Russell IP at CIPA Congress 2025: AI and IP
The Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA) hosted its annual Congress on 9 October 2025. This year’s meeting took place in Bristol, and the theme was “IP & AI”. The event included sessions on a wide range of AI-related topics with an intellectual property (IP) focus, including:
- The disruptive impact of AI;
- AI and the function of the Intellectual Property Office; and
- Drafting international patent applications for inventions with AI features.
CIPA Congress 2025 was fully booked, with delegates attending from many different backgrounds and areas of IP practice. Among the guests were representatives from the UK Intellectual Property Office (UK IPO), the European Patent Office (EPO), the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the judiciary, academia, in-house patent departments, and many more organisations, all helping make Congress a fascinating and thought-provoking day.
Russell IP contributions to CIPA Congress 2025
AI in Patent Attorney Office Practice
Russell IP Founder and Director Iain Russell was pleased to play a part in the proceedings as a member of the panel discussing the use of AI in patent attorney office practice. Iain was able to draw on his considerable experience trialling different AI tools (see this Russell IP blog post for more information), and provided his own perspectives on how he has adopted the epi’s AI Guidelines, whether the Guidelines stand up to real-world practice, and if and how the Guidelines could change as AI develops to introduce new challenges for IP practice. Iain’s biography on the CIPA Congress webpage gives some more information about what made Iain such a suitable speaker for this session:
Iain Russell is one of the leading voices on LinkedIn around the use of AI in IP work. He has hosted, and spoken at, several webinars and events on the topic, including on ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Risks and Rewards of using AI in IP work. He recently dedicated an entire day to testing nine different IP tools and has shared extensive insights on that initiative with the wider IP profession. He is the Chair of CIPA’s new AI Committee and is genuinely excited by the opportunities that AI will bring to the IP profession. Iain is an experienced UK and EP patent attorney, who runs Russell IP; a Surrey-based patent practice specialising in helping UK-based companies protect their high-tech (e.g. AI, computer technology, telecoms) and music-tech innovations. He also offers training and support (primarily to in-house patent attorneys) around risks and rewards of adopting AI in IP work.
Data is the New Oil
Russell IP consultant Ben Hoyle also took part in the day’s activities, as a speaker in the “Data is the new oil” session. Ben and the other panellists discussed how managing data generated by AI inventions can be as important as the inventions themselves. The panel also considered the requirements of a good data-management strategy to secure optimum IP rights and ensure other relevant requirements are met, such as complying and working with new data legislation, and balancing the development of trade secret and patent portfolios. As noted in Ben’s biography on the CIPA Congress website, he is usual among patent attorneys in how much practical experience he has using data and machine-learning systems:
Ben Hoyle brings a rare combination of technical expertise and legal experience to the discussion of AI in legal practice. A qualified UK and European Patent Attorney with over 20 years’ experience, he also runs Simibrum Limited, an AI development company, where he works hands-on creating AI systems. After studying Information Engineering at Cambridge University, Ben built a career drafting and prosecuting software and AI inventions for clients, as well as building side projects that tested out the growing developments in machine learning. Ben thus has an intimate understanding of the legal aspects of protecting AI, and the practicalities of building AI.
If you have any questions about using AI in IP or using IP to protect AI, contact Russell IP using the button below to book a free, no-obligation consultation with one of our experts.
