IP firm founder on Hamlet, yoga, and the power of patents

Managing IP is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 1-2 Paris Gardens, London, SE1 8ND

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2025

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

IP firm founder on Hamlet, yoga, and the power of patents

Volkan Five mins2.jpg

Volkan Hamamcıoğlu joins us for our ‘Five minutes with’ series to discuss meditation, tackling deadlines, and taking inspiration from Hamlet

Welcome to the latest instalment of Managing IP’s ‘Five minutes with’ series, where we learn more about intellectual property practitioners on a personal and professional level. This time we meet Volkan Hamamcıoğlu, founder of InPera IP in Turkey

Someone asks you at a party what you do for a living. What do you say?

I’d say I’m a patent attorney. I help inventors protect their inventions and turn their ideas into something legally secure.

Talk us through a typical working day.

I try to start the day with a bit of movement – either a walk or a pilates session. Over breakfast, I catch up on the news. In the mornings, I usually take care of tasks that don’t require deep focus. Then in the afternoon, I block out around four uninterrupted hours for more demanding, concentration-heavy work.

What are you working on at the moment?

One of my clients has unknowingly infringed a competitor’s patent, so I’m conducting an invalidity search to see if there are grounds for challenging that patent.

Does one big piece of work usually take priority, or are you juggling multiple things?

If you’d asked me this before I discovered meditation and yoga, I would’ve proudly said I juggle lots of things at once. But over the past few years, I’ve come to realise that multitasking just doesn’t work for me. I now try to focus on one meaningful task at a time.

What is the most exciting aspect of your role, and what is the most stressful?

The most stressful part is definitely the deadlines, though I must admit, I tend to become strangely productive when the pressure is on!

What excites me most is helping clients during patent disputes. Seeing things resolved and knowing I played a part in that is incredibly rewarding.

Tell us the key characteristics that make a successful IP lawyer/practitioner.

If you put the world’s top ten patent attorneys in a room and give them the same invention, you’d probably end up with ten different specifications. Our work is all about playing with language, so I’d say a love of literature is one of the most important qualities for success in this field.

What is the most common misconception about IP?

The most common misconception is that patents don’t offer strong protection. In reality, when drafted and managed by the right professionals, a patent can be one of the most powerful tools for safeguarding innovation.

What or who inspires you?

My greatest inspiration is Sertaç Köksaldı – the person who hired me at Beko and mentored me in my early career. Sadly, we lost him far too soon and unexpectedly. His influence continues to guide me every day.

If you weren’t in IP, what would you be doing?

I’d be a screenwriter or a director. Cinema is my true passion; it’s a big part of who I am.

Any advice you would give your younger self?

Spend more of your free time reading and staying active, because later in life, finding time for yourself will become much harder.

What is your motto in life?

Ophelia approaches Hamlet and asks, “My lord, what are you reading?” He replies, “Words, words, words.” That line has always stayed with me. It captures so much about how I see the world and my work.

more from across site and SHARED ros bottom lb

More from across our site

Partner Ginevra Righini explains how she secured victory for the Comité Champagne in its fight against an EUTM application for ‘Nero Champagne’
A $110 million US verdict against Apple and an appellate order staying a $39 million trademark infringement finding against Amazon were also among the top talking points
Attorneys are watching how AI affects trademark registrations and whether a SCOTUS ruling from last year will have broader free speech implications
Patent lawyers explain why they will be keeping an eye on the implications of a pharma case and on changes at the USPTO in the second half of 2025
The insensitive reaction to a UK politician crying on TV proves we have a long way to go before we can say we are tackling workplace wellbeing
Adrian Percer says he was impressed by the firm’s work on billion-dollar cases as well as its culture
In our latest interview with women IP leaders, Catherine Bonner at Murgitroyd discusses technology, training, and teaching
Developments included an update in the VAR dispute between Ballinno and UEFA, the latest CMS updates, and a swathe of market moves
The LMG Life Sciences Americas Awards is thrilled to present the 2025 shortlist
A new order has brought the total security awarded to a Canadian tech company to $45 million, the highest-ever by an Indian court in an IP case
Gift this article