Ross Chapman

Expertise

Ross Chapman is a Chartered and European Patent Attorney, and a registered Unified Patent Court representative, with more than a decade of experience advising on patent matters across electronics, engineering, and software-based technologies. He has experience before the UKIPO and EPO and has worked seamlessly alongside overseas attorneys to coordinate global patent strategies.

Ross advises clients ranging from sole inventors and SMEs through to major international businesses. His technical experience includes computer-implemented inventions, software, AI-related technologies, aerospace and manufacturing technologies, medical devices, control and sensing systems, cryptography, search and routing algorithms, machine learning for image recognition, additive manufacturing, propulsion systems and materials engineering.

Ross also brings valuable in-house experience, having completed substantial secondments to the internal IP department of a major global telecoms and technology company. During those secondments, he helped manage and expand part of a global patent portfolio, aligned prosecution and filing strategies across jurisdictions, worked with inventors to capture invention disclosures, and advised on freedom-to-operate, competitor intelligence, licensing and standards-related patent matters. 

He has also supported contentious patent matters, including litigation and opposition work for a global medical company, preparing novelty and inventive step arguments, analysing prior art, and assessing added subject-matter issues in the context of wider global disputes.

How do you help clients?

I help clients protect commercially important technology by developing patent strategies that are technically robust, commercially focused and aligned with business objectives. My work often involves taking complex engineering, electronics or software-based inventions and turning them into clear, defensible patent applications that support long-term value.

I particularly enjoy working closely with inventors and in-house teams to understand the commercial purpose behind an invention, identify the strongest protectable concepts, and build filing and prosecution strategies that make sense across multiple jurisdictions. My in-house secondment experience means I understand the pressures faced by internal IP teams and the importance of advice that is practical, timely and easy to communicate to stakeholders across a business. 

I also help clients assess risk and opportunity in competitive patent landscapes, including through freedom-to-operate analysis, prior-art reviews, patentability advice, opposition support and competitor intelligence.

Experience

1. Supporting litigation and European oppositions for a global medical company, preparing novelty and inventive step arguments and conducting prior-art analyses to challenge and defend patents forming part of global disputes.
2. Advising a US biomedical testing company on best drafting practices for obtaining AI related patents in Europe and reviewing/ amending new patent applications prior to filing to ensure compliance with these practices.
3. Prosecuting and advising on patent matters for a world-leading manufacturing and aerospace engineering company, including aircraft and vehicle components, integrated systems, structural elements, additive manufacturing processes, propulsion systems, control and sensing mechanisms, non-destructive testing and materials engineering.
4. Supporting the internal IP department of a major global telecoms and technology company on secondment, including portfolio management, prosecution strategy, new filing strategy, invention mining, licensing investigations, potential infringement matters and standards-related patent issues.
5. Advising on the drafting and prosecution of patent applications for software and computer-implemented inventions, including data and power management systems, financial security protocols, search optimisation, geographical routing, and machine learning for image recognition.