How I can help your business

• Guide you through the patenting process for telecommunications and electronics innovations, drawing on experience as both an inventor and patent attorney.
• Provide practical support for inventors and businesses that are unfamiliar with the patent system, helping them navigate prosecution requirements effectively.
• Represent you in patent prosecution matters, supported by previous experience as a UK Intellectual Property Office patent examiner and established understanding of examination practice.

Overview & Expertise

Michael Handley is an Associate, Patent Attorney and UPC Representative based in Marks & Clerk's Manchester office.

Michael specialises in telecommunications and electronics. Before entering the patent profession, he worked as a design and product planning engineer for Fujitsu Networks Europe and lectured in telecommunications and multimedia at the University of Hertfordshire.

This combination of industrial and academic experience provides him with a strong technical understanding of the technologies underpinning his clients' innovations.

Prior to joining Marks & Clerk, Michael worked as a patent examiner at the UK Intellectual Property Office and spent three years in private practice at another patent attorney firm. His experience as both an inventor and examiner helps him provide practical guidance throughout the patent prosecution process and develop productive relationships with patent offices.

Michael is a Chartered Patent Attorney (UK), European Patent Attorney and UPC Representative. He holds an MSc in Intellectual Property Law from Queen Mary, University of London, a PhD in Electrical Engineering from Manchester Metropolitan University, an MSc in Applied Optics from the University of Salford, and a BSc in Physics from the University of Warwick.

Client Work & Case Experience

• Major international telecommunications company — European patent prosecution work relating to 5G technologies.
• Telecommunications sector — Patent drafting work covering optical fibre systems and components.
• Major international technology company — Patent prosecution in the fields of display devices and battery safety.
• Digital technologies sector — Patent work involving video compression and artificial intelligence technologies.