Mr Mrs Miss Ms Dr Other

Mrs
Ellie
Purnell

Partner

Manchester Office

Life sciences

Telephone. +44(0) 161 247 4900
Email. [email protected]
UPC Representative
Our team of specialist European patent litigators, oppositions specialists and patent attorneys bring together an extensive depth of legal and technical knowledge and are qualified to represent you in the UPC.
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Experience

Ellie is a UK and European qualified patent attorney with a strong academic background in Life Sciences, particularly in Plant Sciences. In addition, Ellie holds a qualification as a Patent Attorney Litigator with advocacy experience working on oppositions and appeals before the European Patent Office. She specialises in dealing with technology in the Agritech, Gene Editing, Antibody, and Peptide fields. Ellie is interested in helping SMEs, start-ups and spin-outs maximise their potential by exploiting IP protection and good IP management. She enjoys working with challenging IP portfolios and developing IP strategies. In particular for those cases experiencing difficulty in European prosecution.

Ellie has worked with all types of clients, from multinational companies including AstraZeneca, Novartis, and Syngenta, to SMEs and spin outs such as Solasta Bio, Pepgen, BioMara, Antibody Analytics, and Healome Therapeutics.

Specialisms

Industries

Services

Qualifications

Patent Attorney

Chartered (UK)
Europe

MA

(Cantab) Natural Sciences - Double First Class Honours

POSTGRADUATE DIPLOMA OR CERTIFICATE

Intellectual Property Litigation and Advocacy Certificate - Nottingham Trent University - Distinction

Recognition

Senior Scholar and Honarary Senior Scholar of Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge

Awarded to undergraduates who achieved a first class in university examinations, achieved in 2009 and 2010

The Frank Smart Prize for Botany

Awarded to undergraduate who achieved highest overall marks in Plant Sciences, awarded in 2009 and 2010

The Keith Farewell Prize

Awarded by CIPA to the patent trainee who achieved the highest mark in the P7 examination (UK trademark law)

Rising Star 2022

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Rising Star 2023

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Publications

Plant Patent Infringement in the US Relies on Evidence of Asexual Reproduction

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The draft of The Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Regulations 2025 reveals practical details on how to obtain a Precision Bred Organism status

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Regulation of NGT plants in Europe- Polish Presidency proposes an alternative solution to the Patent ban

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Agritech Thymes: Arusha Protocol Enters into Force

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Agritech Thymes: The EPO Looks at the Morality and Patentability of Therapeutics Derived from Traditional Knowledge

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Managing IP Rising Stars 2024

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Agritech Thymes: Exploring the Agritech IP landscape – past trends and future insights

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Agritech Thymes: One of Europe’s oldest grape plant variety rights is invalidated

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Legal Battle highlights biological deposit issues in patent law

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New Blog Series - Agritech Thymes: A brief look at public prior use of plants in the US

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HGF continues to grow with 7 new promotions

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First CRISPR therapy approved for use in the UK

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CRISPR Edited T cells win the TvT Battle

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Patenting antibodies in the US and Europe

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The EPO ‘How To’ guide for antibody applications in Europe

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AI solution to Levinthal's paradox

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IP considerations in COVID-19 vaccine development: tensions and tools

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A look at the WIPO coronavirus tools

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Compulsory licences: the key to accessing inventions in the face of coronavirus?

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G3/19: An end to the saga…

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G3/19: A further Referral to the Enlarged Board of Appeal on Plants Produced by Essentially Biological Processes

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G3/19: A Further Referral to the Enlarged Board of Appeal on Plants Produced by Essentially Biological Processes

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A look at the WIPO coronavirus tools

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IP considerations in COVID-19 vaccine development: tensions and tools

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How a platform technology patent list can expedite covid-19 vaccine research

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The Patent Landscape Behind COVID-19 Vaccines

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Conferences: 2024

7th November 2024

OUI Annual Networking Event

Attended

Event details

13-06-2024

IP Protection for Pant Innovation 2024

Attended

Event details

Conferences: 2022

22nd September 2022

BioCap Conference 2022

Attended

Event details

Conferences: 2021

2nd July 2021

G1/21 hearing at the EPO - July

Attended

Event details

Conferences: 2020

4th November 2020

Bionow Oncology Conference 2020

Attended

Event details

CSR

Ellie regularly holds tutorials for trainees within HGF, and has acted as an ongoing mentor for those trainees taking UK finals examinations.

She has also acted as a CIPA designated mentor for candidates re-taking the UK law exam (FD1).

In the past, Ellie held the position of the Northern Informals Secretary for several years organising social and educational events for trainees across the North of England, including organising and implementing a series of tutorials with tutors from different firms.

Related News

European Innovation Remains Strong: The EPO Patent Index 2024

The Patent Index 2024, recently published by the European Patent Office (EPO), provides a rich dataset from which key patent trends can be identified. The data shows that demand for …

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A £2.1M Lesson: The Power of Confidential Information

A recent High Court ruling1 serves as a stark reminder of the importance of respecting confidential business information. Hambro Perks, was found guilty of breaching confidentiality and ordered to pay …

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Protecting inventions in Europe and beyond

A patent is  a form of registered intellectual property right granted for new, inventive and industrially applicable inventions. Patents are monopoly rights that  allow their owners (or licensees) the right …

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Event - 18th March 2025

Salzburg Seminar: Pitfalls in trade mark practice - What can be protected as a trade mark?

The registration of trade marks is a central component of trade mark protection – but which signs can actually be protected? In recent years, the national trade mark offices and …

Event details

G2/24: A new referral to the Enlarged Board seeks to clarify whether a third party who intervened during appeal proceedings can acquire full appellant status

In the referring decision, T1286/23, the Board of Appeal referred the following questions to the Enlarged Board of Appeal: After the withdrawal of all appeals, may the proceedings be continued …

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Innovation protection recovery begins in the Aircraft Engine Sector

With patent filing data for 2022 now available, we follow up our January 2023 article with an IP review update for the major players in the aircraft engine sector. Filing …

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Can Patent Box Help Keep The Lights On?

The UK energy sector is undergoing a transformative shift, with innovations in renewable energy, carbon capture, and advanced drilling technologies driving progress. Patent Box, a tax relief scheme introduced in …

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Agritech Thymes: Exploring the Agritech IP landscape – past trends and future insights

The agrifood patent landscape analysis recently reported by WIPO provides interesting insights into key areas of innovation and the IP strategies being adopted. The agrifood industry, encompassing both agritech and …

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