Our People Tom Furnival

Tom handles a wide range of patent work, including original drafting, prosecution and opposition, particularly defensive oppositions, in the engineering, electronics, computing and physics fields.  He also advises on Freedom-to-Operate, infringement issues and registered designs.

Areas of Expertise

• Photonics
• Optical devices and laser design, including optronics and detection technology
• Telecommunication systems
• Semiconductor devices and fabrication
• Medical devices, including augmented reality systems for surgical assistance
• Power supplies and power management
• Computer hardware and software
• Bioinformatics
• Machine learning/ artificial intelligence

Clients

Tom works with a mix of multinationals, start-ups, individual applicants and foreign attorneys. These are predominantly UK based, and in the high tech/ mechanical engineering spheres.

Background

He has a Master’s degree in Physics from the University of Exeter. He undertook two years of research into the solid-state theory of Memristors, before joining Mewburn Ellis LLP in 2013. He qualified as a European Patent Attorney in 2017 and a Chartered Patent Attorney in 2018. He joined the partnership in 2022.

Recommendations

Tom is a recommended prosecution individual from IAM Patent 1000.

“Tom is an essential guide through the patent process. He manages to be exceptionally knowledgeable about the intricacies of patent law but also can get into the depths of the technical detail of the core scientific concepts.” - IAM Patent 1000 2023