Eleanor Maciver

Eleanor is a highly skilled UK and European Patent Attorney with a focus on delivering positive outcomes. She has over a decade of experience in protecting, defending and commercialising intellectual property rights for international businesses operating in the sustainable chemistry, pharmaceutical chemistry, biotechnology, agricultural chemistry, and nanotechnology sectors.

Her diligent and determined approach has led to a thriving patent practice that includes universities, SMEs, large corporations, and attorney firms from across the globe, particularly in the UK, US, and Japan.

Eleanor enjoys collaborating closely with her clients leveraging her expertise to help them to realise their business ambitions. Whether they are a budding startup, a growing SME, or a global corporation, Eleanor takes time to learn about and really understand the commercial landscape in which they operate to provide strategic, proportionate, advice to effectively manage their IP portfolios.

Eleanor is a key player in our sustainable technology team and her work with deeptech and cleantech companies, particularly SMEs, aligns perfectly with her passion for sustainability and her belief in the essential role of innovative technology in creating a sustainable future.

Eleanor has extensive experience handling oppositions and appeals before the EPO. She has a proven track record of both defending her clients' intellectual property rights and challenging competitors' claims. Eleanor approaches oppositions with a meticulous eye for detail, planning for the entire duration of the case and, crucially, aligning her strategies with her clients' commercial objectives. “When you are prepping you are always thinking – what am I missing or what would I say if I was on the other side?” says Eleanor.   This thorough approach has often proved to be the deciding factor between success and failure, making Eleanor a sought-after attorney for clients seeking expert management of their cases.

Focus on Sustainability

As Sustainability Champion at Mewburn Ellis Eleanor spearheads both the environmental strategy and sustainability collaboration group, ensuring this remains an important focus for the firm. Under Eleanor’s leadership, the firm were ranked silver by third party ranking organisation Ecovadis in 2022 and in 2023 maintained this Silver ranking increasing the environmental sustainability score by a significant margin. Eleanor has produced the firms Net-Zero transition plan as well as the near and long term Net-Zero targets approved by SBTi in 2023.

Read Eleanor’s roadmap for Mewburn Ellis here: Mewburn Ellis – sustainability and the road to net zero

EPO Opposition Expertise

EP16851616.9: Syngenta vs Nippon Soda - A successful defensive opposition of a patent relating to agrochemical composition. The opposition was rejected entirely an the patent maintained as granted.

EP07737057.5: Bruno Bock vs Mitsui Chemicals - A successful defensive opposition and appeal of a patent relating to a process for producing a pentaerythritol ester of 3-mercaptocarboxylic acid maintaining claim 1 as granted.

EP14701796.6: Domino Printing Sciences vs Markem-Imaje Holdings - A successful offensive opposition of a patent relating to ink composition for liquid jet printing resulting in revocation of the patent.

EP11809023.2: Adeka Corporation vs Milliken & Company - A successful offensive opposition and appeal of a patent relating polymer additives resulting in revocation of the patent.

EP7188957.9: Danisco vs The Proctor and Gamble Company - A successful offensive opposition and appeal relating to a patent in the field of detergents resulting in revocation of the patent.

Qualifications and technical background

Eleanor has a Master’s degree in natural sciences from Cambridge University, specialising in chemistry. She also has a DPhil in organic chemistry from Oxford University. Elanor carried out post-doctoral research at both Oxford and Kyoto University in Japan.

Eleanor specialises in sustainable chemical and material inventions, particularly:

• Sustainable Polymers such as bio or new polymers and chemical recycling
• Nature Based Materials and method for their production or growth such as cellulose pigments, mycelium or algal materials.
• Plant Based Foods particularly sweeteners and protein alternatives
• Battery Electrode Materials
• Carbon Capture and Storage Materials, Methods and Utilisation
• Sustainable Refrigerant Materials

Eleanor also specialises in small molecule chemistry including for therapeutics and agricultural molecules and particularly where small molecule and sustainable technology intersect.

Professional Career

Eleanor joined Mewburn Ellis LLP in 2013, qualifying as a Chartered Patent Attorney and European Patent Attorney in 2017 and was awarded the Intellectual Property Litigation Certificate under the IPReg Rules. Eleanor is authorised to represent clients at the UPC.

Eleanor joined the partnership in 2022 and was appointed Sustainability Champion at Mewburn Ellis the same year.

Recommendations and feedback

Eleanor is named as a ‘Rising Star’ in the Managing Intellectual Property’s IP Stars 2022- 2024.

Eleanor is listed as a ‘practitioner to watch' in Managing Intellectual Property’s IP Stars 2023.

Published Articles

Reflecting her passion for green and sustainable solutions Eleanor has written several articles on this topic. Her content has been featured in a variety of leading industry and IP publications including: Sustainable Plastics, World IP Review, Patent Lawyer, Sustainable Views, New food and Managing IP.

Memberships and Affiliations

Eleanor is a member of the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA) and The Institute of Professional Representatives before the European Patent Office (epi).

Eleanor has significant involvement with organisations such as The Royal Society of Chemistry’s “Change Makers” Programme, Undaunted (a hub for the UK’s climate innovation community, creating new routes into green entrepreneurship and supporting the acceleration of startups and SMEs tackling climate change) and Oxfordshire Greentech/Cambridge Cleantech, where along with colleagues she works with companies to boost their IP skills and navigate challenges, largely through “masterclasses” and regular IP clinics.