Meet the IP Professional: Nonny Jones – Taking an in-house mindset into private practice

Nonny Jones is a UK and European patent attorney and co-founder of Alembia Intellectual Property. With a background in chemistry and extensive experience in the pharmaceutical sector, he brings a practical, commercially aware approach shaped by years spent on the in-house side of the table.

Quick profile

Name: Nonny Jones
Role: Patent Attorney, Co-owner and Co-founder
Firm: Alembia Intellectual Property
Location: United Kingdom
Areas of expertise: Chemistry, life sciences, pharmaceuticals, patent drafting and prosecution, portfolio strategy, due diligence, licensing and litigation support

From chemistry to patent law

Nonny’s route into patent law was far from pre-planned. He trained as an organic chemist, completing a PhD and spending several years in academia before achieving a long-held ambition: becoming a medicinal chemist hunting new drugs. It was during this time, working within a large pharmaceutical company, that he first encountered patents at close quarters.

Rather than sparking immediate fascination, those early encounters were tinged with apprehension. Patents, he recalls, were both critical and intimidating. They underpinned everything the wider business was doing, yet felt complex and high-stakes. Over time however, that exposure, combined with conversations with friends who had moved into patent law, planted a seed.

A major turning point came when the research site where Nonny worked unfortunately closed. While challenging, redundancy opened up an unexpected opportunity: an trainee patent attorney role within the same organisation. The move proved formative.

Training inside a company meant going in at the deep end, with huge responsibility from day one. While initially intimidating, being embedded in project teams, addressing intertwined scientific, legal and commercial issues, and seeing how IP decisions played out across the full lifecycle of a product provided a unique, commercially-focussed grounding that has informed Nonny’s approach to patent work ever since.

“It was a privileged position,” he reflects. “As an in-house patent attorney, you experience everything, from early research through to commercial strategy. You see first-hand the impact of IP-related decisions and events on development, which teaches how to spot and mitigate issues early.”

Shaping a career through challenge and risk

As his career progressed, Nonny found himself repeatedly stepping into situations that felt uncomfortable at the time, but ultimately shaped how he works today. One such moment was taking on responsibility for coordinating complex litigation on a major pharmaceutical product while still relatively junior.

The experience was demanding, but rewarding. It required judgement, confidence and the ability to make decisions with imperfect information, often under extreme time pressure – all key patent attorney skills which were developed and tested in courts across Europe.

That willingness to take calculated risks eventually led to Nonny leaving industry for private practice and co-founding Alembia Intellectual Property with his business partner, Lucy. What began as a daunting idea soon felt like a logical next step.

“It wasn’t about trying to disrupt the profession,” he says. “It was more about asking whether we could build something successful that reflected how we liked to work.”

Eight years later, Alembia Intellectual Property is still growing, shaped by those early decisions and a shared set of values. The practice has even been externally recognised: “one unexpected milestone we’re very proud of is being listed since 2020 in the IAM patent 1000 alongside many other great UK and European patent firms – a huge achievement for a small boutique like ours, and particularly pleasing because it’s based on direct client feedback”.

A varied role with a familiar focus

Today, Nonny’s role combines client work with running a small business. While company management and business development are part of the picture, he spends most of his time doing what he enjoys most: working closely with clients on a wide range of IP issues.

The work spans patent drafting, strategic advice, due diligence, licensing and agreement work as well as occasional litigation support. Moving from an in-house role to private practice has increased the variety of subject matter Nonny handles, and it now extends not only across life sciences but into engineering and materials technology. It has also brought exposure to client companies of different sizes, at different stages, with very different priorities.

What hasn’t changed is the mindset. Nonny remains focused on understanding what clients are trying to achieve and tailoring IP advice accordingly, rather than treating patents as an end in themselves. In this respect, his industrial background provides  a particular advantage: “having worked on in- and out-licensing for one of the world’s largest pharma companies, Lucy and I know first-hand what investors are looking for in an IP portfolio. It’s great to be able to apply that knowledge to help current clients secure funding and reach their own goals.”

Chemistry at the centre

Chemistry continues to underpin much of Nonny’s practice. He sees it as a central discipline, connecting physics on one side and biology on the other, which makes it possible for chemically-trained patent attorneys to work across multiple fields.

His background as a medicinal chemist also makes it easier to move seamlessly between small molecule chemical, biological, and pharmaceutical development inventions, a significant advantage when assisting modern clients who often use multi-modal approaches to drug discovery.

Making “pseudo in-house” practical

Alembia often describes its approach as “pseudo in-house”, a term Nonny is keen to ground in reality rather than rhetoric. For him, it comes down to accessibility.

Small and growing companies often hesitate to speak to lawyers early, particularly when budgets are tight. That hesitation can lead to avoidable problems later. Alembia’s aim is to lower that barrier by encouraging informal conversations and focusing billing on substantive work, rather than ringing up the till for every interaction.

The goal is not to replicate an in-house attorney exactly, but to create a proactive, informal environment where clients feel able to ask questions early and often.

“I’d rather spend ten minutes on the phone helping someone think something through before it becomes an issue than hours to try and fix a problem after the fact,” Nonny explains.

Balancing detail with commercial reality

For Nonny, good patent advice starts with outcomes. While technical detail and legal nuance are essential, they only matter if they serve a client’s broader goals.

He is conscious of the temptation to over-focus on the intricacies of patent law, particularly when speaking to non-specialists. Instead, he prioritises clarity, helping clients understand how IP can help clients achieve their goals, and only getting into the technical weeds when it is important to show why a particular strategy makes sense.

Navigating change in the IP landscape

Asked about recent changes in the profession, Nonny points to artificial intelligence as both an opportunity and a challenge.

Used carefully, AI can be a powerful tool for summarising information and checking thinking. Used uncritically, it carries real risks.

Machine-learning hallucinations, confidentiality concerns and over-reliance are all issues he believes the profession must manage carefully. While optimistic about AI’s long-term potential, he emphasises the continued need for judgement, diligence and accountability.

“AI users don’t just need answers,” he says. “They need confidence in those answers.”

For now, Nonny sees AI as a potentially transformative resource to be handled carefully, not delegated to blindly.

Values that guide the work

Across a varied career, one value has remained central for Nonny: taking pride in his work.

Patents are often stressful for clients, high-stakes by nature, and slow to deliver results. Helping clients navigate that process, make informed decisions, and move forward with confidence is where he finds the most satisfaction. Whether the task is large or small, the aim is always the same: to make something difficult feel more manageable, and enable clients to focus on the day-to-day business of getting their innovations to market.

Advice for those considering IP

For scientists thinking about patent law, Nonny offers an honest assessment. The career can be intellectually stimulating and rewarding, combining science, law and commercial thinking in a way few roles do.

At the same time, it carries pressure and responsibility. Deadlines are tight, decisions matter, and the work demands care.

His advice is to speak to people in the profession, seek exposure where possible, and understand what the role really involves before committing.

“It’s not for everyone,” he says. “But for the right person, it can be incredibly satisfying.”

Life beyond IP

Outside work, Nonny’s life centres on family. With a young son (and cat!) and the demands of running a business, switching off is less about hobbies and more about spending quality time together.

He also retains a strong connection to Anglesey, where he grew up. A coastal walk from Bull Bay to Porth Wen remains a favourite, offering rugged scenery, wildlife and a sense of perspective when he gets the chance to return.

Looking forward

Reflecting on his career so far, Nonny takes pride in key career milestones that include high pressure licensing deals, litigation wins and the formation of Alembia IP, but also his everyday work. While the big ticket results often get the most attention, he still finds few things as satisfying as successfully arguing against a complex patent office objection, or informing a client of a patent grant.

For him, success lies in steady progress, thoughtful, accessible advice and long-term relationships built on trust.

Contact

LinkedIn: Nonny Jones | LinkedIn
Website:  https://alembiaip.com
Email: [email protected]

Meet the IP Professional is a PatWorld interview series exploring the people and perspectives shaping the intellectual property profession. Discover more interviews in the Meet the IP Professional hub, and find out more about PatWorld — a global IP search provider working with IP professionals worldwide to support informed patent, design and trade mark decisions — on our About Us page.