Dr Howard Sands

My patent work mainly includes software and business method patents across different industries, including telecommunications, scientific instruments, and financial services where many inventions are computer-implemented. This marries up very well with my skill set and experience as a management consultant in financial services and a science background.

The work can be complex, but I enjoy the challenge of talking to engineers and scientists and translating their complex software products and systems into a patent document that is both commercially useful and captures patentable subject-matter. I get a great sense of achievement in arriving at a form of words to present to the Patent Office that captures the essence of an invention.

I am honoured to work with some extremely bright people who are at the top of their field, which pushes me to constantly develop my own skillset. My experience in having worked in a management consultant capacity within financial services has been invaluable. Having technical experience in banking and IT together with my strong scientific background means that I am used to understanding new technologies and recent developments critical to the world economy.

I enjoy working both with large corporate clients and smaller start-ups. Young, dynamic companies may have their whole business built on just two or three very important cases. Having very good patent protection is especially important for those clients in order to attract investment or deter competitors, and providing the support that they need provides me with great satisfaction.

During my career, I’ve witnessed the computing world change dramatically and it’s really fascinating to see new inventions – often before anyone else does. I take pride in supporting my clients as they grow and develop new ideas – from new advertisement software to methods of data transfer in a 6G network.

“Young, dynamic companies may have their whole business built on just two or three very important cases and providing the support that they need is something that provides me with great satisfaction.”