David Sant has been in IP for over 32 years, working from 1989 to 2005 at the European Patent Office (EPO) Munich, including periods as a European patent examiner, serving on both the Examining Division and the Opposition Division, and finally as the Head of the EPO’s bureau in Brussels, where his work included the Directive on Computer-Implemented Inventions and the unitary patent/unified patent court.
After the EPO David worked in London as a patent attorney and patent litigator. His practice since 2007 has been predominantly in contentious work, with 10 cases before the High Court and one international arbitration before the International Chamber of Commerce, which he has combined with prosecution work. His mother tongue is English, but David’s working languages include French and German. David worked previously for IP specialists Taylor Wessing and later Bird & Bird. He has lectured and written extensively on many aspects of patent and IP law.