Ashley Roughton is a distinguished intellectual property barrister with over 31 years of experience, widely recognized as a leading authority in technology-based IP and data protection law. His practice stands out due to his rare combination of deep scientific expertise—including advanced degrees in chemistry, engineering, and biochemistry—and his extensive legal scholarship, having authored two highly regarded texts in patents and trademarks.
He adopts a multidisciplinary approach, leveraging his academic background to handle complex, technology-driven cases with precision that bridges science and law. His clientele includes governments, corporations, and organizations across the UK and Europe, and he is known for achieving near 100% successful outcomes. Mr. Roughton is also active in academia, holding memberships at University College London and Queen Mary, University of London, and contributes as a review panel member for various law and science journals.
Services Offered
- Intellectual Property Law
- Patents
- Trade Marks
- Breach of Confidence
- Misuse of Private Information
- Restraint of Trade
- Copyright
- Designs
- Plant Variety Rights (PVRs)
- Licensing Issues
- IP European Law
- Cyber-crime (Computer Misuse and Data Protection)
- Medicines Control and Clinical Trials (applications, licensing, and criminal aspects)
- Data Protection (civil and criminal, including representation before the Information Commissioner and Information Tribunal)
- Distributed Ledger Systems (ASIC and network patents, smart contracts, search warrants against wallet providers, money laundering issues, mining and pool disputes)
Based in London, he maintains an active practice in both UK and EU jurisdictions, with continued rights of audience at the Court of Justice of the European Union. He has provided counsel to entities such as the Business Software Alliance, The Federation Against Software Theft, and the Serious Fraud Office, and advised the UK government on the drafting of the 2018 Data Protection Act.
