How I can help your business

• Advise on patent filing and prosecution in the quantum sector, combining legal and scientific expertise in this technically complex area.
• Guide you on patent strategy for space technologies, including structuring international filings across upstream and downstream markets.
• Support start-ups and individual inventors in developing IP strategies aligned with commercialisation objectives.

Overview & Expertise

Phil Merchant is a Principal based in Marks & Clerk’s Edinburgh office and a Chartered UK and European Patent Attorney and UPC Representative. He joined the profession in 2012 and qualified in 2016, advising clients on the preparation, filing and prosecution of patent applications worldwide.

His practice spans a broad range of technologies, with particular expertise in quantum technologies, including quantum communication methods, cryptography and hardware such as qubits and quantum optics. He also advises on software-related inventions, with a strong understanding of patentability requirements before the UK Intellectual Property Office and European Patent Office.

Phil leads the firm’s space technologies team and advises clients across the space sector, including spacecraft systems, payloads, navigation, debris mitigation and data processing. His experience covers both upstream and downstream activities, supporting clients in developing coordinated IP strategies across international markets.

He holds a first class MPhys from the University of Oxford and a PhD in Condensed Matter Physics from University College London. His research focused on quantum magnetism and involved experimental work using neutron scattering techniques at international research facilities.

Client Work & Case Experience

• Aerospace and space sector — managing patent portfolios and advising on filing strategies for key technology areas.
• Individual inventor — taking over prosecution of an inventor-drafted application and securing patent protection across multiple jurisdictions.
• University clients — preparing patent applications for complex quantum hardware technologies and working closely with inventors to identify commercially relevant innovations.