Phillip is a Professor of Law. His main area of interest is intellectual property law, but he additionally researches legal and parliamentary history, sports and entertainment law, private international law and public law.

He is also a practising barrister at the Intellectual Property Bar, and a member of the Irish Bar, the Californian Bar and the Washington DC Bar. He sits as an Appointed Person (tribunal judge) hearing appeals from the Intellectual Property Office on trade marks and designs as well as being on on the World Intellectual Property Organisations List of Neutrals. He worked as a government lawyer advising the Patent Office (now the Intellectual Property Office) between 2003-2007. During this time, he was involved in implementing the Patent Law Treaty, EPC 2000, the Information Society Directive, the Enforcement Directive and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty as well as the modernisation of the designs and patents rules.

He is the editor of the Intellectual Property Quarterly and an author of leading texts on patent law (Roughton, Johnson and Cook: The Law of Patents), confidential information (Gurry on Breach of Confidence), internet issues (Gringras: The Laws of the Internet) and ambush marketing and sponsorship (Ambush Marketing and Brand Protection). He is also one of the authors of the highly regarded student text on Intellectual Property (Bently, Sherman, Gangjee and Johnson) and is on the editorial board of the Queen Mary Journal of Intellectual Property.

He is currently the Chair of Society of Legal Scholars Library Sub-Committee, which inform debates on academic law libraries, and is the co-convenor of the Society’s Intellectual Property Section. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Phillip currently has capacity to take on PhD supervisions. 

Pure profile 

For a list of Professor Johnson's publications and other activities, please visit his research portal.