Jamie Thomson

Jamie is a UK and European Patent Attorney and UPC Representative with 30 years’ experience helping businesses protect and defend technically complex innovation. With a PhD in Chemistry and experience spanning the full patent lifecycle, he combines technical depth with the strategic judgement to build patent positions that support clients’ commercial ambitions.

His expertise covers patent drafting and global prosecution, patent portfolio strategy, freedom-to-operate advice, patent infringement and validity opinions, and EPO oppositions and appeals. Having worked extensively on both securing patents and challenging and defending them, Jamie understands what makes patent protection robust. He can anticipate potential weaknesses, identify issues early and develop strategies with future scrutiny in mind.

Jamie has particular expertise in electrochemical technologies, polymers, medical devices and industrial chemistry, including batteries, fuel cells, electrolysers, high-performance materials and LNG processes. He is adept at getting to the heart of complex technologies and translating that understanding into clear, commercially relevant IP advice.

Jamie advises SMEs and multinational businesses across the UK, continental Europe and the US, from individual strategic patent matters to complex international portfolios. Clients value the combination of technical expertise, strategic perspective and contentious experience he brings to protecting innovations that are important to their business.

Areas of Technical Expertise

• Electrochemical devices, including batteries, fuel cells and electrolysers
• Polymers, including per- and poly-fluoroalkyl materials
• Fibres, films and high-performance materials
• Medical devices, including aortic valves, stents and grafts
• LNG liquefaction processes
• Bulk and process chemistry

Clients and Sectors

Jamie advises SMEs and multinational businesses across the UK, continental Europe and the US, with experience spanning advanced materials, electrochemical technologies, medical devices, industrial and process chemistry, energy and consumer products.

His work has covered diverse international technology portfolios, from high-performance materials, medical and electrochemical devices to LNG and bulk chemical technologies. He also has in-house experience within a multinational energy business, giving him first-hand insight into how IP decisions are made within a large commercial organisation.

Jamie’s experience ranges from managing complex global patent portfolios to advising specialist businesses where individual innovations can be commercially critical. This means he can adapt his approach to the scale, priorities and commercial realities of the business, while keeping the focus on IP protection that supports its wider objectives. 

EPO Oppositions expertise 

Jamie has a First Class Honours BSc in Chemistry and a PhD from the University of St Andrews. His doctoral research focused on the crystalline structures of ceramic and polymer electrolyte materials using X-ray and neutron powder diffraction, giving him a strong scientific grounding in materials and electrochemical technologies.

During his time at St Andrews, Jamie received several academic awards, including the E. S. Steele, Senior Honours Project, Elisabeth Soutar and Nisbet prizes, as well as the class medal for Management in his second year.

Jamie began his career in the patent profession in 1996, qualifying as a European Patent Attorney in 2001 and a Chartered Patent Attorney in 2002. He also holds the IP Litigation Certificate.

Over his career, he has practised in Brighton, Munich, Edinburgh and Manchester and held senior positions, including at partner level, at leading UK and European intellectual property firms.

His experience also includes an in-house secondment with a multinational oil and gas business, focusing predominantly on bulk chemical technologies. This gave Jamie first-hand experience of IP within a major international industrial organisation and an understanding of the commercial context in which IP decisions are made.

Recommendations and Feedback

Jamie has been recognised in Managing IP as a Patent Star and in IAM Patent 1000.

Publications and Speaking

Jamie contributes to professional and industry discussions around innovation and commercialisation, including as a moderator on topics such as product launch and market response in consumer markets.

Professional Memberships

Jamie is a member of:

• Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA)
• Institute of Professional Representatives before the European Patent Office (epi)
• Royal Society of Chemistry

He also sits on the IP sub-committee of the Law Society of Scotland.