NEWS
COUNCIL
Council Minutes inutes of the Council meeting held on Wednesday 1 April, 2020, at 14:30, by videoconference. Item 1: Welcome and apologies
German Constitutional Court in relation to the UPC. Council decided to stay any further discussion until the position regarding ratification by Germany was known.
Present: Richard Mair (President), Alicia Instone (Vice-President), Julia Florence (Immediate Past President), Gwilym Roberts (Honorary Secretary), Andrea Brewster, John Brown, Roger Burt, Daniel Chew, Paul Cole, Anna Denholm, Matt Dixon, Stuart Forrest, Catriona Hammer, Greg Iceton, Tim Jackson, Rob Jackson, Parminder Lally, Keith Loven, Chris Mercer, Bev Ouzman, Carolyn Palmer (co-opted), Alasdair Poore, Tony Rollins, Vicki Salmon, Andrew Sunderland, Julia Tribe (co-opted), Sheila Wallace and Simon Wright. Lee Davies (Chief Executive), Neil Lampert (Deputy Chief Executive), Dwaine Hamilton (Head of Membership) and Charlotte Russell (Executive Assistant) were in attendance.
81/20: From minute 53/20. Tony Rollins said that he had had a conversation with Martin Howe QC who would be prepared to help CIPA with the distribution of the economic impact assessment, using his connections in parliament. Tony said that he would take Council’s lead on a further conversation with Martin when the report is finalised.
Richard Mair welcomed Council members to the first meeting to be held with all attendance via videoconference, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
77/20: There were no conflicts of interest.
82/20: From minute 74/20. Tony Rollins advised Council that it would no longer be possible to go ahead with the US roadshow given the increased restrictions on travel to the US and Canada. Tony added that airlines were now cancelling flights and that it should be possible to recover travel and accommodation costs. Tony said that the financial position was less certain with venues, where some were insisting that they would be open for business in May.
Item 3: Minutes
Item 4: Brexit
Item 2: Conflicts of interest
78/20: The minutes of the meeting held on 4 March 2020 were approved.
Matters arising
79/20: From minute 51/20. Council agreed to publish its determination on the application of Byelaw 12.3 to Fellows who resign from the Register of Patent Attorneys and who work as consultants in IP or a related field, and those who have retired permanently from practice and who have removed themselves from the Register. 80/20: From minute 52/20. Council noted the outcome of the challenge in the Volume 49, number 6
83/20: Catriona Hammer informed Council that Tony Clayton had produced a first draft of the economic impact assessment, which was being considered by the CIPA and IP Federation representatives on the steering group. A second draft will be produced for consideration by the steering group at a videoconference meeting on Friday 3 April. Catriona said that she hoped to be able to send a near final draft to the Officers and Tim Jackson, Chair of the Patents Committee, for comment. Catriona added that she hoped to arrange videoconference meetings with the UK IPO and the Department for International Trade (DIT).
Action: Catriona Hammer to send an updated version of the economic impact assessment to the Officers and Tim Jackson. Action: Catriona Hammer to contact Pippa Hall from the IPO to arrange a videoconference meeting. 85/20: Catriona Hammer informed Council that she understood the discussions on free trade agreements were continuing but that DIT were facing challenges in relation to the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on negotiations. Catriona said that it was inevitable that the negotiations would slow down as a result of Covid-19 and that she would report back to Council if there are any future updates.
Item 5: Covid-19
84/20: Lee Davies informed Council that, in terms of disaster recovery and business continuity, CIPA was well-prepared, with all staff being able to work remotely. Lee added that, in consultation with the Officers, he took the decision to move to remote working before the government’s restrictions and social distancing policy came into force. Lee said that it was a challenging time for his team but that all had access to the technology needed to keep CIPA operational and that he was mindful of the impact of the crisis on the mental wellbeing of employees. Lee said that there were regular structured staff meetings via videoconference and some social events to maintain a community spirit. 85/20: Lee Davies said that it was too early to determine the impact on the longterm financial position of CIPA but that he would be working with the external accountants, JS2, to do some income and expenditure modelling. Lee said that JUNE 2020
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