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Ben Micklewright is a Deputy Director in the Intellectual Property Office’s Tribunal. He has particular responsibility for running the Patents Tribunal and the Opinions service, and sits as an inter partes hearing officer.  Ben’s career at the IPO has spanned over 25 years, joining initially as a patent examiner working in computing technologies following a PhD in physics. He has had a varied career, working in the IPO’s policy and legal teams and leading patent examination teams, including the team responsible for examining patent applications in the computing field. For some years he was in charge of the recruitment of new patent examiners. More recently, Ben led the IPO’s Legal section, which involved, amongst other things, working with the IPO’s Transformation programme in developing new services.

Alex’s current practice focusses on oral advocacy at the European Patent Office (EPO), where he is highly sought-after in the automotive/power/electronics fields.  He is part of a revered team at Dehns having an in-depth knowledge of the opposition and appeal procedure, and has acted as lead advocate for well over a hundred cases before the TBA.  Alex is retained for his specialist and expert knowledge in the more complex and high profile cases, such as those involving co-pending litigation.

Caelia is recognised as one of the patent profession’s leading experts in contentious proceedings. IAM Patent 1000 describes her as “one of the finest European attorneys, a true credit to the profession”. Bringing 30 years’ experience in IP, Caelia specialises in complex, high-stakes contentious proceedings, including multi-jurisdictional cases, before the EPO and UP. Caelia’s physics degree and an award-winning doctorate from Oxford University provide a strong foundation for her passion, and expertise in a range of technical fields, particularly MedTech and healthcare. She works closely with CEOs, IP leaders, and investors, and is trusted for her strategic, commercially astute approach.

Caelia plays an active role in the wider profession. She is an elected Council Member of CIPA, a Chair of CIPA’s UPC Committee, Chair of its Professional Development Working Group, and is an Advisory Board Member for IP Inclusive. One of the founding members of the IP Ability Committee, Caelia champions inclusion with focus on neurodiversity, strengthened from both family, and profession contexts. She chairs Kilburn & Strode’s charity fund. In between IP, bringing up her family, and as much cycling as possible, she has run a small vineyard in Kent for several years.

Jonathan is a partner at Beck Greener in London. He joined Beck Greener in 2009, having previously worked in-house for Dyson. His background is in physics, with a PhD in organic LED displays. Jonathan is a contributing author to the CIPA Black Book, the standard reference text for patent attorneys. He is a regular speaker and presenter.

Amanda Murphy, Ph.D., brings over 19 years of experience to her life sciences intellectual property practice. As a U.S. patent attorney practicing in London, Amanda focuses on developing patent filing and prosecution strategies tailored to clients’ worldwide business goals. Her practice includes patent application preparation and prosecution, pre-litigation portfolio and due diligence analyses, and contentious PTAB proceedings.

Yelena is an experienced patent attorney with technical expertise across different fields of engineering, most particularly in information technology and software, telecommunications, and AI. Being qualified in the US and in Europe, Yelena practices in both jurisdictions, focusing on patent procurement and portfolio development for a diverse range of global clients. Using her knowledge of the different legal approaches employed on both sides of the Atlantic, Yelena provides a pragmatic advice and develops creative solutions enabling businesses to meet their commercial objectives.

Yelena currently serves on the Board of Directors of the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) and is the Board liaison to the AIPLA international committees. She also is an active member of the Women in IP Group of the IP Inclusive Task Force.