Robert Barker

Senior Associate, 특허와 설계 변호사
London

Robert Barker

Robert has experience in dealing with patents across the chemical field, including pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, food chemistry, biofuels, tribology and lubrication, and energy storage.

He has spent over two years on a part-time secondment to a FTSE 100 spin-out company specialising in sustainable packaging. Robert’s secondment involves regularly engaging with, and providing advice to, key stakeholders across the business, from R&D engineers to senior executive decision-makers. Through his secondment experience, Robert is very familiar with the requirements and expectations of in-house counsel.

Robert has conducted several opposition proceedings at the EPO (both offensive and defensive) in the chemical field. He also has particular experience in preparing freedom-to-operate and due diligence analysis relating to fine chemicals.

In addition to his patent work, Robert also specialises in the registration and enforcement of designs.

He holds a first-class master's degree in Chemistry from Oxford University where he researched the synthesis of fluorescent organic probes for the diagnosis and prognosis of breast cancer.

Prior to joining EIP, Robert briefly worked at the John Innes Centre as a biological chemist, working on extraction and manipulation of natural products.

Recent work

  • Due diligence and freedom-to-operate analyses of small-molecule, peptide, and multi-component vector therapeutics
  • Defensive oppositions relating to food compositions and their medical uses
  • Invention harvesting and formulation of drafting and prosecution strategies as in-house secondee
  • Offensive oppositions relating to RNA syntheses and lubrication systems
  • Drafting and prosecuting patent applications relating to diagnostic devices, lubrication systems, and small-molecule and biologic therapeutics

Published articles

  • 24 December 2016
    JIPLP, Threats to infringe a patent application: no barrier to justification (link)
  • April 2016
    JIPLP, To Infinium and beyond! Questions regarding partial priority referred to the Enlarged Board of Appeal (link)
  • 20 October 2015
    JIPLP, How low can you go? The scope of a numerical range is reconsidered by the Court of Appeal (link)
  • 8 March 2015
    JIPLP, There is a balm in Gilead: Idenix's patent infringed but invalid (link)
  • 16 February 2015
    WTR Daily, Registered design for ice cream van held to be valid and infringed (link)
  • 23 January 2015
    JIPLP, Rage against the (translation) machine (link)

Education and qualifications


  • Certificate in Intellectual Property Litigation, 2021
  • UK Patent Attorney, 2019
  • European Patent Attorney, 2019
  • 2015 — 2016
    Certificate in Intellectual Property Law, Queen Mary University of London
  • 2010 — 2014
    MSc Chemistry, University of Oxford

Career history

  • 2020 — present
    Senior Associate, EIP
  • 2014 — 2019
    Associate, EIP

Awards and recognition

  • Ranked as "Rising Star", IP Stars 2023 (link)
  • Ranked as "Rising Star", IP Stars 2022 (link)
  • Ranked as "Rising Star", IP Stars 2021 (link)
  • Legal 500, 2022. (link)
  • Ranked as "Rising Star", IP Stars 2020