Phil Merchant

About Me

Phil is a Chartered Patent Attorney, European Patent Attorney and European Design Attorney in the High Tech and Electrical Group.

Phil has experience in the drafting and prosecution of patent applications in the UK, Europe and worldwide. Phil has also been involved in multiple opposition proceedings before the EPO and a number of freedom-to-operate and due diligence projects.

Phil regularly works with inventors as well as small businesses and large global organisations, with subject matter ranging from mechanical devices to computer-implemented inventions. He has particular interest in the patentability of business methods and software inventions and regularly advises clients in this area.

Phil has an MPhys degree from the University of Oxford and a PhD in Condensed Matter Physics from University College London. His scientific work and expertise was based in the field of Quantum Magnetism, with a research focus on excitations and criticality in low-dimensional spin systems. His experimental work included development of neutron scattering techniques and instrumentation, using large-scale facilities at the Institut Laue–Langevin in Grenoble and the Paul Scherrer Institut in Switzerland.

Phil was awarded the best mark in Europe for patent drafting in the European Qualifying Examination, in 2016.