29 July 2020

AIPPI UK members participated in a virtual round table attended by over 50 IP professionals, under the auspices of IP Inclusive.

Those at the meeting agreed statements of principle, by which it was felt the UK’s IP professions should stand together in support of racial and ethnic equality.  The group will now agree some commitments to action, which will be published shortly, and will work together to turn those commitments into positive change.

19 June 2020

Dear Members,
Like many around the world I have been watching events unfold in the US, the tragic death of George Floyd and the resulting civil unrest.  On a personal level, I have been shocked both by humanity’s continuing failure to uphold values of equality under the law, and by the injustice of denying fellow citizens the same basic rights we should all enjoy.  
It is clear to me that change is long overdue and that the current momentum of movements in support of racial equality and inclusion is an opportunity to effect real change, on both sides of the Atlantic.
AIPPI UK is part of the global AIPPI organisation, an international group with 9,000 or so members from over 125 countries worldwide.  It is a truly global family of IP professionals whose work focusses on the harmonisation of laws internationally and, as such, the full and equal inclusion of people from all communities is central to our work and message.  
On behalf of AIPPI UK, I want to express our solidarity with the black, Asian and minority ethnic communities in their struggle against systemic inequality and racism both within and beyond the UK. 
AIPPI UK members are from all of the IP professions. Our members are from many different backgrounds, nationalities and experiences. We support equality, diversity and inclusivity across the board, but current events call on us to re-examine our individual and collective track records, to recognise that not enough has been done, and to take action. AIPPI UK is fully committed to improving under-representation, and we will actively work towards identifying and removing discrimination and racism wherever it occurs.
With best wishes,
Sara

9 June 2020

The 2020 Congress in Hangzhou, Eastern China has been postponed until 17-20 October 2021.  The official site is here and more information will be added to it as it becomes available.

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The UK Group has started to work on the Study Questions which can be found here.  The topics include Inventorship in the context of AI; Descriptive use as a defence in Trade Marks; Rights in data; and Standing to sue and its effect on remedies.

15 September 2019

The Council and Events Committee of AIPPI UK are focussed on the Annual Congress which is taking place in London and have not put on any other events for members since July. However, a full program of events is being planned, which in the next few months may include:

A talk by a prominent member of the judiciary
Another event on the topic of Artificial Intelligence
A talk on Procedure, to cover recent procedural changes, including practice under the disclosure pilot scheme (CPR PD 51U)
A talk on Remedies
A round-up of the year's patent cases

Meanwhile, we hope that everyone enjoys the Congress!

19th July 2019

AIPPI United Kingdom noted with great sadness the passing of Sir Henry Carr.  Henry was a formidable advocate and respected judge, and he was a trusted colleague and friend of many in the IP world.  He was generous with his time and encouraged and supported many in IP. He was a man of great charm and lively wit.  He will be much missed by us all. 

January 2019

A report on our activities in 2018 has been sent to all members and a copy can be found here.

6 February 2018

2017 was another great year for AIPPI UK.  See the letter from our President listing the events and activities here.

16 January 2018

Booking is now open for the 2018 Congress on September 23-26.  A reduced early bird package is available until 25 March.  See the Congress Website.

October 2017

The resolutions debated and made at the 2017 Congress in Sydney are here.

March 2017

Booking is now open; the congress dates are 13-17 October 2017.

The questions being studied are

• Patentability of computer implemented inventions

• Bad faith in trade marks

• Protection of GUIs

• Quantification of monetary relief

Details are in the study guidelines.

16 September 2016

AIPPI's World Congress opens in Milan today.  The Study Questions, which form the focus of the Congress, look at added matter in patents, a very timely session on linking and making available on the internet, requirements for the protection of designs, and security interests over IP.  Around 90 UK delegates are attending.

1 January 2016

AIPPI has released the study questions for consideration at its annual Congress in Milan in September 2016.  The UK group will be considering the questions at its Workshop on 2 February 2016.

4 September 2015

Our Autumn programme of events is now available and we are taking bookings.

7 September 2015

Our AGM will be held on 16.09.2015 at 5.45pm at Bird & Bird LLP, 15 Fetter Lane, London EC4A 1JP.

30.03.2015

Report of SPC Rapid Response event from March 2015.

26.4.2015

We are now taking RSVPs for our Annual Garden Party. 

15.09.2014

Ari Laakkonen from the UK Group has been elected as Assistant Reporter General to the main group of AIPPI.