What will the talk cover?

The current pace and scale of health care innovation has led to the emergence of a broad range of new digital health technologies which apply new advances in computing technology to health care applications. This talk, the first in a series of two talks looking at strategies for protecting these technologies, will focus on approaches to identifying and patenting digital health inventions.

The rate of innovation in digital health is reflected in a large and increasing number of patent applications being filed in this field. However, it is clear from our discussions with companies working in this sector that there are still some uncertainties regarding what is and isn’t patentable, and in determining when patent protection would add value to their business.

In this talk, we explain the approach of the European Patent Office in considering the patentability of computer-implemented health tech inventions. We illustrate this by considering the patentability of a number of example technologies, representative of the categories of digital health products we most often see, with the aim of providing the necessary grounding so that you can assess the patentability of your own innovation. We also look at patent strategy considerations, including assessing if and when to file a patent application and which types of technology particularly benefit from patent protection.

Who will be speaking?

Jack Severs is a Chartered UK and European Patent Attorney who advises a wide range of clients, from large multinationals to SMEs and university spin-outs across the fields of health tech, electronics, engineering and computer-implemented inventions.

Jack leads GJE’s MedTech business development group and has particular expertise in advising early stage Health Tech companies on how best to protect their innovation. He regularly drafts and prosecutes patent applications for Digital Health inventions which apply computer-implemented technology and software to medical and healthcare applications.

Jack is actively involved in the rapidly growing start-up ecosystem in London and provides IP support to a number of accelerator and incubator organisations, including advising companies on the Digital Health London Accelerator and acting as “IP Expert in Residence” for the Imperial College Enterprise Lab. Jack has spoken at a number of events, including speaking on the importance of IP strategy at the GIANT Health Event and chairing the Beanstalks competition for Health Tech start-ups.

Who are GJE?

Gill Jennings & Every (GJE) are a firm of European Patent, Trade Mark & Design Attorneys. We act throughout the UK and EU – through both our London and Munich offices.

We are recognised as a leading European IP firm by the Financial Times. In addition, we have received five Gold Awards for our work in the following industry sectors: Chemistry & Pharmaceuticals, Electrical Engineering, IT & Software, Materials & Nanotechnology, and Mechanical Engineering; as well as a Silver Award for our work in the Biotechnology and Food industries.

We work with an extensive and varied list of clients - from early-stage start-ups all the way through to global brands, and everyone in-between. 

Clients include Procter and Gamble, producer of many of the UK's most well-known household brands. GJE prosecutes and defends a very active, high-value IP portfolio of currently over 1500 patents and patent applications across 70+ countries for the world’s leading banknote supplier, De La Rue. 

Some of our clients in the Medical Technology field:

• TTP
• Novoic 
• Skin Analytics
• Imperial College Innovations
• Oxford University Innovations

Some of our other well-known clients include:

• MasterCard
• Hasbro
• Micron Technology

Filing a well-prepared patent, trade mark or design registration may be critical to the future of your business. How it is written defines not just your innovation or identity but also the competitive landscape you wish to operate in. But there is more to intellectual property than filing a document. Other things to consider will include the amount of potential or unidentified IP in your business; the level of competition in your industry; licensing the technology to others; and key target markets. GJE’s attorneys consider all these issues and provide solutions to both grow and protect your business.

Please submit the form to be sent the link to the webinar and submit any questions you would like answered within the session.