New CIPA President Simon Wright announces his priorities for the year

Simon Wright, biotechnology and life sciences specialist, has started his year as the 117^th President of CIPA.

He said: “CIPA is a world-leading, innovative institute with a great reputation in the IP world. I take over as President with big shoes to fill.

“I want to continue to actively engage with the entire CIPA membership, and to particularly encourage SMEs to grow and thrive and focus support on small IP practices and firms. I want to reach out and engage with the smaller IP practices and visit members in these firms in 2026.

“Small and large IP practices, and industry too, all need to continue to work together to create IP, foster innovation and use IP as a serious and significant business tool.

“We must continue to collaborate with our partners to grow and maintain the UK’s world beating IP system, making IP accessible and enforceable and generate an atmosphere that can create jobs and economic value.

“We need to continue to work with government, especially the UK Intellectual Property Office, as well as other IP institutions such as the World Intellectual Property Office, to enhance the value and importance of IP for all businesses, large and small. We must resist emotive ‘anti-IP’ arguments, which are rarely supported by real-world evidence.”

Simon said he would continue to actively support CIPA’s international programme, including developing CIPA’s growing engagement with the World Trade Organization (WTO)

“I also want to deepen CIPA’s collaboration with the European Patent Institute (epi), work together on matters of mutual interest and raise the profile of the epi. This means more information to members of the work that the epi does for us,” he said.

“We must continue to support CIPA’s equality, diversity, and inclusion work and promote the new IP Apprenticeship scheme started by my predecessor, Bobby Mukherjee, last year.

Simon supports calls for the UK to rejoin the Unified Patent Court, and said that this would be another area of focus for the coming year.

He said: “There is a growing discussion within the profession, led by figures such as David Kappos, former US Under Secretary of Commerce and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office and former Court of Appeal judge, Sir Robin Jacob, on the merits of the UK rejoining the Unified Patent Court. I will support these voices during my presidency.

“Our first UPC Conference, organised the UPC Committee during 2025, was a great success and I look forward to being involved in this success being repeated in 2026.”

Simon thanked outgoing President Bobby Mukherjee for his hard work throughout 2025 and congratulated Vicki Salmon on her election as Vice-President.