Two IPs In A Pod

Two IPs in a Pod turns 4! For this anniversary episode, Lee and Gwilym are joined by the EPO’s Steve Rowan at the SCI building in Belgravia. Join them as they talk unitary patents, SMEs, description amendments and much more.

In this episode, Lee and Gwilym chat with Martin Brassell and Neil Bellamy about NatWest's innovative lending strategy for IP-rich businesses. They dive into how the bank utilizes IP assets as collateral, supported by Inngot's valuations. The conversation extends to the significance of IP valuation, how the Pandemic changed the way that IP is viewed as an asset, growing government interest with the initiative and the broader impact of scale-up businesses. Also good news, Albert is awake!

Vaccines are highly sensitive to temperature and need to be refrigerated within a very specific temperature range to be effective. Imagine how vaccine deployment could be transformed and more lives saved if the need for cold chain storage and transport could be eliminated. This week Lee and Gwilym are joined by Dr. Asel Sartbaeva, co-founder and CEO of EnsiliTech Ltd and her patent attorney Isobel Finnie, of Haseltine Lake Kempner LLP, to discuss the innovative work EnsiliTech is doing to thermally stabilise vaccines. They discuss Asel's journey in developing a silica-based solution for storing vaccines, the company's mission to eliminate vaccine spoilage and the importance of territorial coverage in patenting.

On this week's epsiode, Lee and Neil are joined by Matilda Memaripour and Ashley Tambe from the Informals Committee. They emphasise the importance of self-care sessions for trainees and announce plans for a summer fundraiser, showcasing their commitment to mental health advocacy within the organisation. Ashley also talks about his dad filing a patent...for a flying car!

We nominated sustainable dye pioneers Colorifix for a £1m Earthshot Prize. They were selected from more than 1,000 amazing environmental solutions as a finalist but narrowly missed out on the big prize. The company's founder and Chief Scientific Officer, Jim Ajioka, sat down with CEO Lee and his deputy, Neil, to discuss the history of textile and colour, Colorifix's IP journey and why Lee can't dye white leather winkle-picker shoes yellow.

This episode is perhaps a little change of pace, with Gwilym a lone host hunkering down in his local, the reigns of the podcast are taken up by two members of the upcoming Informals podcast team, Joel David Briscoe and Sophie Knott. Turning the tables on the sole pea they discuss their plans to launch a new podcast called "The IP Survival Guide" and dig into Gwilym's own career journeys, their collective experience with training and the evolution of the profession.

This week Lee and Gwilym are joined by Dr Nike Folayan MBE, a Chartered Engineer in electronics and Co-Founder of Association For BME Engineers, a not-for-profit organisation that promotes higher achievements in education and engineering, particularly among people from black and minority ethnic (BME) backgrounds. Nike chats with Lee and Gwilym about diversity and inclusion within the worlds of engineering and IP, engaging young people in the STEM sector and the issues of retaining diverse talent in the workplace.

This week Lee and Gwilym are joined by Entrepreneur, inventor and mum-of-three Lisa Hicks invented an eco-friendly solid soap dispenser after realising how many liquid soap and shampoo bottles her family were using and throwing away during COVID lockdown. Nature lover Lisa, of Monmouth, spent two-and-a-half years developing her idea and has now patented and commercialised her SNOAP dispenser – a manual soap bar grinder that dispenses the soap as a snow-like powder ready to mix with water.

This week Lee and Gwilym are joined by the UK's best-known double act in IP, Adam Williams and Andy Bartlett from the UK Intellectual Property Office. Join them as they discuss the IPO's digital transformation programme, the challenges around the international harmonisation of intellectual property law and the IPO's plans to further support innovative SMEs.

This week Lee and Gwilym are joined by Kevin Mooney, ‘architect’ of the Unified Patent Court (UPC). Kevin, a solicitor and partner at Simmons and Simmons, shared his extensive involvement in the UPC project. Hear about the challenges faced, the potential impact of the UPC on local German divisions, and the UK's position in relation to the UPC agreement.

Join Lee and Gwilym as they welcome Immediate Past President of CIPA, Daniel Chew, back to the podcast. Hear about his globe-trotting year as President, from traveling to the USA and Asia to promote the UK profession, to rubbing shoulders with celebrities at the esteemed Earthshot Prize Awards in Singapore, where CIPA nominees were among the finalists.

What's at the top of of the news agenda for one of the top IP journalists in the UK? Gwilym and stand-in host Neil Lampert chat with Max Walters, of Managing IP, about patent quality at the EPO, standard essential patents, Natwest using IP as collateral for loans and the impact of AI on patent firms.

Join Lee and Gwilym and their guest Head of Volunteer Recruitment for the Access Project, Jessica James. The Access Project sees access to Higher Education as one of the best levellers in our society. Their mission outlines that it is one of the best ways to enable talented young people to overcome the barriers and special inequalities they face, and reach their potential.

How can we turn the political rhetoric about Britain becoming a science superpower into reality? Hosts Lee Davies and Gwilym Roberts speak with Sharon Todd, Chief Executive of the Society of Chemical Industry (SCI) and Charlotte Crowhurst, Chartered Patent Attorney and Member of the SCI’s Board of Trustees, about accelerating science out of the lab. Unlike tech companies, which can often turn profits quickly, science businesses take a long time to develop and scale - and often need an extensive patent portfolio. The SCI has launched a manifesto calling for a more comprehensive, long-term commitment to support science start-ups and attract investment. If the Government grasps this, the SCI says there is an opportunity to generate an additional £230Bn GVA for the UK economy and 240,00 new jobs in the life science and cleantech sectors.

How can we turn the political rhetoric about Britain becoming a science superpower into reality? Hosts Lee Davies and Gwilym Roberts speak with Sharon Todd, Chief Executive of the Society of Chemical Industry (SCI) and Charlotte Crowhurst, Chartered Patent Attorney and Member of the SCI’s Board of Trustees about accelerating science out of the lab. Unlike tech companies which can often turn big profits quickly, science businesses take a long time to develop and scale - and often need a big patent portfolio. The SCI has launched a manifesto calling for a comprehensive, long-term commitment to support science start-ups and attract investment. If this is grasped by Government, the SCI says there is an opportunity to generate an additional £230Bn GVA for the UK economy and 240,00 new jobs in the life science and cleantech sectors.

The Pubcast is back! Lee and Gwilym are in The Lamb London with guest Sarah Rodriguez, who is a qualified patent attorney in the US, the UK, and Europe. Over some drinks, Sarah discusses case law, the inventive step and the differences between the jurisdictions.

The next episode from the Pubcast sees Lee and Gwilym joined by Annemarie Parsons in The Lamb London. Annemarie is the Director of Paralegals at Murgitroyd and Chair of the CIPA IP Paralegal Committee. Annemarie chats with Lee and Gwilym about her personal career progression, the evolution of paralegals from an administrative role to a recognised legal profession and the qualifications and exams offered by CIPA.

In this episode of Two IP's in a Pod, Lee and Gwilym engage in a captivating conversation with Otto English, the pseudonymous persona of the talented writer and journalist Andrew Scott. The focus of their discussion revolves around Otto's insightful book, 'Fake Heroes,' delving into the intricate fabric of origin stories and the veneer of heroism in today's society.

Where would the intellectual property system be without research and development? A strong R&D sector is a critical component of a successful innovation economy and public support for R&D is essential to ensure that politicians continue to fund it. Lee and his deputy, Neil, are joined by Dr Ben Bleasdale, of the Campaign for Science and Engineering (CaSE) to discuss his work with the public and politicians to promote the importance of R&D and future collaboration between CIPA and CaSE.

We made it to a century...not out! Join hosts Lee and Gwilym as they celebrate their 100th episode in the pub with special guest, CIPA Vice-President Matt Dixon. Tune in for an insightful conversation as Matt shares his priorities for his year as President, including his determination to put a UK stamp on the Unified Patent Court and to challenge any attempts to erect barriers to qualification as a European Patent Attorney.