Brilliant inventions, fresh product designs, iconic brand names and artistic creativity are not only the building blocks of successful business - they deliver a better world for us all. But these valuable forms of intellectual property must be protected in order to flourish. We are the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys - the UK's largest intellectual property organisation. Our hosts Lee Davies and Gwilym Roberts chat with entrepreneurs, creatives, patent attorneys and the occasional judge about how patents, trade marks, designs and copyright can improve our lives and solve problems for humanity.
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October 23, 202625 min
🍺 Oktoberfest 2025: Strategic IP, AI and Global Patent Challenges
Send us Fan Mail In this episode, recorded at Oktoberfest 2026, hosts Lee Davies and Gwilym Roberts are joined first by Anna Heindler from Roche, who shares insights into strategic IP management, the Unified Patent Court (UPC) and the opportunities and limitations of AI in patent search and infringement detection. This is followed by Tim Pohlmann from LexisNexis, who explores standard essential patents (SEPs), patent risks associated with connected medical devices, and the challenges of global patent litigation and licensing.
October 21, 202618 min
Oktoberfest Special: Automotive Patent Risks
Send us Fan Mail Recorded at BMW Welt in Munich last year, hosts Lee Davies and Gwilym Roberts are joined by Ken from LOT Network and Luiza from Aumovio to explore the latest developments in the Unified Patent Court (UPC), growing concerns around non-practising entities (NPEs), and the evolving patent risks facing the automotive industry. They discuss how connected technologies and software-defined vehicles are changing the IP landscape, and what in-house teams need to know to manage risk and prepare for the challenges ahead.
October 14, 202637 min
CIPA Elections
Send us Fan Mail Listen to our special CIPA Elections Podcast , featuring Gwilym Roberts and Debbie Slater , as they introduce themselves as prospective Presidents for 2028. Hosted by Lee Davies, CIPA Chief Executive , the podcast gives members the opportunity to hear directly from Gwilym and Debbie about their experience within CIPA and the wider profession, their priorities, and their perspectives on the future of the Institute.
August 27, 202640 min
A Conversation with Eamon Chawke: The Changing World of IP
Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Two IPs in a Pod, Lee Davies and Gwilym Roberts are joined by Eamon Chawke, an IP lawyer whose career has taken him from financial and commercial law into intellectual property and ultimately to becoming a co-owner of boutique IP firm Briffa. Eamon shares his journey into IP and his commitment to making intellectual property more accessible to creatives and small businesses, discussing everything from trademarks, designs and contracts to brand disputes and bullying. The conversation also explores how Brexit and COVID created new opportunities for businesses and brands, and how the role of an IP lawyer is evolving as social media, PR, data protection, AI and datasets become increasingly important to clients.
August 12, 202645 min
Previewing CIPA Congress 2026
Send us Fan Mail In this special preview episode, Gwilym Roberts is joined by Alexandra Collingwood-Pierce and Greg Corcoran to look ahead to CIPA Congress 2026 . Together, they explore the key issues shaping this year’s programme, from sustainable IP and AI to regulation, commercialisation and the changing global landscape of innovation. They also discuss what attendees can expect from the Manchester programme and why this year’s Congress is about more than CPD. It is a chance to explore the future of the patent profession and the issues that will shape it.
August 6, 202642 min
Design Law Problems and Plumbing Disasters with Matthew Ridley
Send us Fan Mail In another Pubcast from the archives, Lee and Gwilym chat with Matthew Ridley about what happens when a system built for speed meets modern online marketplace takedowns, where a registration number can trigger removals that feel like an instant injunction. We start with the human side, discussing how Matt found the patent attorney profession, what the UK exams taught him compared with the EQEs, and why design work can be such a mental shift from patents. From there, we move into the policy work Matt does as chair of CIPA’s Designs and Copyright Committee, including why Brexit-era changes pulled practitioners closer to UKIPO engagement. The heart of the conversation is the current UK design law tension, where minimal examination keeps registered designs accessible, but also leaves the register open to weak or bad-faith filings. We talk through practical reforms that keep costs low while reducing abuse, and the controversial topic of criminal sanctions. If you care about UK intellectual property, design protection, UK IPO practice, and the real-world impact of enforcement tools online, this one is for you. Subscribe, share with a colleague, and leave us a review so more people can find the show.
July 24, 202622 min
Building A Podcast Theme Tune
Send us Fan Mail This episode has been pulled from the archive of the 2025 Pubcast which, thanks to the help of AI, has been salavaged into something listenable! Theme music is a vital part of every podcast you listen to every single week, so it has to do more than fill silence! Lee and Gwilym sit down with Gwilym's son, Billy Roberts - the person behind our intro, and ask him to show us how it’s actually made. We get into the real craft of DIY music production in Logic Pro and GarageBand: layering multiple guitar takes, stacking piano and string parts, using MIDI instruments that sound surprisingly “real,” and shaping harmony. The conversation returns to what we can’t ignore on an intellectual property podcast: copyright and licensing for commissioned music. If someone makes your podcast theme tune, who owns it, what rights are implied, and what happens when a friendly favor turns into something valuable? If you care about podcast branding, original intro music, music production workflow, and the IP basics that protect creators and hosts, you’ll get a lot out of this one.
July 9, 202656 min
Toy Story & Pixar: The IP Story
Send us Fan Mail Lee Davies and Gwilym Roberts speak to Rob Stumbles and Pete Salder from Reddie & Grose about how Pixar evolved from a struggling computer graphics start-up into the studio behind Toy Story. They explore the patents, licensing deals, Steve Jobs' investment, and ground-breaking technology that kept the company alive long enough to change animation forever.
June 12, 202648 min
Retirement Identity Reset
Send us Fan Mail Retirement looks simple on paper until you realize you’re not just leaving a job, you’re leaving an identity. Lee and Gwilym sit down with Rob Williams, a former partner and co-head of IP at Bird and Bird who retired at 56 and retrained as a retirement coach, to talk about what actually makes the transition hard for high-performing professionals in intellectual property, law, and patent work. They discuss the non-financial side of retirement planning: the “role loss” that can hit when status and self-worth have been tied to your work for 30 years, the assumptions people make about the honeymoon phase, and why many smart, capable people still feel unsettled after the celebrations and travel wear off. Rob shares a practical framework for designing a fulfilling retirement built around purpose, achievement, community, and direction, plus why “retirement” doesn’t always mean stopping work. They also talk about the part people avoid: relationships. Partners, adult children, and grandkids may have their own expectations about your time, and mismatched assumptions can create tension unless you communicate early. Subscribe for more conversations at the intersection of IP careers and real life, share this with someone who’s starting to think about their next chapter, and please leave a review so more people can find the show.
June 4, 202633 min
Behind the Headlines: James Nurton on IP Journalism
Send us Fan Mail Recorded at INTA, this episode sees Lee Davies and Gwilym Roberts sit down with veteran IP journalist James Nurton to explore the evolution of intellectual property reporting over the past three decades. From the transition from print publications to digital-first media, James shares insights into the challenges of breaking news in the IP sector, the growing importance of analysis and context, and the realities of maintaining exclusivity in an age of instant information sharing. The conversation also covers effective interviewing techniques, memorable industry scoops, handling confidential sources, and the enduring value of thoughtful journalism, offering a fascinating perspective on how IP news shapes understanding across the global intellectual property community.
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