Welcome to the Annual Report covering the 2024 membership year.
Welcome to our 2024 Annual Report. When looking back and reflecting on the successes of the previous year, it is always worth reminding ourselves what we set out to achieve. In setting the strategic priorities for the year, Council said that CIPA should be dedicated to championing and supporting innovation in the UK and fostering a culture of creativity and growth. To do this, CIPA must support its members in their pursuit of excellence and actively contribute to the development of the IP landscape nationally and internationally. I believe this is clearly evidenced in this report, which is a testament to the outstanding contributions of our volunteer members and staff.
One of our key priorities for the year was promoting the profession. Recognising that the IP landscape was changing with the advent of the Unified Patent Court (UPC), our 2024 President, Matt Dixon, led from the front in championing and promoting the UK patent attorney profession nationally and internationally. The UPC represented both opportunity and threat to the profession. The opportunity was for UK patent attorneys to embrace their rights as representatives at the new court, and this was taken up in great numbers, with CIPA ensuring members were aware of the need to register. The threat was the ever-present narrative of the UK being outside of the UPC following Brexit. This was countered brilliantly by our new UPC Committee, led by Council member Rob Jackson.
In setting its priorities, Council recognised the need for CIPA to build on its reputation as an influential and critical friend of government, established through the work on accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and bilateral trade agreements. IP occupies a position of key political importance, and we have worked hard to ensure that IP remains front and centre of innovation and economic growth. This we started through the CPTPP campaign, ensuring that the UK’s place in the European and global IP ecosystem was protected, and this continues in our work with the Department for Business and Trade. Much of our work with government operates under a non-disclosure agreement, which means we are unable to share developments with members. But rest assured that CIPA Council has a trusted relationship with government and is in a position to influence.
The government changed mid-year. CIPA has always taken a politically neutral position in its relationship with Parliament, working with parliamentarians with an interest in IP from both sides of the House. This meant that we were already well connected when the Labour Party came to power and we were quickly able to build a rapport with Feryal Clark, the Minister for AI and Digital Government, which includes the IP brief. Feryal declared at British IP Day that she had once harboured ambitions of becoming a patent attorney. It was fantastic to hear and see a Minister so clearly passionate about IP.
Another important priority for Council, and the one where I will end my introduction to this Annual Report, was continuing the work to make this a welcoming profession. Through initiatives such as IP Inclusive, much has been done to make the IP sector a diverse and welcoming place to work. Council tasked itself with building on this work, ensuring that CIPA is an equitable, diverse and inclusive professional body. Council set out its vision, which it is both timely and relevant to repeat here:
Everybody belongs here. We exist in a global, multicultural world and we want CIPA to reflect that. We want all our people – our members, our volunteers and our staff – to grow and thrive through their relationship with CIPA. Our focus on diversity and inclusion will attract talented people and will keep our people engaged and supportive of our work as a professional membership association. We will treat people fairly and equitably. We will ensure equality of opportunity for all our people. Above all, we will create an environment where all our people, regardless of background or personal circumstance, feel valued.
On a personal level, I set out my commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) by signing IP Inclusive’s Senior Leaders’ Pledge. I said that I would:
- Lead from the front and be a passionate advocate for EDI in CIPA as both a professional membership association and an employer
- Promote CIPA’s commitment to EDI, both within CIPA and externally, and lead on the delivery of CIPA’s EDI strategy, objectives, and policies
- Ensure that EDI is embedded in the leadership and governance of CIPA
- Champion EDI on CIPA Council and through the work of CIPA’s committees
- Challenge potential bias or discrimination if I encounter it in the leadership or governance of CIPA
- Talk about ‘CIPA people’ when I refer to the volunteers and employees who make CIPA tick, as I value both equally.
The Senior Leaders’ Pledge is made by the individual in terms important to them. My pledge is considerably longer than the points above; these seemed the most important and relevant to this Annual Report. I say this because everything that CIPA has achieved and will achieve is down to people, its expert volunteer members and talented staff. This is their report and it should be read in their voices; their diverse voices. In as much as this Annual Report celebrates CIPA, it celebrates the wonderful diverse people who make this one of the finest professional bodies in the country.
It is your Annual Report. Read it with pride.
Lee Davies