Midlands Regional Meeting 2026

Audience

All

Thursday 25 June

12:30 - 13:30 - Registration & Networking Lunch

13:30 - 13:40 - Introduction from the chair

Speakers

Vicki Salmon, CIPA Vice President, Impact IP

Vicki Salmon, CIPA Vice President, Impact IP

Vicki Salmon is a solicitor and UK and European patent attorney, patent attorney litigator and UPC representative. She began her career with Mewburn Ellis, before moving through city law firms and back to patent attorney practices. She is now a co-founder of Impact Intellectual Property LLP, which started in September 2021.

Her work includes advising clients on all forms of IP protection, from strategy and filing, through clearance, disputes and exploitation.

Vicki is Vice President and member of Council. She has chaired the Internal Governance Committee, Education Committee, Litigation Committee and Congress Steering Committee. She is also a member of the Patents Committee, the Internal Governance Committee, the Small Practice Committee, and the Public Affairs Committee. She is a contributor to the CIPA Guide to the Patents Act. As chair of litigation committee, Vicki worked on the development of the UPC with the other UK and EU professions, which involved many meetings with the IPO and appearances in front of Parliamentary select committees.

When not working, she might be found upside down on her yoga mat, on the golf course or, in the summer, listening to outdoor opera.

13:40 – 14:25: Understanding Utility Models and Their Role in Intellectual Property Strategy

Session Information
Speakers

This session provides an overview of Utility Models, including where they can be pursued, what can be protected, and their lifespan. The presentation delves into more detail with respect to German and Spanish Utility Models, with a focus on how they can be used strategically alongside patent protection, the costs associated with German and Spanish Utility Models, and the format of oppositions against these rights.

Olivia Murray, Boult Wade Tennant LLP

Olivia Murray, Boult Wade Tennant LLP

Olivia Murray is a European and UK Patent Attorney at Boult Wade Tennant. She works on patent drafting and prosecution, and assists with Oppositions at the EPO. Olivia obtained her Masters in Chemistry at the University of Oxford before starting her career as a Patent Attorney almost nine years ago. She advises clients across a range of sectors including life sciences, pharmaceuticals, petrochemicals, food and beverage, battery technology, polymers and materials. Recently, Olivia has worked on German and Spanish Utility Models, gaining knowledge of their lifecycle and the potential strategic advantages of these often overlooked rights.

14:25 – 15:10: Update on AI Patenting Following Emotional Perception UKSC Judgement and USPTO Changes

Session Information
Speakers

In the second half of 2025, several initiatives from the USPTO’s Director Squires changed USPTO practice on AI patentability. On 2 February, the EPO pre-published the 2026 version of its Guidelines for Examination. On 11 February, the UK Supreme Court handed down its judgment for Emotional Perception AI Ltd’s application relating to an artificial neural network for recommending media files. We will discuss the UKSC judgment and provide a status report on UK IPO implementation, and discuss the US developments, and briefly refer to the 2026 EPO Guidelines. If time allows, we will take a quick look at case law on sufficiency of description for some AI cases.

Mike Jennings, Venner Shipley

Mike Jennings, Venner Shipley

Mike is a Partner and European and UK Patent Attorney at Venner Shipley LLP. This follows the combination of Venner Shipley and AA Thornton in December 2024, which created the current team of 230 IP specialists operating from 6 UK offices plus Munich and Madrid. Mike is Vice Chair of CIPA’s Computer Technology Committee and a member of the CIPA AI Committee. Mike’s work covers a wide range of technologies including computer-related inventions (such as AI, quantum computing, computer simulation and modelling software, imaging, hardware and networks) and using his background in physics for measurement, sensing and instrumentation. He is often praised by clients for his commercially-relevant strategic advice and for resolving their most complex legal challenges. Mike is an invited member of the Standing Advisory Committee before the EPO, advising on their Guidelines and Quality, and is frequently invited by CIPA to present to IP associations on topics such as best practice for patenting AI and other rapidly evolving technologies.

15:10 – 15:40: Refreshment Break

15:40 – 16:25: Career Architecture in the IP Profession: Why Progression Often Feels Opaque

Session Information
Speakers

How does career progression in the IP profession really work – particularly beyond qualification? Many attorneys find that while the early stages of their careers are relatively well-defined, senior progression can be far less visible and harder to navigate.

Drawing on over 25 years’ experience across private practice, in-house roles and building IP businesses, alongside extensive conversations with attorneys at different career stages, this session will examine how career pathways in the profession are structured, communicated and experienced, and why progression can feel increasingly opaque at more senior levels.

The session will also reflect on insights from the 2025 Women in IP: Career Guidance survey, which highlights recurring challenges around visibility of promotion criteria, access to sponsorship and mentoring, and clarity of alternative career routes. It will consider how different organisational models approach career development, and the potential implications for retention, diversity and the long-term sustainability of the profession.

Finally, the session will touch on emerging approaches aimed at improving transparency and navigation of career pathways, including structured frameworks, mentoring programmes and digital tools, as well as the potential impact of the IPReg Education Review on post-qualification development.

Dr Anna Molony, Two IP

Dr Anna Molony, Two IP

Anna Molony is a UK and European Patent Attorney with over 25 years’ experience across private practice, in-house roles and IP-led businesses, including founding and growing two patent firms and establishing an in-house patent function within a venture-backed technology company. She is Co-Founder of Two IP, a modern IP firm built around a fee-share consultancy model, enabling experienced patent and trade mark attorneys to build their own practices within a structured, supported environment. Through both her own career and her work with senior attorneys across the profession, she has developed a particular interest in how career pathways in IP are structured and experienced, including the factors that influence progression, visibility and long-term career sustainability.

16:25 – 17:10: Developments at the EPO and epi

Session Information
Speakers

This session will go through changes in the EPC Rules and Procedures, review the recent Enlarged Board of Appeal cases and report on the most recent epi Council Meetings

Chris Mercer, CIPA Council

Chris Mercer, CIPA Council

Chris Mercer joined the patent profession in 1975 and passed the UK Finals exams in 1979. For the majority of his career, Chris was either a partner or a consultant for Carpmaels & Ransford, with a large practice in oppositions and appeals at the EPO and litigation before the UK courts. Chris is a member of Council for CIPA and is also on a number of CIPA committees, including the Education, Patents and Litigation Committees. He is also on epi’s Council and on various epi Committees and was a founding member of EPLIT. Chris is a former president of both CIPA and epi. He appeared as an advocate in a Moot Court event in 1977.

17:10 – 17:20: Closing Remarks from the Chair

Speakers

Vicki Salmon, CIPA Vice President, Impact IP

Vicki Salmon, CIPA Vice President, Impact IP

Vicki Salmon is a solicitor and UK and European patent attorney, patent attorney litigator and UPC representative. She began her career with Mewburn Ellis, before moving through city law firms and back to patent attorney practices. She is now a co-founder of Impact Intellectual Property LLP, which started in September 2021.

Her work includes advising clients on all forms of IP protection, from strategy and filing, through clearance, disputes and exploitation.

Vicki is Vice President and member of Council. She has chaired the Internal Governance Committee, Education Committee, Litigation Committee and Congress Steering Committee. She is also a member of the Patents Committee, the Internal Governance Committee, the Small Practice Committee, and the Public Affairs Committee. She is a contributor to the CIPA Guide to the Patents Act. As chair of litigation committee, Vicki worked on the development of the UPC with the other UK and EU professions, which involved many meetings with the IPO and appearances in front of Parliamentary select committees.

When not working, she might be found upside down on her yoga mat, on the golf course or, in the summer, listening to outdoor opera.

17:20 – 19:00: Drinks Reception with Canapés

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