Located within the Mansion House at Chesterford Research Park, patent attorneys TLIP assist clients from the very start of the innovation process; helping to establish frameworks within which ideas can flourish and be protected, through to preparing and policing intellectual property (IP) revenue streams, trade mark prosecution, the registration of designs and copyright. To date, the practice at Chesterford has been particularly strong in the fields of computer science and engineering and now adds pharma, materials and medical device expertise to the team with the appointment of Mat Leese.

Mat joins TLIP as a UK and European Patent Attorney and has particular expertise in securing additional terms of protection for therapeutic products under the European Supplementary Protection Certificate* (SPC) system. SPCs were introduced to compensate for the long development time needed to get human, veterinary and plant protection products to market by extending the duration of certain rights associated with patents in these areas. As well as conventional SPC filing programmes, Mat has experience in ‘non-standard’ cases concerning conjugates and combination products.

Mat commented of his move to TLIP: “Cambridge is a great place to be working in IP due to the creative, research intensive culture that exists in the city, particularly when it comes to the commercialisation of research from the university and in companies from start-ups to multi-nationals.  TLIP’s business is built on providing a tailored IP solution to clients of any size, helping them protect their inventions and realise their commercial goals. Chesterford provides an excellent working environment and allows us to easily get into and around the city to deliver a personal service to our clients.”

Prior to joining the patent profession, Mat worked as a medicinal chemist leading a team in a start-up biotech company developing new drugs for the treatment of cancer and endocrine diseases. The lifecycle of the company encompassed raising support through licencing, venture capital fundraising and an eventual buyout, providing Mat with an inventor’s eye perspective of IP and its role in realising value from innovation.