Peter Thorniley

Profile

Peter is a partner in our Electronics, Software and Communications team. He is a European and Chartered Patent Attorney with a background in physics, particularly in theoretical physics. Peter has long enjoyed a practice which consistently engages with the cutting edge of technology.

This has encompassed a broad range of technical subject matter, including telecoms and aerospace, but has always included a specialisation in data processing and computer programs more generally. In recent years, Peter has been pleased to put his mathematical expertise to work in the fascinating area of machine learning and neural networks in particular. Peter is passionate about this revolutionary technology and is proud to be a part of the community supporting its development.

Peter has extensive experience supporting patent prosecution strategies of multinational corporations. He also has a strong background supporting the university sector and spin-out companies arising from this area. As well as prosecuting applications in the UK and Europe, he has extensive experience managing international portfolios, particularly in the US, China, Japan, Korea, Canada and Australia. He is proactive in providing commercial as well as legal insight, and has extensive experience of freedom-to-operate and due diligence processes. He has also worked to support clients involved multi-jurisdictional patent litigation.

Peter lectures on the subject of computer-implemented inventions at Queen Mary University of London.

Education

Peter studied at the University of Oxford, gaining a master’s degree in Physics. His particular areas of focus included particle physics and astrophysics, the latter of which gave him a chance to apply his computer programming skills to the modelling of the early universe. He holds the certificate in Intellectual Property Law from Queen Mary, University of London and also completed a diploma at the University of Strasbourg on aspects Patent Litigation throughout Europe.

Professional Memberships

• Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys
• Member of the European Patent Institute
• European Patent Litigator
• UPC Authorised Representative
• IP Litigation Certificate

Awards and Recognitions

• IAM Patent 1000 (Recommended) for Patent Prosecution – 2023