It’s our people that make the difference

Our partners and attorneys are highly qualified and highly experienced to advise you in all areas of Intellectual Property law. We advise start-ups, SMEs, and multinational corporations and ensure that your inventions, brands and designs are expertly protected.

Our specialist teams cover a huge range of industries and technical fields, from automotive and aerospace and electronics and electrical engineering to cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.

Services

At AA Thornton, we provide a comprehensive service offering to help you protect your Intellectual Property and maximise your assets. By combining the expertise of patent and trade mark attorneys, as well as solicitors within a single firm, we can offer you a customised comprehensive service.

International

Our clients range from multinational corporations, to SMEs, to individual inventors, across a broad spectrum of industries. Our client base is centred in the UK but covers many other parts of the globe, notably Europe, North America, India and the Far East. We also work for overseas attorneys and professional advisers, representing their clients’ Intellectual Property interests in the UK, Germany and Europe.

Latest News


EPO Introduces New Fee Reduction Scheme for “Micro-Entities”

As of April 1, 2024, the European Patent Office (EPO) are implementing reduced fees for “micro-entities”, to support small-scale innovators. The scheme, will apply to both European patent applications and Euro-PCT applications, offering eligible entities a generous 30% reduction across all primary fees involved in the patent grant process. Eligibility Criteria To qualify for these… Read more »


Geoff Hussey recognised as Stand-Out Lawyer 2024

Thomson Reuters has once again recognised AA Thornton’s Geoff Hussey as a Stand-out Lawyer in 2024.   The Sharplegal study by Thomson Reuters involves more than 2,000 senior in-house legal counsel globally nominating up to three lawyers. These lawyers are ones they’ve worked with over the past year who’ve significantly stood out to them, distinguishing… Read more »


Ian Gill recognised again in WTR 1000

WTR 1000 has again recognised AA Thornton’s Ian Gill as one of the World’s Leading Trade Mark Professionals in 2024.   WTR 1000 – the World’s Leading Trademark Professionals 2024 – identifies the top trademark professionals in key jurisdictions around the globe. The WTR 1000 focuses exclusively on trademark practice and is a resource for… Read more »


Latest Insights


How Patents Protect Innovations in Crewed Spaceflight

The following article was first published on Space East’s website. Manufacturers routinely obtain patent protection for different aspects of familiar everyday products. Smartphone companies and carmakers, for example, might each file hundreds, if not thousands, of patent applications annually. However, patents are also used to protect innovations in much more specialist fields, including space travel…. Read more »


IP-Driven Clean Technology – National Vision for Engineering Biology

The UK government has recently positioned clean technology at the core of its new initiative, the “National Vision for Engineering Biology,” launched in December 2023. With a substantial £2 billion investment, this policy highlights the government’s dedication to driving sustainable innovation. The funding aims to advance research and development in areas such as renewable biofuels,… Read more »


Comma Conundrum: Avoiding Pitfalls in Patent Claims

In Intellectual Property law, particularly for patents, precision in language and punctuation is crucial. If not used correctly, something as simple as a comma can lead to the loss of a patent. A pertinent illustration of this is the EPO’s Board of Appeal decision T 1473/19 in which a missing comma in a claim led… Read more »