Murgitroyd

Firm overview:

Murgitroyd has its roots in Scotland and a firmly global outlook, with offices opened in Managua and Belfast in 2024 adding to its presence across Europe, the US and China. The firm has been expanding rapidly, with multiple acquisitions enabling it to scale with its clients as they grow. Accordingly, its client roster contains some of the biggest names in technology and most prestigious research institutions in the world.

The firm has a particularly strong patent prosecution practice, with its services including global and European filing, portfolio management, searching, and renewals. AI, blockchain, electric and autonomous vehicles, gene editing and the metaverse are just some of the technology areas in which the team has expertise. A peer says the quality of support they received from the firm was “exemplary”.

For businesses seeking freedom to operate within Europe, Murgitroyd has an experienced Opposition team that is regularly involved in successfully opposing third party rights on behalf of clients. The team is also on hand to help patentees defend and maintain their rights when proceedings are initiated against them.

Team overview:

Murgitroyd’s patents team is located across 11 offices in Aberdeen, Belfast, Cambridge, Cardiff, Glasgow, Leeds, London, Milton Keynes, Newcastle, Southampton and York. With 56 Unified Patent Court (UPC) representatives among its team, Murgitryod is a go-to firm for patent matters on the continent.

Prosecution specialist Beth Marshall, based in Aberdeen, was appointed director of patents in February 2024. Her broad patent experience enables her to specialise in several different technology areas including renewable energy, oil and gas, marine equipment and medical devices. Marshall’s practice involves patent drafting and prosecution across multiple jurisdictions.

Also a patents director, Michael Marchant services clients in the biological and chemical fields from Murgitroyd’s Croydon office, and he has particular expertise in handling European Patent Office (EPO) opposition and appeals.

Senior European patent attorney Gabrielle Radault is lauded for her invaluable “precision and depth of insight” by a peer, who adds that her “grasp of the technology being patented surpassed that of any academic colleague”, and explains that Radault materially improved a formula originally developed by a professor with multiple patents.

Key matters:

• Patent prosecution and European portfolio management—Mastercard

The team handles all aspects of UK and European patent applications for Mastercard, including liaising with in-house counsel, as well as drafting, filing, prosecution and strategy advice. Over the past 12 months Murgitroyd has seen an increase in instructions received and expanded its offering to include pre-filing patentability searches and divisional recommendations/advice.

Led by patents director Catherine Bonner, the team also supported a large drafting and filing project ahead of a prolific inventor leaving Mastercard, which included drafting and filing a significant number of patent applications in a new and important field in a relatively short amount of time.

• Patent portfolio development—Secure Micro

Startup Secure Micro develops solutions for protecting computers against unauthorised software. The team has advised the company on navigating the difficult software patenting jurisdictions in the UK and Europe, and on how to obtain parallel protection in the US. Obtaining patent protection covering its key products has supported Secure Micro as it enters the next stage of its development as a company.

Handling matters for the client is senior European patent attorney Terence Broderick.

• Non-infringement declaration at UKIPO and Norwegian court proceedings—Titan Torque Services

Murgitroyd acts for Titan Torque Services, which is developing a new tool used in the plug and abandonment of offshore wells. The team obtained a declaration of non-infringement before the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) on behalf of Titan to enable it to commercialise its new tool, which already has significant commercial value through an exclusive distribution deal with worldwide energy services company Baker Hughes.

The team, led by patents director and head of pricing James Brown, is also directing the defence of an infringement and invalidity action before the Norwegian courts brought against the client.

• Opposition and appeal proceedings—CP Kelco

Murgitroyd handles all European and worldwide (excluding US) patent prosecution matters for CP Kelco, which reflects its strong and longstanding relationship with this client. CP Kelco is a nature-based ingredient solutions company.

The team has recently seen an increase in contentious matters in the form of several opposition and appeal proceedings. This has included successfully representing CP Kelco in the defence of its European patents against opposition.

European patent attorney David Mansell and patents director Elspeth Doyle lead on the matter.

Clients:

Agriculture Investments, Benchmark Holdings, CP Kelco, Hyperion Materials, Iksuda, John Hopkins University, Mastercard, The Millboard Company, Saint-Gobain, Secure Micro, Submer Technologies, Titan Torque Services