Who are WP Thompson
Our Profile
Established in 1873, the firm is a specialist IP prosecution and litigation firm. We are a full-service European IP firm, with our primary offices in London, the financial and legal centre of Europe, Liverpool, in the commercial and industrial heartland of the UK, and Cardiff, the capital of Wales and near the home of the UKIPO. We have also established an expanding regional presence serving the Home Counties and the North West of England.
With a strong direct client base in Europe and a wide range of expertise in our team, we offer the highest standard of advice and assistance to our clients. Our collaborative approach means that we work closely with our clients, getting to know their businesses and technologies so we can advise them from a position of knowledge and experience.
We also have a substantial number of clients overseas, and a commensurate network of professional relationships in every functioning IP jurisdiction worldwide. We believe that our experience in meeting the day to day needs of our domestic clients provides the best possible background for understanding the issues faced by our overseas clients. This means we are able to advise on European prosecution and enforcement issues with a strong appreciation of their commercial priorities.
Our expertise covers an extensive range of technologies, from electronic engineering and mechanical sciences, through to chemistry and biotechnology, and our team includes specialists in trade mark prosecution and enforcement. Litigation specialists also form an integral part of our team of professionals, meaning our advice is based upon a balanced foundation of commercial, technological and legal awareness.
Honours & Testimonials
Mathieu BRINGER, Managing Partner& Intellectual Property Attorney
Christine CERVERA-DUIJS, Senior Associate & IP Paralegal
BRINGER IP, France
WP Thompson's offices
We are located at:
Our Ethos
Clients
Our ethos is exclusively focused on meeting our clients' needs and expectations now, and on providing our clients with professional advice and support services which are technically excellent, legally sophisticated and commercially astute.
IP Inclusive
WP Thompson is committed to advancing diversity and inclusion (D&I) internally and within the IP community. We are part of IP Inclusive's senior leaders' think tank, which has recently launched a "Leaders' Pledge", which can be found under Documents. Its aim is to help senior professionals provide visible and active leadership on improving diversity and inclusion in their organisations. The new pledge has been signed by WP Thompson's partners Stuart Forrest, David Gill, Alistair McKinnon and Julian Potter.
What's happening in IP
See all news23.06.2025
Decision Harmonises EPO Practice with
National Courts and Unified Patent Court (UPC)
Recently the Enlarged Board of Appeal (EBoA) of the European Patent Office (EPO) has issued its relatively short, but for the most part decisive, G 1/24 decision providing authoritative guidance on how the claims should be interpreted to assess patentability under Articles 52 to 57 EPC. This decision reconciles divergent case law of the Boards of Appeal, and we are pleased to observe that the EBoA has committed to harmonising the EPO’s approach to that taken by the downstream national and multinational courts.
The order in the decision sets out the following. The claims are the starting point and the basis for assessing the patentability of an invention under Articles 52 to 57 EPC. The description and drawings shall always be consulted to interpret the claims when assessing the patentability of an invention under Articles 52 to 57 EPC, and not only if the person skilled in the art finds a claim to be unclear or ambiguous when read in isolation.
Full story14.05.2025
WP Thompson was among the winners in SME News Magazine's 2025 UK Legal Awards.
Full story13.02.2025
Can a third party or intervener continue an appeal if the original appellant withdraws? This question was raised in case T 1286/23. Though the final decision of this case is still pending, this article aims to provide a view on the judgement’s implications.
The patent under appeal for T 1286/23 relates to a handheld skin cleanser, European patent 2941163, originally granted to Foreo AB. However, this patent was later opposed by a third party, Beurer GmbH, who challenged the patent’s validity. Beurer asserted that the patent was invalid on the grounds that it did not meet the requirements of patentability such as added matter, novelty and inventive step.
Full story24.01.2025
The UPC Central Division in Paris has reached a different conclusion from that of the High Court of England and Wales[1] in its recent decision[2] regarding the importance of an expert witness statement in the determination of inventive step. In particular, this decision takes the view that an expert witness, though very knowledgeable on the subject area, may be too qualified to be considered as having the common general knowledge of the skilled person.
Full story
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