John Fisher

John is a European and UK patent attorney with extensive experience advising clients across the chemistry, materials and chemical engineering sectors. He supports organisations ranging from innovative start-ups and scale-ups to some of the world’s leading multinational companies, helping them secure, defend and maximise the value of their intellectual property.

His practice spans the full patent lifecycle, with particular strengths in drafting and prosecuting complex patent portfolios, developing filing strategies, providing freedom to operate and validity advice, and representing clients in contentious proceedings before the European Patent Office. He works closely with in-house IP teams and inventors to deliver commercially focused advice that aligns with the wider business objectives of his clients. He also maintains long-standing relationships with leading patent attorney firms in the United States and Asia, coordinating European and UK patent prosecution for international clients.

John is particularly recognised for his expertise in opposition and appeal proceedings at the European Patent Office. He has represented clients in over 180 hearings before the EPO Opposition Divisions and Boards of Appeal and he has extensive experience managing complex disputes involving parallel oppositions and appeals across large patent families. Clients value his strategic approach, clear advocacy and ability to navigate technically and procedurally demanding cases.

John’s expertise has been recognised through independent legal rankings. He is ranked in Band 1 by Chambers and Partners and he has also been recommended in IAM Patent 1000, MIP and The Legal 500. In 2021, he received Managing Intellectual Property’s Impact Case of the Year award for his role in the landmark EPO Board of Appeal decision T 1621/16.

John practice encompasses various technologies in the industrial chemistry and materials space.

• Polymers and adhesives
• Electroactive materials and battery chemistry
• Consumer chemistry
• Commodity chemicals and intermediates
• Oil and gas recovery and refining
• Medical consumables
• Inks and printing technologies
• Synthetic organic chemistry
• Cosmetics
• Medical devices

European Patent Attorney
UK Patent Attorney
UPC Representative

Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA)
Member of the European Patent Institute (EPI)
Member of the American Intellectual Property Law Association

John graduated from King’s College London with a first class master’s degree in chemistry. He went on to complete a D.Phil in organic chemistry at Oxford University, specialising in natural product synthesis. John entered the patent profession in 2006 and qualified as a European and UK patent attorney in 2010. He joined GJE as a partner in 2019.