Frances Wilding - Partner

UK and European Patent Attorney
BEng Manufacturing Engineering
Brunel University, London

"One of my favourite patented inventions is the mobile phone, which is covered by thousands of different patents. I remember the old bulky, heavy mobiles, which were often unintuitive and low on features. These days handsets combine multiple functions, fun and good looks. "

Frances started her career as a Patent Examiner at the European Patent Office, where she spent 8 years working on examination and opposition of European cases and PCT examination. The technical fields covered included manufacturing and conveyor systems, packaging machinery and valve and dispensing technology. Frances transferred to private practice in the UK, working in the fields of medical implants, geosynthetics, earth compaction and surfacing, and a variety of electro-mechanical devices.

At Haseltine Lake, Frances has continued to work in a broad variety of fields, including mobile telecommunications, medical and display technology, graphics processing and business and internet-based inventions. Frances has a wide client base, which includes small UK businesses, large direct Japanese, US and German clients, and agent work for French, German, US and Japanese applicants. She enjoys the commercial aspects of client advice, including portfolio management and specialises in due diligence projects.

She undertakes infringement opinion work for clients including Japanese, UK and US law firms and is a regular visitor to the Japan and the US. Frances has an excellent working knowledge of French and Italian and is fluent in technical German.