First patent attorney to be appointed King’s Counsel

Richard Davis (pictured above) is to be appointed King’s Counsel in March 2023, and he will be the first Fellow of CIPA to take silk.

An engineer by training, after a short stint at GEC Marconi, Richard switched careers and decided to ‘read for the Bar’. He was called in 1992 but rather than entering barrister practice chose to re-train (yet again) this time as a patent attorney. He joined the firm of Beresford & Co in London. He remained involved in litigation as the firm’s senior partner, Keith Beresford, was a keen proponent of the newly formed Patents County Court. Indeed, Keith was the first to launch litigation in that Court with the somewhat infamous Pavel v SonyWalkman litigation.

Outside of litigation, Richard knuckled down to the task of passing the UK and European patent exams. Those struggling over them today may be fortified by learning that he only passed FD4 / P6 ‘infringement and validity’ (his bread and butter as a barrister) on his third attempt!

Lionel Bently, professor of intellectual property law at the University of Cambridge, was awarded an honorary King’s Counsel He was nominated for his publications which ‘rank among the most influential texts in intellectual property law and for playing a crucial role in influencing intellectual property law in this jurisdiction and beyond’.

He returned to the Bar at the end of the 1990s and joined Hogarth Chambers on its foundation in 2001. He has had a busy junior practice appearing regularly before both the UK courts and the EPO.

He remained committed to his true calling as a patent attorney and was a member of CIPA Council from 2005 to 2016. During that time he was instrumental in setting up the Nottingham LLM course allowing patent attorneys access to higher litigation rights. His work for CIPA remains, with his former Beresford colleague Paul Cole, as one of the general editors of the Black Book

Outside of work, Richard has returned to his engineering routes having recently completed the build of his own light aircraft, a Sling 4.

Rather fittingly as a silk one receives one’s own letters patent from the King which he will scrutinise carefully as there seems to be no A publication!