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Alexandra is a Partner at Venner Shipley LLP, and Chair of CIPA’s Congress Committee. She specialises in patent drafting and patent prosecution of computer-implemented inventions and associated hardware, with a particular focus on the use of software and sensing data for control of autonomous vehicles and electrical switching devices. She also has extensive experience with semiconductor technology, particularly for use in consumer electronics and photovoltaic cells. She is passionate about the environment and keenly interested, both personally and professionally, in the development of green/clean/sustainable technology.

Andrea is a Chartered Patent Attorney and a former CIPA President. In the past she has served on the Institute’s governing Council and several of its committees.

Before her retirement she was a partner in a small regional IP practice, Greaves Brewster LLP, of which she had been a co-founder.

Andrea established IP Inclusive in 2015 to promote equality, diversity, inclusion (EDI) and wellbeing throughout the UK’s IP professions. Alongside many enthusiastic volunteers, she has developed the initiative into a well-connected and influential player in the IP sector. She became its first Lead Executive Officer in 2019.

Sarah Rodriguez is qualified as a patent attorney in the United States, the United Kingdom, and in Europe. She works mainly on patent prosecution in electrical fields including circuit design, nanotechnology, semiconductor devices, medical devices, software applications, signal processing, mechanical structures, optical devices, and communications.

Matt Dixon is the Immediate Past President of the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA) and Executive Chair at Beck Greener LLP.

Passionate about building motivated teams backed by efficient systems to grow successful businesses, Matt has held significant leadership positions in several notable UK patent and trade mark firms. For over 15 years, he has been a prominent member of the Council of the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys, the UK’s largest membership organisation in the field of intellectual property, serving as CIPA’s elected President in 2024. On behalf of CIPA he has actively promoted the capability of UK patent attorneys to represent before the Unified Patent Court (UPC) and has provided evidence to UK Government regarding support for innovative SME businesses.

Matt’s technical expertise covers the broad fields of physics, engineering, electronics and software, working with companies in sectors as diverse as medical devices, wind turbines, robotic vehicles, online gambling, telecommunications security and air conditioning systems. In addition to providing commercially focused IP strategy advice, he has also represented major multi-national corporations in multi-party Opposition and Appeal proceedings before the European Patent Office, particularly in the field of medical devices, such as absorbent products, negative pressure wound therapy, auto-injectors and super-resolution fluorescence microscopy. Recently, Matt has represented clients before the Central Division of the UPC in Paris.

Prior to joining Beck Greener, Matt worked Of Counsel for an Aberdeen-based start-up patent practice, supporting the founder with the growth of the business. He has led the London office and the Engineering team of one of the UK’s largest IP firms. He founded the London office of a new IP practice with an innovative business model based entirely on fixed fees. He trained and qualified at one of the UK’s most respected patent and trade mark practices, becoming a partner in that firm’s Munich office.

Kevin Fournier is a European patent attorney and a US patent attorney, as well as a US qualified lawyer.  He was formally a USPTO Examiner, an outside IP counsel in the US, and an IBM IP lawyer/patent attorney for many years, where he developed considerable expertise in IP business transactions such as patent licensing, collaboration agreements and technology services/consulting agreements.  He is currently practising IP law in his own solo law firm, helping technology clients with a wide range of IP legal matters.

Alexandra is a Partner at Venner Shipley LLP, and Chair of CIPA’s Congress Committee. She specialises in patent drafting and patent prosecution of computer-implemented inventions and associated hardware, with a particular focus on the use of software and sensing data for control of autonomous vehicles and electrical switching devices. She also has extensive experience with semiconductor technology, particularly for use in consumer electronics and photovoltaic cells. She is passionate about the environment and keenly interested, both personally and professionally, in the development of green/clean/sustainable technology.