Lisa Clark, Dr

Dr Lisa Clark is a UK and European Patent Attorney at Novagraaf, where she is responsible for all aspects of patent work for clients in the food and beverages sector, including prosecution, drafting, infringement and validity opinions, and freedom-to-operate searches and opinions. 

Her career to date has included experience in industry working to produce anti-HIV drugs, for which she was the named inventor on several patent families, as well as time spent in private practice as an IP associate working for a multinational snack food manufacturer and a range of pharmaceutical companies. She was also a commercialisation manager for a UK academic research institute. 

Lisa is passionate about innovation; particularly the use of patents to bring innovative technologies to market. She enjoys patent prosecution, finding it especially satisfying to achieve patent grants with the broadest possible scope for applicants, as well as freedom-to-operate search and opinions.

Career history

Lisa’s career started with a PhD in organic chemistry from the University of Nottingham, after which she relocated to Australia and moved into industry as a medicinal chemist. During her time in Australia, she trained as a patent and trademark attorney at a leading IP firm, qualifying as an Australian and New Zealand patent and trademark attorney, and obtaining a Master's in Intellectual Property from Monash University, Australia. After returning with her family to the UK, she worked at a UK academic research organisation as a commercialisation manager before joining Novagraaf.

Work highlights

Lisa has considerable experience providing patent advice and services to multinationals in the food and beverages sector, as well as to a range of pharmaceutical companies. This experience covers a range of patent services including prosecution, portfolio management, oppositions and validity opinions.

She also specialises in conducting freedom-to-operate searches and opinions, especially in the food and food technology sector and for generic pharmaceuticals.

In addition, her background in the academic sector makes her well placed to understand the needs of academic clients and related academic institutes.

Memberships

Lisa is a fellow of CIPA and a member of EPI.

Languages

• English

Areas of expertise

• Patents: prosecution, drafting, infringement and validity opinions, and freedom-to-operate searches and opinions
• IP strategy and portfolio management
• Licensing and commercialisation agreements (collaboration, exploitation, material transfer, non-disclosure/confidentiality)