Dr. Laurence Aitchison is a Lecturer in Machine Learning at the University of Bristol, where his work focuses on Artificial Intelligence (AI).  He holds a PhD in Computational Neuroscience and Machine Learning from the Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit at UCL, alongside a Master’s and Bachelor’s degree from the University of Cambridge.  His extensive research portfolio includes numerous publications on Large Language Models (LLMs) in the top AI conferences: ICML, ICLR and NeurIPS. He is the founder of PatentBee an AI patent drafting startup, focusing on the BioTech and Pharmaceutical sectors.

Suzanne is a dual qualified UK and European Patent Attorney and has recently joined the Scintilla team as Director, IP Strategy. Prior to her career in Intellectual Property, she spent a number of years in engineering. Suzanne worked in-house in a tech and robotics start-up, GroundWOW, leading their IP strategy, as well as IP policy development. Previously, she was responsible for Operations, Legal, and IP at SeeChange Technologies, a wholly owned subsidiary and subsequent spin out of ARM Ltd. Prior to her work with SeeChange Technologies, Suzanne managed ARM’s global patent and trademark prosecution teams supporting a diverse portfolio of IP strategy, policy and development matters for ARM. 

In addition to her impressive professional credentials, she holds several NED and Board positions, most recently as the President of the UK IP Federation. This saw her advise the UK government in the field of innovation and IP. 

Suzanne has championed women in STEM, inclusion and diversity throughout her career, being named as an IAM ‘World Leading IP Strategist’ for 2017, and as a Managing IP ‘Corporate IP Star’ in 2018 & 2019. She was a national award winner for her Corporate Diversity and Inclusion Leadership work in 2018.

Alexander Klenner-Bajaja is a seasoned artificial intelligence expert and Head of Data Science at the European Patent Office (EPO). With a PhD in bioinformatics and a background in patent processing, he has been instrumental in developing AI-driven solutions for the EPO. His expertise spans automated classification, prior art search, neural machine translation and large language model implementation. As a program manager for AI in the strategic plan, he has played a key role in driving digital transformation and supporting the patent grant process with artificial intelligence at the EPO.

Julyan Elbro is Divisional Director in charge of Patent Examination in the Intellectual Property Office, with overall responsibility for the patents service.  In this role he wears a variety of hats, including responsibility for the part of the current project to transform the Office’s digital capability relating to patent applications and granting.  With an academic background in mathematics and computer science, he has worked at the Intellectual Property Office since 1998, originally as a Patent Examiner, but also spending some time in the Office’s Policy Directorate covering a range of portfolios including biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and the World Trade Organisation TRIPs Agreement.  He returned to patent examining in 2006 as head of the group dealing with computing inventions, before taking broader responsibility across patent examination in 2009. His current role includes responsibility for the whole application to grant process and the associated digital services in the patents area.  He is currently active in a number of international fora, notably the EPO’s Committee on Patent Law and he chairs an international working group on Substantive Patent Law Harmonisation.

Andy was recently appointed Deputy CEO and Director of Services of the UK Intellectual Property Office, the Executive Agency of UK Government responsible for the intellectual property system in the UK.

In this role, Andy is responsible for all the IPO’s registered rights functions; patents, trade marks and designs, including the associated tribunal and mediation services.  He also has responsibility for Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT) services and for delivering the One IPO Transformation Programme.

He has a wealth of leadership experience in various policy, ambassadorial and operational and programme delivery roles within IPO.  Most recently he has been leading the IPO’s Programme to transform the way it delivers services for its customers including the deployment of exponential technologies like AI.  He has had a longstanding role in initiatives to improve the international patent system including substantive patent law harmonisation and work-sharing frameworks such as the Patent Prosecution Highway.

He is a passionate advocate of the need to modernise the IP system to ensure it is optimally effective for encouraging innovation and economic growth & for delivering excellent customer service.

He joined the UK Intellectual Property Office as a patent examiner in 1990 after graduating in Physics from the University of Birmingham.

Timothy Powell is a knowledgeable patent attorney with more than 30 years’ experience of innovation protection in high-technology engineering disciplines, contested proceedings before the European Patent Office and patent litigation in the UK.

He has had extensive exposure to corporate due diligence reporting and additionally founded the firm’s dedicated team for clients in the cleantech industry. He also has considerable international expertise, and regularly presents papers on aspects of intellectual property to universities and business audiences in the UK, US, China, Korea and elsewhere. Tim has also regularly contributed to the Inside Careers Guide to Chartered Patent Agents and has published numerous papers on intellectual property subjects.

A full or substitute member of the Council of the European Patents Institute for approximately fifteen years, Tim remains active on its professional conduct and finance committees. He has for the past 18 months chaired the epi Working Group on use of AI by patent attorneys.

Iain is an experienced patent attorney who runs Russell IP; a Surrey-based patent practice specialising in helping UK-based companies protect their high-tech (e.g. AI, computer technology, telecoms) and music-tech innovations. He is the Chair of CIPA’s new AI Committee and actively tests, uses, and builds his own, AI tools for patent work. He also offers training and support (primarily to in-house patent attorneys) around risks and rewards of adopting AI in IP work.

Having graduated with a Chemistry degree and then worked as a computer programmer Andy joined Mewburn Ellis in 2011. His first role was to design and build the firms new Records Management System. He is now the firms IT Director with responsibility for all aspects of the firms IT provision. Part of this role is to help Mewburn select and embed the right AI technologies into the business.

Adam started his professional career as a private practice patent attorney before trying to escape the profession by becoming a software developer. It turns out that software companies need patent attorneys too, and Adam was sucked back into the profession as an in-house patent attorney. After several years working in telecommunications (where all the patent figures comprise a series of boxes with lines between them representing signalling flows), Adam moved to Airbus where he has been working for over six years now and where every patent application has at least one picture of an aeroplane. At Airbus Adam still handles various software IP issues, such as open source software compliance and AI licensing, alongside a broader portfolio of patent attorney responsibilities.

Komal Sharma Talwar is a globally recognized techpreneur and international keynote speaker at the forefront of Intellectual Property, Innovation, and AI. She is the Founder of
TT Consultants, a global industry leader in innovation and IP consulting, empowering global business with cutting-edge AI technology, data-driven insights, and strategic solutions, and Co-Founder of XLSCOUT, a proprietary, patented LLM-powered platform that accelerates IP innovation and monetization for leading corporations and top law
f irms worldwide.

A recipient of numerous global awards for her pioneering work in AI and IP, Komal has spoken at leading international forums including The Nikkei, the World Economic Forum (WEF),
and the United Nations in Geneva, with features in CNBC Young Turk, Forbes Japan, and The Nikkei Newspaper.

She has contributed to India’s AI policy as part of the Ministry of Commerce & Industry’s AI Taskforce and served as a member of the World Economic Forum’s Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR).

Beyond her corporate leadership, Komal actively mentors women entrepreneurs through multiple global organisations such as TiE Women and is deeply committed to advancing Women in Technology worldwide.

Greg Corcoran is a European and Chartered Patent Attorney, and UPC Representative.  He spent many years in house at a leading Dutch semiconductor equipment supplier.  There he developed and improved patent portfolios in view of existing licences, and in preparation of cross-license renegotiation that concluded after litigation.

He founded Greg Corcoran IP to bring his experience to a broader range of clients, e.g.  in fulfilling partial in-house functions or as a consultant to leading IP firms.  His practice covers a broad variety of technologies and the full patent lifecycle from invention identification to litigation and licensing support.

Greg is the Chair for Congress 2025.  He is also an active writer having had several recent publications on legal topics (e.g. G1/24) and practical matters such as the use of secrets.

Ben Hoyle brings a rare combination of technical expertise and legal experience to the discussion of AI in legal practice. A qualified UK and European Patent Attorney with over 20 years’ experience, he also runs Simibrum Limited, an AI development company, where he works hands-on creating AI systems. After studying Information Engineering at Cambridge University, Ben built a career drafting and prosecuting software and AI inventions for clients, as well as building side projects that tested out the growing developments in machine learning. Ben thus has an intimate understanding of the legal aspects of protecting AI, and the practicalities of building AI.

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.

Julio Fonseca is a Senior IP Counsel at ASML, playing a key role in the Corporate Intellectual Property department. His work focuses on maximizing ASML’s IP value to ensure the company’s technological freedom to operate and maintain market leadership. Julio specializes in contract negotiations, IP licensing, and strategic counseling for ASML’s collaborations with internal teams, suppliers, partners, customers, research institutions, and government bodies. Before ASML, he honed his expertise at top-tier law firms, assisting clients with complex contract negotiations, cross-border licensing, technology transfer, and M&A deals.

Rose is a European patent attorney at the pharmaceutical IP specialist firm Evolve Intellectual Property. Specialising in biologics, advanced therapies and AI-assisted drug development, Rose is driven by her passion for science and combining scientific knowledge with practical IP solutions.

Rose also leads Evolve’s AI strategy, including the development and adoption of Evolve’s own AI agents for pharma-IP prosecution and drafting. Evolve is focused on vertical integration of AI solutions within the firm, using purpose-built AI agents and workflows that are tailored to the unique requirements and challenges of pharmaceutical and biotech IP.

You may also know Rose from IPKat, where she shares insights on European patent law, pharmaceutical IP strategy, and the impact of AI on the patent industry.

Rachel is a Patent/IP Litigation Partner and advises on contentious intellectual property matters for clients across a broad range of sectors including, life sciences, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, chemicals, food and beverage, aviation, media and telecommunications industries. Rachel has extensive experience of litigating before the UK Patents Court, High Court and Court of Appeal. Rachel regularly advises on pan-European IP litigation strategy, including UPC litigation. Rachel is the Head of the Law Group at HGF and co-leads HGF’s UPC offering.

Christoph D Schober has been appointed to the Unified Patent Court in June 2023. His technical focus is in mechanical and process engineering.

Christoph Schober has been a partner at the Munich-based law firm Flügel Preissner Schober Seidel since 2002.

As a patent attorney, he primarily advises clients in the fields of mechanical engineering, mechatronics, electronics and information technology as well as medical technologies.

Christoph Schober’s professional activities as a patent attorney cover all areas of intellectual property, i.e. patents, trademarks and designs.

Margot Kokke holds an LLM, as well as BSc (Chemistry) and MSc (Biochemistry) degrees, all from Leiden University.

Since 2014, she has served as a (patent) judge at the District Court of The Hague.

Prior to this, she worked as an (IP) solicitor in private practice in the Netherlands and as a consultant in international settings across three continents, within the private sector and with (supra)national organisations.

James Mellor read engineering and then production engineering at King’s College Cambridge, with spells of work in Somalia, the Congo, Germany, France and Iraq before returning to King’s in 1984/5 to do the six core subjects in law.  He was called to the Bar by Middle Temple in June 1986.  After pupillage with Michael Briggs and John Baldwin, he secured a tenancy in the IP Chambers of Thomas Blanco-White QC, then at Francis Taylor Building.  Chambers moved to 8, New Square, Lincoln’s Inn in 1992.  James took silk in 2006 and became Head of Chambers in March 2018.  He was appointed an Appointed Person for Trade Marks and Designs in 2015, a Deputy High Court Judge in 2020 and to the High Court bench on 8th February 2021, being sworn in online, as one of the specialist Judges in the Patents Court.  James is currently the Judge in charge of the Shorter Trials Scheme.

Outside work, James is a keen windsurfer, skier and mountain biker, with his three sons only being interested in the latter two sports.

Caroline is a leading expert in the field of protecting Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning. A former coder, now partner in HLK’s AI team, Caroline has followed AI’s progression from expert systems, through ‘big data’, right up to the present day. Over the last few years, she has been enjoying the puzzle of writing patent applications for AI inventions at a time when the law and practice is crystallising, actively seeking to build drafting strategies and practices to future-proof applications written now, but to be examined and tested in the years to come.

Born and educated in Hong Kong with a PhD in chemistry and The only Chinese patent attorney working in a Beijing Chinese patent firm from Hong Kong.
Past co-chair of the AIPLA’s IP Practice in China committee and current co-chair of the AIPLA’s IP Practice in the Far East committee and is also Vice Chair of the Asian Practice committee of the IPO.

Trained under the UK system and took the UK CIPA examinations, and passed some of the papers. Responsible for publishing articles on China IP update for the UK CIPA Journal.

Member of AIPLA, IPO, UK CIPA and speaks several languages: Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese), English

Michelle K. Holoubek is a director in Sterne Kessler’s Electronics Practice Group. With a background in relativistic physics and computational modeling, Michelle combines her legal expertise and technical acumen to guide clients through the evolving artificial intelligence (AI)/deep-learning landscape. She is well-versed in protecting software-based innovation through holistic complements of patents, trade secrets, and copyrights, as well as securing freedom to operate for startups and Fortune 100 companies alike. Having handled hundreds of computational applications at the USPTO, patent-eligible subject matter (aka “101”) is Michelle’s special area of expertise.

Engaged in intellectual property(IP) operations and management at NTT DOCOMO BUSINESS, Inc., recognised as Japan’s largest telecommunications provider.

Qualified as a Japanese Patent Attorney with over 20 years of experience at leading technology companies, including SoftBank, Samsung Electronics’ Japan Research Institute, and NTT.

Possesses deep expertise in IP strategy development and patent filing, particularly in the field of AI, IoT, and software technologies.

Has delivered numerous lectures across Japan on patent landscape analysis, IP governance, and support for startup IP initiatives.

Completed a Master’s degree in Electronic Engineering at the University of Tokyo’s Graduate School.

Currently holds the position of Director at the Intellectual Property and Intangible Assets Governance Association (Japan).

Alasdair has an unrivalled breadth of experience across the IP professions. A science and law graduate, he originally qualified as a barrister in the late 70s before going on to qualify as a patent attorney, a solicitor and a trade mark attorney.

Alasdair worked to introduce and structure the then new professional regulator, IPReg, travelling the country as Vice-President, President and Immediate Past President to gain consensus across the profession over the implementation of the new regulatory regime.

Since then he has kept an eye on regulation while promoting UK patent attorneys’ litigation skills (including working on CIPA’s first Litigation Skills Course and representing CIPA on the IP and Intellectual Property Enterprise Court User Committees), editing the CIPA Journal, assisting in organising Congress, chairing various CIPA committees, speaking at seminars and generally working to ensure CIPA and the UK patent attorney profession both remain world class.

Professor Roya Ghafele is the founder and Managing Director of law and economics consultancy Oxfirst, ( www.oxfirst.com). Oxfirst assists clients with valuing and assessing the economic potential of intellectual property.

Additionally, Roya Ghafele is a visiting Professor in IP Law with Brunel University. She has a large number of academic papers to her name, has advised the EU on IP valuation and is an expert to  INTA’s Brand Valuation Committee and a member of CIPA’s IP Commercialisation Committee and the UKIPO’s Research Excellence Committee.  She has been a Senior Member of St Cross College of Oxford University since 2008.

Dr Ghafele held an Assistant Professorship in IP law with the University of Edinburgh, a Department Lectureship in International Political Economy with Oxford University and a Research Fellowship with the Haas School of Business, University of California at Berkeley.

In 2002 she was selected as the only Austrian in several years to represent the Republic of Austria within the United Nations. Subsequently she worked as an Economist with the U.N.’s World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), where she moved from the OECD (the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development). In this role she offered strategic advice on Intellectual Property and Competition to Governments in Europe and Asia. In 2000 she started her career with the management consulting firm McKinsey, after working for five years as a ballet dancer.

Her Ph.D. was awarded the Theodor Koerner Research Prize by the President of the Republic of Austria. Dr. Ghafele was trained at Johns Hopkins University, School of Advanced International Studies, the Sorbonne and Vienna University. During the course of her studies she was four times awarded the Vienna University Grant for Excellence in Studies. She is native in German and fluent in English, French and Italian.

Mattias Rättzén is a solicitor, New York attorney, and EU attorney specialising in AI and intellectual property, with over a decade of experience advising clients on forefront technologies worldwide. He has authored numerous articles on AI and IP, including one of the most comprehensive international reviews of text and data mining to date. In addition to his private practice work, Mattias previously represented Sweden as a delegate to WIPO in Geneva. He holds an LL.M. from Harvard Law School, a Postgraduate Diploma in Intellectual Property Law from the University of Oxford, and a jur. kand. from Lund University, and is currently undertaking part time a PhD in international AI governance at the University of Cambridge.

Dan is Director General of the Alliance for Intellectual Property, a campaign group of 23 organisations representing IP rich businesses and creators. Members include representatives of the audio visual, music, toy and games, business software, sports rights, branded manufactured goods, publishing, retailing, art, image and design sectors. They share a collective interest in ensuring that Intellectual Property (IP) rights are valued in the UK and around the world and that legislative regimes exist which enable the value and contribution of those rights to be fully realised.

Dan has 30 years’ experience advising companies in the creative industries on their engagement with Westminster, Whitehall, Brussels and the devolved assemblies. He has supported companies including global telecommunications companies, creative industry sectors, broadcasters and sports rights owners. Dan has spent the last 20 years advising companies and organisations on IP issues. He is a member of the Government’s Creative Industries Council and is Chair of its IP Group, and is also a member of the Department for Business and Trade’s IP advisory group, while sitting on a number of the Intellectual Property Office’s Expert Advisory Groups.

Simon has a Chemistry (with Biochemistry) degree from Bristol University and qualified as a UK patent attorney in 1990. He became a European Patent Attorney in 1992 while with Kilburn & Strode and joined J A Kemp in 1994. He became a partner in J A Kemp’s biotechnology group in 2005 and moved to Schlich on the south coast in January 2022.

Simon handles patent and trade mark work in a wide variety of life science, chemical and pharma fields, including stem cells, human genes and genomics, drug delivery systems, contrast agents, GM crops, algae technology and CRISPR technology. He also handles mechanical work ranging from drones to electric vehicle charging. He works for a broad variety of clients ranging from individuals, SMEs and private clients up to UK universities and biotechnology start-ups. He also acts for EU and US genomics and academic institutions.

Simon chaired CIPA’s Life Sciences Committee for 20 years and relinquished that role earlier this year. He still Chairs the epi Biotech committee. He is a member of CIPA’s Council, Patents Committee and International Liaison Committee. He is a member of epi Council and the By-Laws committee and has been selected to be a member of SACEPO.

He is currently the President of CIPA for 2026.

He enjoys wine, gigs, playing the sax, running and cycling.

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Mike is the owner and founder of Park Grove IP, and is a UK and European Patent Attorney with over 25 years of experience. Mike has particular experience and expertise in pharma-related IP issues. He is also a member of CPIA’s Life Sciences Committee.

Mike has authored articles on a range of topics and is a contributor (on SPCs) to both the CIPA Guide to the Patents Act and the European Patents Handbook. Mike is also the author of an amicus curiae for G 1/24, which argued that the legal basis for basis for claim interpretations at the EPO is found in a general principle of law, and not in Article 69 and/or Article 84 EPC.