and therefore decided to study Materials Engineering at university, mainly because his career aspiration at that time was to live on a beach and to design and build boats for a living!

Tom therefore decided to leave Cyprus to read Materials Engineering at the University of Liverpool, graduating in 1999 with a 1st Class Master's degree. Tom then accepted a position as a Research Assistant, again at the University of Liverpool, where he stayed until 2001 carrying out electron microscopy studies of self-assembled nanostructures and working on new ways to create complex 3D structures by melting metal powders with lasers. Having published several papers and part-completed a PhD, Tom decided to leave academia to pursue a career in Intellectual Property having been involved in a number of patent-related matters during his studies.

Tom then worked at two Liverpool-based firms, training on-the-job and attending the University of Manchester part-time where he obtained a Postgraduate Certificate in Intellectual Property Law in 2003. Having passed his UK and European qualifying examinations, Tom qualified as a UK Patent Attorney in 2006 (becoming a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys and being entered on OHIM's list of professional representatives for Community Designs later that year) and as a European Patent Attorney in 2008.

Having worked in private practice for over 10 years, Tom decided to start his own firm of patent and design attorneys. Tom founded Hutchinson IP Ltd in 2011, which is based in his home town of Southport, where he lives with his wife and two young children.

Tom Hutchinson…

Resumé:

Qualifications:

Registered UK Patent Attorney

Fellow of the UK’s Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (Chartered Patent Attorney)

European Patent Attorney

European Design Attorney (on OHIM’s special list of professional representatives for Community Designs)

1st Class Master’s Degree in Materials Science & Engineering.

Principal jurisdictions:

United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO)

The Courts of England & Wales

European Patent Office (EPO)

Office for Harmonisation of the Internal Market (OHIM)

The World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO).

Expertise:

Tom has a broad, generalist background covering mechanical, engineering and electronic patent and design work and has handled a broadly mechanical, engineering and electronic caseload consisting of mainly UK, EPO & PCT cases, plus a significant amount of overseas prosecution work in the US, Japan, China, Russia, Germany, Eastern Europe and Latin America. His technical areas of expertise include: automotive, oil and gas, renewables, HVAC, surface coatings, telecoms, MEMS, healthcare, nanotechnology, construction, agriculture and sport technology.

Advocacy experience:

Tom’s inter partes experience includes UK patent and design infringement actions, UKIPO entitlement proceedings, EPO Oral Proceedings (Oppositions) & the preparation, filing and countering of third party observations. His ex partes experience includes acting as lead attorney at a UKIPO Hearing (excluded subject matter, patentability & added matter) and representing clients at EPO Oral Proceedings (Examination) in both Munich and The Hague.

Additional information:

Tom holds a position on IPReg’s Disciplinary Panel (Patents). He writes CPD reports for CIPA and is the published author of several scientific papers on nanoparticle self-assembly. He has been an invited speaker for CIPA, at various IP events in the north west and at Cambridge University’s Cavendish Laboratories. He was UK Science Engineering and Technology Student of the Year (Materials Science Category) in 1999 and won the University of Liverpool’s Mason Bibby prize. Tom is also the former President of the Liverpool and North Wales Materials Society.

Qualifications…

Chartered Patent Attorney
European Patent Attorney
European Design Attorney
MEng Hons) Materials Engineering

“…Tom has been one of the best patent agents I have ever worked with and I have known a few in my time…”

IP Barrister

“…On a personal level, I find Tom very personable and accommodating, trustworthy and hard working who would be a valuable asset to any organisation that he came into contact with…”

Client

“…we are very happy with the service he has provided to us. Tom has taken a flexible approach and has always been on budget and to time. I sincerely hope that we can continue working with Tom into the future…”

In-house patent attorney

“…Always willing to blend his experience and knowledge with the sometimes demanding wishes of his clients, Tom often goes a step further and offers additional design advice but always with the intention of adding value to his services…”

Client

Contact details…

E: tom@hutchinsonip.com
T: + 44(0)1704 320 084
F: + 44(0)1074 320 034