Michael works together with attorneys, intellectual property firms and departments around the world to help them realize their business development goals. He has specialized in delivering business opportunities in the IP legal field with both clients and associates around the world since 2003, establishing BDforIP in 2015. He has a proven track record in international sales, account management, and business development, as well as strong client-facing skills, experience at dealing at all levels of an organisation and identifying business opportunities.  Specialties: Business Development Mentorship / Client Retention / Client Growth / Soft Skills Training / Business Networking

Dr Bobby Mukherjee, Chief Counsel, IP & Technology Law – BAE Systems plc and Past President (2012-2014) of the IP Federation. He was the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA) President for 2025. He previously served and currently sits on CIPA Council, and chaired the CIPA Internal Governance Committee in its formative stage.

Bobby is a qualified UK and European patent attorney with over 28 years’ experience of IP gained in private practice and at BAE Systems plc. He is currently the Head of IP (2009 -) at BAE Systems plc (a FTSE 30 company), which has one of the largest in-house IP teams in the UK.

Bobby has been named a Corporate IP Star by Managing Intellectual Property every year since 2015.

Dr Coreena Brinck has over 20 years of experience as a UK and European patent attorney. For much of her career as a patent attorney she worked in-house in the communications industry holding senior roles at both British Telecommunications and Nokia Technologies. She returned to private practice in 2017.

Coreena currently works as a fractional head of intellectual property for a Swedish artificial general intelligence start-up and part-time in private practice as a patent attorney consultant for Two-IP Ltd where she mostly handles interdisciplinary and/or complex systems technology involving computer implemented inventions, and some optical and green tech related technology. She is an NED IP advisor for an EV charging cable management company and is a cofounder of The Brinck Sanders consultancy which offers support and advice to firms and individuals adapting to AI in their workplace.

When not working, Coreena likes to relax in the garden with her two dogs and her husband.

With a background in Computer Science and software engineering, Anita is a dual-qualified European and UK Chartered Patent Attorney with more than 20 years of in-house experience in Big Tech at IBM and the luxury automotive sector at Group Lotus.

Now at Caldwell Law, one of America’s fastest growing private companies for the past five years running, she brings deep, practical expertise in protecting and commercializing innovation in fast-moving, complex technical fields, including Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity, and Data. At Caldwell, Anita works closely with engineering, legal, and commercial teams to build and execute effective IP strategies as well as with investors and target companies on IP aspects of M&A and Corporate deals.

Anita is actively involved in a number of give-back initiatives in the wider IP professions relating to inclusion and Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts & Maths (STEAM) careers.

Darren Smyth is a UK and European Patent Attorney, and was the head of EIP’s chemistry practice group EIP Elements until 2023.  He now holds the position of Head of Knowledge, and is known as an authoritative commentator on IP issues, having been a regular contributor to the IPKat weblog and the Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice, and contributing the UPC reports to the CIPA Journal.  His practice is now heavily focussed on contentious work including EPO oppositions and UPC litigation.

Darren has a masters degree in chemistry and DPhil in synthetic organic chemistry from the University of Oxford, and worked in Japan for two years at the Tokyo Institute of Technology before entering the patent profession.  Darren is an honorary professor at Queen Mary, University of London, where he teaches the Certificate and Masters courses aimed at trainee patent and trade mark attorneys.

Darren serves on the committee of IP Out, the LGBTQ+ community group within the IP Inclusive initiative in the UK Intellectual Property professions, and was a speaker at its inaugural event.  He is the convenor of the EIPride group within EIP.

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.