Bobby, whose term of office as the 116th President of the Institute began yesterday (1 January), described it as an immense privilege and honour to be President of CIPA.
He said: “CIPA is a world-class, forward-looking Institute with a rich heritage – I stand on the shoulders of giants.”
Bobby said his top priority would be to engage actively with the entire CIPA membership and to particularly encourage the voice of industry members to be better heard.
“Industry and private practice must continue to work together closely to create and drive value using IP in different contexts,” he said.
“We must continue to work together, and with other partners, to protect and sustain the UK’s world-class IP framework – one which is balanced, robust, understood and enforceable, in support of driving innovation, jobs and economic growth.”
Bobby said he was concerned by ‘anti-IP initiatives’, such as IP waivers and compulsory licensing initiatives, that have recently emerged across the international landscape and feared that green technologies could be next in line.
He said: “Businesses cross-sector must not be disincentivised from investing in green technologies. If that were allowed to happen through, say the introduction of waivers/exceptions, everyone would lose out.
“As another priority, I therefore think it is incredibly important for us to work with government, pro-IP actors such as WIPO and other like-minded bodies to help articulate the value and importance of IP for businesses of all sizes and the wider society, through real-world examples. We must effectively counter any IP misconceptions or emotive ‘anti-IP’ arguments, backed up by hard evidence.”
Bobby said that another priority would be to continue to support CIPA’s equality, diversity, and inclusion work through tangible action – namely, through new IP Apprenticeships for different roles including IP paralegals/formalities and patent attorneys.
“At CIPA, we have started the journey in 2024, working closely with The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education, the IP Regulation Board, the Intellectual Property Office, Higher Education Institutes, and others.
“And there’s a lot more to do. There are many talented people out there, with whom we are not engaging, who may never have heard about IP or our profession, who currently don’t want or can’t afford to go to university. So, let’s give those people an equal opportunity to access and contribute to our amazing profession.”
Bobby thanked outgoing President Matt Dixon for his work throughout 2024, particularly his successful promotion of UK patent attorneys’ rights of representation at the Unified Patent Court, and congratulated Simon Wright on his election as Vice-President.
