Test — Acorn IP

Meet The Team

Samuel Cleary

Partner

Sam is a people-focussed and commercially savvy patent attorney who focusses on empowering startups and entrepreneurs in navigating the complex landscape of intellectual property. Sam is driven by learning all about new technologies and product ideas, meeting the passionate human beings behind them, and using his expertise to form a strategy for harnessing the IP to help his clients be commercially successful.
Sam loves nothing more than when he meets someone with a product that passes his ‘wallet test’ – a product that he instantly wants to buy for himself. Sam’s primary drivers for setting up Acorn are to focus on clients with products he is genuinely passionate about and to work with the innovative minds behind them.
Sam considers his work as much an art as a science, and he particular enjoys drafting – preparing new patent applications from scratch. Armed with an oversized coffee, a good playlist*, and a blank document, Sam sets to work crafting patent applications that not only capture the essence of an invention but that will serve as genuinely useful business tools for his clients for years to come.
With a rich academic and professional background together with a passion for innovation, Sam brings a unique blend of technical expertise and legal acumen to the table. Sam takes up a role as a trusted advisor within your team from the earliest opportunity – even if you are not yet ready for filing anything, he’s there as a strategic sounding board from day one.
*For the curious, recent playlists have included 00s/10s alternative, 80s rock, synthwave, and German sea shanties
Sam honed his skills and expertise through years of experience in the field, having been trained at Dehns before moving on to round out his legal experience at tech-focussed law firms Taylor Vinters and Mishcon de Reya.
From an early stage of his career, Sam’s passion has been in the world of start-ups and entrepreneurship. While Sam has certainly worked successfully with large corporations (including many household names and multinational blue-chip companies), his heart lies in rolling up his sleeves and getting stuck in as an expert guide for individuals, startups, spinouts, and SMEs.
Sam's commitment to understanding the intricate details of his clients’ industries has positioned him as a trusted advisor for businesses seeking to protect their intellectual property.
Sam particularly specialises in technologies relating to consumer electronics, software and AI, telecommunications and radio frequency systems, cryptography, mechanical devices, industrial and process engineering, and medical devices.
Sam's portfolio of work includes successful IP stories across a diverse array of industries. Selected highlights of specific technologies Sam has handled include: smartphones and tablets, sensors such as gyroscopes and accelerometers, Bluetooth® and cellular communications, radar systems for aircraft tracking, gaming peripherals and VR/AR, autonomous vehicles, motion simulators, robotic arms, medical diagnostic systems, and trusted computing systems.
Sam is well known for his strategic work, having carried out a large number of IP audits under the IP Audits scheme run by the UK IPO and Innovate UK EDGE, as well as more bespoke audit projects outside of that scheme. His commitment to delivering tailored solutions has earned him a reputation for excellence in the field.
MEng Electronic Engineering with Computer Science, UCL
PGCert Intellectual Property Law, Brunel University
Chartered UK Patent Attorney
European Patent Attorney
Litigation Certificate
Outside of work, Sam is a self-confessed nerd with a love of gaming and cinema. With what some might call a fierce competitive streak, he can often be found gaming online with his wife and friends. Offline, Sam has been playing D&D from his early teenage years, having introduced many close family, friends, and colleagues to the game. Sam also enjoys dabbling in the worlds of 3D printing and miniature painting. When not covered in paint, he’s typically covered in mud instead after getting dragged around a forest by his (overly) enthusiastic golden retriever.

Samantha Kaye

Partner

Sam is a second career patent attorney, having spent her first career as a bioinformatician working for an Oxfordshire-based biotech start up, and University of Edinburgh. She then returned to Oxford to complete her DPhil in Prof Mark Sansom’s computational biochemistry lab. After her PhD, she also completed a spell as a postdoc at the London School of Pharmacy before deciding to focus on her passion, helping commercialise scientific breakthroughs, in 2008.
Sam is most at home helping entrepreneurial life scientists navigate the path from concept to commercial product by utilising all of the tools in the intellectual property (IP) toolkit. As a Chartered UK and European patent attorney, of course she can help with preparing (drafting) and filing patent applications. However, she will also often advise on when not to file a patent application and instead rely on other forms of IP protection.
Driven by a love for all things biotech, Sam enjoys nothing more than geeking out with fellow scientists who are developing the ideas that will shape the world of tomorrow. By providing pragmatic, jargon-free advice on patentability, freedom to operate and IP strategy in simple human, she will quickly become a trusted member of your team.
Sam's career is marked by a diverse range of experiences at both smaller boutique practices, such as Sterling IP and Harrison IP, and larger, tech-focussed law firms Taylor Vinters, later Mishcon de Reya. Her tenacious commitment to delivering the best possible outcomes for her clients and her approachable nature have made her a valued ally for any IP-rich company.
Sam particularly specialises in protecting life science innovations. She takes an “in-house” approach to working with companies in the life sciences industry, offering a breadth of expertise in areas such as gene therapies, small molecules, large molecules, viral vectors, molecular biology, medical devices and bioinformatics. She advises on registered design protection in the UK and using the international Hague system.
BSc Microbiology and Biochemistry, Staffordshire University
MSc Bioinformatics, Manchester University
DPhil Biochemistry, Oxford University
MSc Management of Intellectual Property, Queen Mary University London
PGCert Intellectual Property Law, Queen Mary University London
Chartered UK Patent Attorney
European Patent Attorney
Litigation Certificate
Samantha is not just a patent attorney; she's a human! A daughter, wife, mum, and friend with diverse interests and a commitment to work-life balance. When she’s not refereeing her two children, she can be found enjoying their weekly family movie night (which involves subjecting them to 80’s classics such as The Flight of the Navigator). Sam also loves gaming, especially when she finds a new immersive RPG to get lost in, and confesses to losing far too many hours of her life to the Elder Scrolls series. For more creative pursuits, she equally loves papercraft, photography, and rock painting. If only there were more hours in the day!