NFPA Webinar: European Patents in 2025

Presented by: Yvonne Johnson, Anne Bate, and John Lawrence
Moderator/Host:  Dan Barnes, IP-Rev LLC

Join Barker Brettell (www.barkerbrettell.co.uk) for an informative CLE session covering the evolving landscape and best practices for obtaining European patent protection. All are welcome, but the presentation is designed for experienced IP paralegals who wish to expand their understanding of current options in Europe. Focus will be given to European patent filing and understanding paralegal and attorney roles in patent workflows. The new Unitary Patent option and the Unified Patent Court will also be discussed. Fun IP facts and trivia will be included to keep things lively and interesting. Talking points will include:

• The Unitary Patent a year on – what are clients actually doing?
• Ways to save money at the EPO
• UPC opt-out compliance and data gathering/checking 
• UP and EP validation cost comparisons for multiple scenarios  
• Foreign filing licenses 
• Micro entity rules and 30% cost reduction n EPO official fees 
• Recording assignments – what’s needed / costs- new EPO system 
  

Meet Your Presenters:

Yvonne Johnson

Elected to Managing Partner in 2024, Yvonne is an experienced patent attorney within the field of chemistry and life sciences. She also has broad experience working within the healthcare and medical fields, including pharmaceutical formulations, and is adept at navigating excluded matter rules in Europe in the fields of therapeutic, surgical and diagnostic methods. She is recognized for providing pragmatic and commercially focused advice.

Yvonne's areas of expertise, in addition to Chemistry & Life Sciences are:

• Oppositions and Appeals
• Patent drafting and prosecution
• Patent Oppositions
• Patents
• Unitary Patent

Anne Bate

Anne has worked as a patent paralegal and patent team manager at Barker Brettell for over 40 years, more than 30 of which have been spent working alongside John Lawrence. Anne manages Barker Brettell's team of patent paralegals, ensuring they are up to date with new laws and rules as and when they come into force, as well as encouraging the team to partake in training and development in using web-based filing systems such as ePCT and EPO Online Filing 2.0. Anne played an active role in setting-up and promoting the Barker Brettell Euro-IP hub to US-based clients and firms.

John Lawrence

Senior partner at Barker Brettell, John has over 40 years’ experience as a patent attorney and acts for a diverse range of clients, from startups and SMEs to large global corporates. John has deep and varied experience in writing and prosecuting patents in advanced engineering, aerospace, lasers and optics hardware, medical devices and implants and software controlled telemedicine/robotic surgery, and medical IT systems. John heads the Aerospace sector as well as leading the secondment initiative.

John’s areas of expertise include:

• Computers & Electronics
• Design & Copyright
• Life Sciences
• Mechanical Engineering
• Oppositions and Appeals
• Patent drafting and prosecution
• Patent Oppositions
• Patents 
• Physics & Materials