Stephen Gill

Stephen works principally in the materials, engineering and chemicals sectors and carries out patent drafting, prosecution and opposition work. 

Areas of Expertise

• Gas turbines and turbochargers, including associated control and monitoring systems
• Trains
• Power systems
• Oil/gas field
• Nuclear
• Surface coating and additive manufacturing technologies
• Alloys
• Medical imaging systems

Opposition Practice

 Stephen has an extensive opposition practice. Notable EPO opposition cases include:

• Rolls-Royce plc vs United Technologies Corporation EP 0801230, T1689/06: In a case with parallel US litigation and involving extensive use of expert evidence, Stephen successfully defended a Rolls-Royce patent protecting swept fan blades before the Opposition Division and the Board of Appeal. A settlement was ultimately reached between the parties, leading to closure of the appeal proceedings shortly before the date of the final Board of Appeal hearing.

• Napier Turbochargers Limited vs Abb Turbo Systems AG EP 1394387, T2541/11: Stephen successfully defended a Napier Turbochargers patent before the Opposition Division and the Board of Appeal. Claim 1 of the patent as maintained by the Opposition Division and the Board of Appeal contained an impeller “blind hole” feature that was introduced as an amendment during the opposition solely on the basis of the drawings of the patent. Stephen was able to convince the Opposition Division and the Board of Appeal that the structure and function of the “blind hole” feature were clearly, unmistakably and fully derivable from the drawings, and that the “blind hole” feature could be isolated from the other features shown in the drawings.

• Medical Components, Inc. vs Bauer Wagner Priesmeyer EP 2081634 T0116/20, EP 2164559 T1904/21, EP 2180915 T0118/20: In cases with parallel US litigation, Stephen successfully defended three Medical Components patents protecting different aspects of venous access ports before the Opposition Division and the Board of Appeal.

 Clients

Stephen’s clients cover a diverse range of large, multinational and medium-sized companies in the UK, Japan and the US, as well as research institutes, universities and SMEs. He is a regular visitor to Japan.

Background

Stephen has a degree and PhD in materials science from the University of Cambridge. He undertook post-doctoral research at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland and has industrial R&D experience. He joined Mewburn Ellis LLP in 1996, qualifying as a Chartered Patent Attorney in 2000 and a European Patent Attorney in 2004. He joined the partnership in 2005.

Recommendations

Stephen is named a Patent Star in Managing Intellectual Property: IP Stars 2023 and 2024.

Stephen has frequently appeared in the IAM Patent 1000 guide for patent prosecution, and is listed as a 'Patent Star' in Managing Intellectual Property’s IP Stars, 2014-2022. Stephen has also been recognised as a 'key lawyer' in the 2021 edition of The Legal 500.

"Has aeronautics, rail transport and power generation down cold" - IAM Patent 1000, 2021

Stephen "leads a team that drafts around 100 patents each year for a global aeronautics company" - IAM Patent 1000, 2020.

He has a “widely admired” filing practice - IAM Patent 1000, 2019.