Showcasing Surrey IP
Russell IP is based in Surrey, UK, home to many innovative organisations and individuals who create new and exciting technologies. Many of them use intellectual property (IP) to try to protect and improve their commercial positions. In this blog post, we feature some examples of Surrey’s contributions to the world of IP.
The photo above was taken by Russell IP’s very own Iain Russell and shows the Guildhall in Guildford, Surrey, with its cantilever clock.
McLaren Automotive
The world-famous McLaren Automotive company is based in Woking at the McLaren Technology Centre. McLaren Automotive has many hundreds of patents and applications to its name, across more than 150 patent families. These relate to a wide variety of automotive improvements and technical features, including drivetrain components, tools for moulding apparatus, imitation carbon fibre composites, battery systems and structures, seat adjustment mechanisms, cooling devices, and moveable display screens, to name a few!
The University of Surrey’s “Device for the Autonomous Bootstrapping of Unified Sentience” (DABUS)
Academics at the University of Surrey, including Professor Ryan Abbott, blazed an IP trail with their DABUS patent applications, which tested the important question of whether a patent can be granted for an invention created by artificial intelligence. In most territories, the answer reached was “no”. Courts generally concluded that only a natural person (i.e., a human being) could be named as the inventor, and AI does not constitute a natural person. In the UK, Dr Stephen Thaler, who created DABUS, appealed the case all the way to the UK Supreme Court, where it was ultimately decided that DABUS is not an inventor for the purposes of the UK Patents Act.
Charles Austen Pumps
Longstanding pump designer and manufacturer Charles Austen Pumps, with its headquarters in Byfleet, has filed many patent applications over its nearly 70-year history. These patent documents are directed to a variety of improvements to pump technologies, including pulsation dampers, filters, systems for detecting flow restrictions, capacitive liquid level sensors and condensate collection devices, among other innovations.
Surrey Satellite Technology
Guildford-based Surrey Satellite Technology, a spin-out company from the University of Surrey, has multiple patents and patent applications protecting its communication systems and methods, including apparatus for providing communication between ground-based equipment and a satellite network.
Gordon Murray Automotive
Former McLaren designer Gordon Murray has founded several Surrey-headquartered brands which are dedicated to innovative engineering and design. These include Gordon Murray Advanced Engineering and Gordon Murray Automotive, which are united under the Gordon Murray Group, headquartered in Windlesham. Between them they have dozens of patents and patent applications, relating to vehicle chassis, vehicle aerodynamics, vehicle seats, vehicle suspension, braking systems, seat belt arrangements, and much more besides.
Conclusion
Surrey has an excellent history of fostering innovation and creativity. With many technology companies and entrepreneurs based in the county, there are lots of fascinating IP stories to tell about technologies which originated in Surrey.
If you’re a Surrey-based technology company looking for a local patent attorney to support you in protecting your innovations, contact Leatherhead-based Russell IP for an informal, no-obligation conversation. We love to work with fellow Surrey companies and are happy to visit you at your premises or meet you at one of our Surrey locations to discuss your IP.
