We provided a full programme of webinars on a wide range of subjects aimed at both Fellow and IP Paralegal members. Across the year we provided 59 webinars and had a total of 11,884 bookings.
The Informals Committee is made up of trainee patent attorneys and provided social events, lectures, a buddy scheme, workshops and tutorials for final examination papers.
Representation on Council, the Congress Committee and the Education Committee ensured that student members were involved in all conversations about education and training. The committee assisted with preparations for our Student Conference, which was held in Birmingham, in April, covering topics such as soft skills training, exam and post-qualification guidance, PCT for EQE candidates, mental health and well-being,
The UK Qualifying Examinations for patent attorneys were delivered online for the fourth successive year by the Patent Examination Board (PEB) and, in most cases, the exams ran very smoothly.
In January 2023 the PEB Final Diploma (FD) examinations were re-accredited, subject to the PEB meeting a number of Requirements. IPReg accepted the PEB’s Accreditation Implementation Plan in May 2023. Since then, the PEB has reviewed its Constitution and Terms of Reference.
A Three-Year Operational Plan that sets out a series of projects to take PEB’s work forward was written and published. The roles of External and Chief Examiners was reviewed, as were the roles of a number of PEB committees. Examination policies and procedures were updated.
Examination prizes
In April 2023, following the publication of the 2022 PEB examination results, Council awarded the following prizes:
- The Gill Prize for the candidate achieving the highest aggregate mark in the Final Diploma examinations (FD1, FD2, FD3 and FD4): Ellis King (Dehns)
- The Strode Prize for the candidate achieving the highest mark in the FD1 examination Advanced IP Law and Practice: Rachel Challands (Venner Shipley LLP)
- The Drafting Prize for the candidate achieving the highest mark in the FD2 examination Drafting of Specifications: Harriet Bird (Dehns)
- The Moss Prize for the candidate achieving the highest aggregate mark in the FC1 and FC3 examinations UK Patent Law and International Patent Law: Mark Schuster (Marks & Clerk LLP)
- The Mike Higgins Prize for the candidate achieving the highest mark in the FC4 examination Design and Copyright Law: Matthew Philpotts (Barker Brettell LLP)
- The Ballantyne Prize for the candidates achieving the highest mark in FD4 examination Infringement and Validity: Lindsey Pike (Mathys & Squire LLP) and Naomi Higginson (Withers & Rogers LLP)
- The Keith Farwell Prize for the candidates achieving the highest mark in the FC5 examination Trade Mark Law: Mark Schuster (Marks & Clerk LLP) and Mohammed Khimji (Wilson Gunn)
- The Michael Jones Prize for the candidate achieving the highest mark in the FD3 examination Amendment of Specifications: Robert Walker (Mewburn Ellis LLP)
- The Chris Gibson Prize for the candidate achieving the highest mark in the Introductory Certificate in Patent Administration: Mark Schuster (Marks & Clerk LLP)
- The Brown Prize for the candidates achieving the highest mark in the Introductory Certificate in Patent Administration: Claire McFadyen (HGF Limited, Glasgow) and Caroline McGoldrick (HGF Limited, Glasgow)
