Meet The Russell IP Team
Iain Russell
Patent Attorney, Director
BSc, CPA, EPA, FRSA
A UK and European patent attorney with almost 20 years’ experience, specialising in computer-implemented inventions (CIIs) and music technology.
Iain is an inventor on 25+ patents ranging from drones to dishwasher spray arms. He built and sold a patent portfolio of his own drone technology inventions, giving him first-hand experience of the inventor journey, patent portfolio due diligence, patent portfolio development strategy, and patent monetisation.
As an entrepreneurial patent attorney who has set up several small businesses, Iain understands complexities and pressures of running and building a small business. He has also successfully exited one of the companies he co-founded, selling his shares to the other co-founder who continues to run that business. Iain loves to help other inventors build the foundations of their business by helping protecting their technology.
Iain is the author of two books on patents; one on passing the UK patent drafting exam and one on music technology patents. Iain has helped well over 1,000 candidate patent attorneys pass their qualifying exams to become UK and European patent attorneys.
Ben Hoyle
Patent Attorney (Consultant)
M. Eng, MA, CPA, EPA
A UK and European Patent Attorney with almost 20 years’ experience, specialising in artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and information technology (IT).
Jeff Sweetman
Patent Attorney (Consultant)
BSc, LLB, CPA, EPA
Jeff joined the patent profession in the mid 1990s, spending his first few years within the mechanical engineering team of a large firm of patent attorneys in Sydney, Australia. Jeff is insatiably curious about how things work and gradually expanded his practice to include electronics, telecommunications, signal processing, semiconductor fabrication, medical devices, software and materials science.
Jeff’s experience includes patent drafting, prosecution, opinion work, and litigation support.
Jeff has worked for large and small patent firms in the UK and Australia, and spent over two years in house as Senior Patent Counsel at a MEMS-based printer research company.
Jeff was also the first paid employee and an executive director at inovia, an online patent administration startup that was eventually bought by RWS in a deal worth around US$30 million.
Jeff has worked as a consultant patent attorney since 2016.
Emily Teesdale
IP Strategist and Patent Attorney (Consultant)
MEng, CPA, EPA
Emily brings more than two decades of comprehensive intellectual property expertise, combining her experience as a Chartered (UK) and European patent attorney in private practice with commercially focused, in-house IP strategy roles at two aerospace companies. She has partnered with clients, colleagues, and collaborators in large and small businesses, from start-ups and spinouts to well-established multi-national companies, and across diverse engineering and technology sectors.
Emily’s extensive patent portfolio management capabilities include coordinating global prosecution strategies across multiple jurisdictions, while maintaining direct involvement in patent drafting and prosecution, including personally representing clients in European Patent Office hearings. Her freedom-to-operate (FTO) expertise encompasses complex clearance projects, notably managing an intricate and comprehensive search, analysis, and clearance initiative for a multi-faceted landing gear technology.
Her in-house experience spans providing strategic IP guidance across all organisational levels and business functions and creating tailored plans that align with business objectives. Emily’s breadth of experience enables her to identify what truly matters in relation to IP and give fitting and value-focused advice. This includes cohesive IP protection strategies and balanced risk management approaches that support business and growth objectives, in the context of competitive IP landscapes, as well as offering quick-win recommendations that deliver significant impact with minimal investment.
She excels in pragmatically crafting and negotiating IP contract terms that deliver tangible business value across diverse scenarios. Her collaborative approach shines in her support of project teams throughout technology development initiatives, where she implements pro-active IP management efficiently addressing both IP capture and risk mitigation.
She can deliver customised IP training tailored to business needs, to ensure employees have the IP awareness needed to mitigate against relevant risks and harness key opportunities.
Ben Charig
Patent Operations, Research and Business Support (Consultant)
BSc, CPA, EPA
A UK and European patent attorney with over 10 years’ experience, providing patent operations, research and business support.
Ben is a Maths and Physics graduate. As part of his degree, he spent a year studying abroad at a German university. Ben then trained as a UK and European Patent Attorney, gaining experience working in several private-practice firms of varying sizes.
After qualifying as a European Patent Attorney, Ben spent 3 years working in house for a FTSE-listed technology and retail company. There he focussed on providing IP support to his technical colleagues, and on drafting and prosecuting patent applications directed to automated storage and retrieval system robotics and associated infrastructure. He also helped manage growing portfolios of registered designs and trade marks, and worked with the Legal Operations team to implement a new e-billing and matter management tool.
Ben has 3 years’ experience providing patent operations, research, formalities, billing, copywriting and other business support services. Ben enjoys designing processes and workflows to help make businesses run smoothly.
