Debra Lewis
M.A. (Engineering), British Patent Attorney and European Patent Attorney, British Trademark Attorney
Profile
Languages: English, French, German
Specialisation
Drafting patent applications. Prosecution of patent and trade mark applications before the UKIPO, EPO and OHIM. Patent infringement and validity opinions. Procedures and strategies regarding inventions and patent applications subject to UK national security requirements (classified subject matter). Assignment and licensing of IP. Patent and trade mark portfolio management. IP due diligence. Patent and trade mark oppositions before the EPO, OHIM and the UKIPO. Strategic management of patent and trade mark filing and prosecution worldwide. Trade mark clearance searches. Rights in unregistered UK trade marks (Passing Off). Internet domain name disputes (UDRP). Expertise over a wide range of mechanical and electromechanical technology, in particular aerospace engineering, manufacturing techniques, composite materials, optical fibres, medical devices, printing devices, absorbent articles, defence equipment.
Professional memberships
CIPA, EPI, ITMA
Career
Studied engineering at Magdalene College, Cambridge, specialising in aeromechanical engineering. Joined a large, multi-national defence and aerospace company as a sponsored undergraduate in 1990, and worked as an aerodynamicist and then an engineering project manager before joining the company’s in-house IP department in 1997. Qualified as a UK Patent Attorney in 2000, a European Patent Attorney in 2001 and a UK Trade Mark Attorney in 2003. Responsible for the patent portfolios of several business units and the entire trade mark portfolio of the company. Consultant for two years to a major UK law firm acting on behalf of an international defence company in arbitration matters. Joined the Munich office of HOFFMANN EITLE in February 2012.