Biography
Bruce Cockerton
Partner
B.Sc. (Hons.) (Chemistry), PhD (Organometallic Chemistry), Chartered Patent Attorney, European Patent Attorney, Member of the Federation Internationale Des Conseils en Propriety Industrielle (FICPI)
Bruce joined the firm in 1997, becoming a partner in 2001. His practice is almost exclusively in the field of chemistry, encompassing industrial process chemistry, small-molecule pharmaceuticals, imaging and diagnostic chemistry, catalysis, and food chemistry, with a particular emphasis on polymer chemistry.
Much of Bruce’s time is spent advising long-standing clients whose commercial interests lie in the production of polyesters, polyamides and polyurethanes, and their processing into films and fibres. Such established technologies can present a challenge in carving out commercially useful patent protection in a crowded patent landscape, and Bruce has particular experience in establishing patent portfolios for new developments not only in the more traditional application sectors for these polymers such as packaging and apparel, but also in emerging sectors such as opto-electronic devices.
Bruce has extensive experience in contentious proceedings in the European Patent Office, and has successfully represented clients on numerous occasions in oral hearings before the Opposition Divisions and Technical Boards of Appeal. Acting for large UK clients means that Bruce is extremely well-versed in drafting new patent specifications which, coupled with his broad experience of contentious proceedings in the EPO, gives him invaluable expertise in generating the best possible scope of patent protection for new and developing products. Of course, Bruce also has a wealth of experience in the prosecution of European and PCT patent applications, and has provided many freedom-to-operate opinions from a UK perspective. He has also been responsible for establishing filing strategies and generating and managing large world-wide patent portfolios, with extensive experience in patent prosecution outside Europe, particularly in the US, Japan and China.
MoreBruce’s work has garnered praise in the independent guides to the legal profession, having been recognised in the Legal 500 publication as ‘tenacious’. Bruce’s approach relies on intellectual rigour and attention to detail in order to deliver pragmatic advice to best serve his clients commercial interests.
Bruce’s academic studies were at University College London where he graduated with a first class honours degree in general chemistry, collecting several prizes for academic performance along the way. Bruce’s doctorate focussed on the synthesis and chemistry of transition metal carbonyl clusters, studied particularly with the aid of X-ray crystallography and multi-dimensional NMR techniques.
Bruce has finally hung up his football boots, but continues to enjoy skiing and tennis to the full.
