Are you a Klingon or a Replicant? Do you work in IP? If so, read on

Klingons: acceptance within the IP
professions is a long and arduous Trek ...

"It takes all sorts to make a world" runs the proverb. Much the same can be said of the community of good souls who make up the community of intellectual property practitioners, owners and enthusiasts to which we all belong.  Once upon a time the IP professions were not merely dominated but almost exclusively comprised of "men in suits". Things have changed a good deal since then: a casual glance at any IP event will reveal that, in addition to men in suits, there are now men without suits, not to mention suits without men.  There is still some way to go, though: not just women and people from ethnic minorities but fictional felines, Klingons and Replicants are still struggling to break through, despite their respective good-humoured spontaneous genius, linguistic talents and superior skills. Naturally, they are accepted for what they are, but few Klingons would normally think about working for a firm of patent attorneys unless they knew other Klingons who were working happily in that milieu.

This is where the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA) and Dr Parminder Lally (a Technical Assistant, Marks & Clerk LLP) come in.  As Parminder explains:

Entering a plea ...

“Readers may be aware that CIPA has assembled a taskforce which aims to improve diversity in, and access to, the IP profession (you can read about what the taskforce is doing here). My group in the taskforce seeks to raise awareness of the IP profession among children, parents, teachers, careers advisors and university students. One of my projects is to create a series of videos featuring IP professionals from a variety of backgrounds. We want to use the videos to show young people that there is already a diverse range of people working in IP.

Even now, few Replicants
can be found in leading
IP practices

I am keen to recruit volunteers who can encourage those from less well-represented groups (e.g. women, ethnic minorities and young people from deprived areas) to consider a career in IP. We need volunteers from different backgrounds for the videos. Anyone who is working in IP as a paralegal, legal secretary, patent searcher, IPO or EPO examiner, licensing executive, technical translator, technology transfer officer, formalities staff, patent attorney, trade mark attorney, barrister, solicitor -- or anything else [This Kat wonders what the "anything else" might be] -- is welcome .

You can find further information about the project by clicking here.  If you would like to volunteer, please get in touch with me: plally@marks-clerk.com”.

Go on, says this Kat -- if you belong to a minority, have a position in an IP environment and actually do something, please get in touch with Parminder. And both she and CIPA deserve a Katpat for their efforts.

Merpel wonders if there are similar initiatives in other jurisdictions. Can anyone tell her?