Stuart Forrest

The firm is a specialist IP prosecution and litigation firm.  Established in 1873 we are proud of our heritage but do not rely upon it. Our ethos is exclusively focused on meeting our clients’ needs and expectations now, and on providing our clients with professional advice and support services which are technically excellent, legally sophisticated and commercially astute.

We are a European firm with our primary offices in London the financial and legal centre of Europe, Liverpool in the commercial and industrial heartland of the UK and Munich the seat of the European Patent Office.

Our strong direct client base in Europe and a wide range of experience and expertise allows us to offer the highest standard of advice and assistance in this connection. We work closely with our direct clients, getting to know the businesses and technologies in question and thus advising from a position of knowledge and experience.

We also have a substantial client base overseas and a commensurate network of professional relationships in literally every IP functioning jurisdiction worldwide.  The firm believes that its experience in meeting the day to day needs of its direct domestic clients provides the best possible background for understanding the issues faced by its overseas clients and advising on European prosecution and enforcement issues with a strong appreciation of their commercial priorities.  Advice from the firm is therefore given from the standpoint of commercial as well as technological and legal awareness.

Expertise within the firm covers an extensive range of technologies, from electronic engineering and mechanical sciences, through to chemistry and biotechnology, and our team includes specialists in trade mark prosecution and enforcement. Litigation specialists also form an integral part of the firm's professional base.

Stuart is both a Chartered Patent Attorney and European Patent Attorney and deals with a wide range of chemical subject matter, with a particular focus on applications relating to industrial chemistry, chemical engineering and pharmaceutical chemistry. He has experience of drafting and prosecuting applications before both the European Patent Office (EPO) and the UK Intellectual Property Office, and representing clients at post grant (opposition and appeal) proceedings before the EPO. He also has experience of managing global patent portfolios (pre and post grant), advising on strategic issues and lifecycle management, including applying for SPCs and patent term extensions.

Stuart graduated from Oxford University with a first class degree in Chemistry and having been involved in research in the field of carbohydrate chemistry and including investigation into the synthesis of a variety of nucleoside antibiotics, such as the Miharamycins, in collaboration with the Universidade de Lisboa.

In the wider professional context, Stuart is a member of the Patents Committee of the Chartered Institute of Patent Agents (CIPA) and is a CIPA delegate to the Patent Practice Working Group, which meets regularly with the UK Intellectual Property Office to discuss practice issues. He also a lecturer for the student body of CIPA, and helps in preparing candidates for their UK examinations and the EQE.