About the author: Oliver Manners is a trainee patent attorney, working in our Manchester chemistry team. His background working in a broad, interdisciplinary PhD programme, helps him to understand the challenges of working at the interfaces between traditional disciplines.
Hi, I’m Oli, a new trainee in the Manchester chemistry team. Recently, I had the opportunity to attend the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys’ (CIPA’s) Manchester conference. This was a great chance, so early in my training, to learn more about recent developments in the profession and meet colleagues in the wider community. Conveniently, CIPA was hosting the conference just round the corner from the Manchester office, so we had a good turnout despite the notorious Mancunian drizzle forcing us to raid the company umbrella supply.
The talks began with Eskil Waage from the EPO joining by video link. He’s been working on the Unitary Patent (UP) and Unified Patent Court (UPC) since 2008, so has a wealth of experience, and gave a presentation on the differences between European Patent Office (EPO) opposition and UPC revocation action. As a new starter, both sides of the talk were relatively new to me but, by narrowing the scope, he made it much more approachable than trying to cram a more general EPO vs UPC talk into 45 minutes.
Following this, we had an update from the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) in two parts. The first was a quick overview of the UKIPO’s ‘Places’ policy of regional engagement. It was good to hear that they’re keen to improve awareness and IP education beyond the capital. Then we moved on to a thorough demonstration of the ‘One IPO’ initiative to bring all of the UKIPO’s activity under a single online system. It sounds promising so far, with the patent systems hopefully rolling out in early 2024. (If anyone is interested in beta testing it, you can get involved by emailing usertesting@ipo.gov.uk).
After a break (and doughnuts!), we moved on to a talk from our very own Parminder Lally and Howard Read. The speakers gave an engaging and easy to follow update, covering recent decisions of the Boards of Appeal. This looked at a wide range of topics, from contradictory descriptions and ‘black box’ software inventions, to a case that has just entered its 20th year and may never be fully resolved. Having little previous experience of case law, I found it really helpful to have the context and reasoning behind these decisions presented in a clear way.
Finally, the deputy chief executive of CIPA, Neil Lampert, took to the stage. He talked through a variety of CIPA activities, such as engaging foreign markets post-Brexit, and pushing the government to consider IP in new trade negotiations.
Neil wrapped up in perfect time for a drinks reception. This was my first real networking opportunity since starting and it was great to connect with other trainees and mix with patent attorneys from a wide range of backgrounds.
All in all, it was a very interesting afternoon and a good introduction to the wider profession. I’m grateful for the opportunity to attend and looking forward to next year!
