Venner Shipley

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Venner Shipley LLP is a leading^[who?] firm of European Patent and Trademark Attorneys with offices currently in Central London and Cambridge.

[edit] History of the firm

The origins of the firm go back to the 1930s when Siegmund Sokal established a patent agency practice in London and built up a significant portfolio of German clients. Siegmund died in 1945 and his widow offered the practice for sale. In the immediate post-War years, this did not seem to the profession at large to represent a great business opportunity.

Harold Venner purchased the practice in l947 and set about resurrecting pre-War clients and finding new ones. Early clients were ZF Friedrichshafen AG (the manufacturers of ZF gearboxes) and, when the German Democratic Republic was formed in l949, VEB Carl Zeiss Jena, the East German part of the pre- War Carl Zeiss, became clients. Through the Fifties, before the advent of the European Patent Office, clients were largely domestic and European, with some from the U.S.A. Harold's son, Alan Venner joined the firm in l961 and the sixties proved to be a period of expansion. For example, Harold Venner acted on behalf of Rael-Brook Ltd to patent the first drip-dry shirt.

In 1966, Warwick Shipley, a chemist, joined Harold in partnership and the practice continued to grow through the 70s. Alan Venner became a partner in l978 and, following the death of Harold Venner in l979, John Woodward became a partner in l980.

The firm expanded greatly in the l980s. Matthew Read joined the partnership in l985 to develop the electronics and software practice. Trade Mark specialist Chris Weatherly followed in l986. Tim Jump, a chemist and genetic engineering expert, joined the partnership in l990, following the retirement of Warwick Shipley, and enabled a major expansion of the firm's pharmaceutical and biochemical practice.

In 1997, Stuart Geary joined the partnership to contribute to the rapidly developing electronics and software practice, and Stephen Killin followed in 1999 on the chemical and biotechnology side. Jan Walaski joined the partnership in 2001 to develop the electronics practice further. Ian Grey became a partner in 2002 to develop the mechanical engineering, designs and copyright sides of the practice. John Woodward and Chris Weatherly retired from the practice in that year.

In July 2003 Sian Hughes became a partner; she is in the Chemical & Life Sciences group and specialises in the filing and prosecution of patent applications relating to biotechnology. Ed Harrison joined Alan Venner as partner in the trademark group in 2005. The firm converted into a UK limited liability partnership in 2004. Stuart Geary regrettably retired on health grounds in 2005.^[who?]

In 2006, Pawel Piotrowicz and Paul Derry became partners in the electronics and software group, and Allie Elend became a partner in the chemical and life sciences group.

Also in 2006 the firm opened its first branch office, located in Cambridge.