IP Inclusive won the Managing IP’s award for the new Corporate Social Responsibility category. IP Inclusive was founded to promote equality, diversity and inclusivity in the IP professions by organising networking events and sharing practical information.
Towards the end of last year, the organisation set up Women in IP task force to provide professional support, advice and relationship-building opportunities for women in the profession. Other task forces include IP Out in support of LGBTQI+ IP professionals and another for the BAME community.
Last year, IP Inclusive created a charter by which practitioners across the IP professions can publically declare their commitment to respect people of all faith, gender, sexuality and ethnicity. On Thursday, it was announced that IP Inclusive’s Charter for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) has now exceeded 100 signatories in the UK.
Making a difference
Heseltine Lake’s Chief Executive Lesley Evans thanked Managing IP and all volunteers involved in the initiative. Evans also encouraged the global IP community to get engage with the EDI charter and embrace their corporate social responsibility to inclusivity.
Speaking on winning the award, former CIPA President Andrea Brewster said: “It was wonderful. It affirmed everything I felt about IP Inclusive. We are starting to gain recognition and get some awareness.”
She added: “This is even more significant because the MIP Awards is not just focused on one side of IP, like patents, the sector that I am from but it covers all parts including the non-contentious and litigation side. It shows that we are getting traction across the full range of professions.”
Special recognition also went to Richard Hart from Infineum, who received the Outstanding Achievement award for his long-standing involvement with the EPO Enlarged Board of Appeal regarding the rights of patent applications and issues of partial priority. Hart’s contributions to the debate of so-called poisonous priority resulted in the EPO’s decision to grant partial priority to claimants in patent prosecution.
You can view a full list of the winners here and relive the night by using #MIPAwards. Click here to view photos from the Managing IP Global Awards.