One of the perks of this job is that I regularly speak to people who are passionate about (and very good at) what they do.
A few times a year, we are fortunate enough to be able to recognise some of those people at our awards ceremonies.
Last Thursday, April 11, was our 19th EMEA Awards, held at the London Hilton on Park Lane
This year’s Awards was our highest-attended ceremony – more than 600 guests enjoyed the evening.
This year also marked the first time that I have had the pleasure of hosting the event.
A few things stand out for me when I look back on the evening, but firstly, and most importantly, I reiterate huge congratulations to all those who won on the night as well as everyone who was nominated.
More than 250 awards were handed out for categories including ‘Impact Cases’, ‘Rising Stars’, and ‘Practitioners of the Year’.
I know from the tireless work of Managing IP’s research team that it is not an easy decision to pick even a shortlist of winners, let alone determine who should take home awards on the night.
Talent pool
The first thing that struck me was just how deep the talent pool of intellectual property professionals in EMEA was.
We know that IP struggles to be heard, particularly in corporate business, so this depth of talent should be welcomed.
On the corporate side, our in-house winners included lawyers at household names such as Ocado Group, Vodafone, and Novartis.
During the evening, we also recognised lawyers and law firms that acted on major cases at the EPO’s Boards of Appeal, the Unified Patent Court, and the Court of Justice of the EU.
Our winners helped shape and develop the law in important areas such as designs, standard-essential patents (SEPs), preliminary injunctions, and bitcoin, to name a few.
They (and all of the nominees) should be proud of the role they have played.
Meanwhile, law firms such as Hogan Lovells, Bird & Bird, Hoyng Rokh Monegier, and Bardehle Pagenberg showed why they have been, and remain, some of the top firms in the industry.
That is, of course, by no means an exhaustive list of victors.
I can’t write this article without mentioning the heroic efforts of the winners of our Lifetime Achievement Awards: Kevin Mooney, Pierre Veron, and Winfried Tillman.
All three were recognised for their efforts in shaping patent litigation in Europe, including helping to launch the UPC, which finally opened in June last year.
Making an impression
The four hours or so I was on stage seemed to fly by, and attendees remained jovial and excited throughout. I think this was an indication that a good time was had by all.
I’d also like to take this opportunity to again thank my co-host, the brilliant actor, comedian, and impressionist Ronni Ancona.
UK attendees may remember watching Ronni on TV shows such as ‘The Big Impression’. I certainly do, and it was a great honour to share the stage with her while she impersonated celebrities such as Cher and Audrey Hepburn.
I suspect many of the attendees did not imagine a world in which Hepburn and Cher would be handing them a trophy for their work on SEPs or trademark law. Nevertheless, I hope it made for an enjoyable experience.
I also hope too that my hosting was up to scratch.
I expect no sympathy when I say that this was comfortably the biggest audience I have ever spoken in front of.
But I thoroughly enjoyed it and hope that you did too.
I can’t wait to welcome you back next year and celebrate the huge impact you continue to have in this vibrant sector.
Who knows, maybe 2025 will be another record year – after all, it will be for Managing IP as we celebrate our 20th edition of these Awards!
To read more about our research methodology, along with a list of all those shortlisted for an award, click here. The full list of winners can be found here.
