Patents in the US constitution

Dusting off innovation

Inspiring futures – can we move beyond the steam train? By Alasdair Poore (Fellow) 1

The UK has been a centre of innovation for years. The first steam train was built here, and one can view it in the Science Museum. More on this later – but for now: is technology just for male nerds – or can technical education be made exciting for everyone? And can this promote diversity across all fields of technology and indirectly within the patent profession.

Before Andrea Brewster so successfully established IP Inclusive, as Vice President of CIPA I had tried to understand why the patent profession was so reluctant to embrace diversity. At the time, one of the outstanding statistics was the division of male and female patent attorneys across the different disciplines – more or less 50/50 across life sciences but women represented only 10% or so in other disciplines 2 . These turn out to mirror the divisions across university education – so an answer to improving diversity in the professions lay in the larger question of diversity in higher (and secondary) education. At the other end of the education spectrum, I saw young children in the Science Museum 3 racing around noisily and to all appearances, enjoying every moment of their exposure to technology – and the Science Museum has more school visitors than any other museum in the country. So why does this apparently fall away?

When this article was originally conceived, it was intended to encourage members of the IP profession to reflect on the progress of technology over the years, and particularly the extraordinary rapid progress of technology – in

Puffing Billy — the oldest surviving steam railway locomotive (circa 1814).

engineering and especially in medicine – in a relative short period of time; and the role that IP professionals have played and continue to play in the promotion of innovation. Some examples of this are the progress from steam engine to space travel, autonomous vehicles (including in the artistic opportunities presented by such technology), or through the medical field from collecting and distilling urine, to “iron lungs” for victims of the polio virus, and the OncoMouse. And by providing some tasters of the current displays, far from my youthful recollection of dusty exhibits in glass cabinets, to encourage patent attorneys to visit the museums unconstrained by childhood (whether their own or that of their offspring). And by doing so to spread the word about communicating the excitement of science and technology to a wider audience and to raise the appreciation of STEM to a more diverse community.

Since then, Covid has taken over and visiting in person just does not work. With Covid, innovation and promoting engagement with innovation has never been more important for the UK. Innovation has been the buzzword of current politics for a considerable time. Covid-19 will cause a major 4 hit to the world economy. Two of the self-identified leaders in innovation, the USA and UK have been hit by Covid much more seriously than many other countries, despite their levels of sophistication in innovation, and, at least in the UK being “led by the science”. That comes on top of Brexit – as to which we currently still do not know the road map, still less the outcome. But objective forecasters predicted Brexit will, unless there is some major intervention, also lead to a significant hit to the economy. And we are told a hit to the economy is also a hit to social wellbeing. Of course innovation will arrive from many directions, and one has already seen significant innovation in addressing issues in relation to Covid, some serious, such as potential vaccines, fast-tracked drug trials, test-and-tracking apps as well as financial innovations. These include also some not so serious innovations – you can take your pick 5 . The

The Black Arrow R4 launch vehicle, 1971 – on display in Exploring Space

role of IP practitioners and in particularly the patent profession will be important in this – as will be the politics of seeking and enforcing IP protection when it comes to Covid-inspired inventions, at least while Covid is a world health threat.

One of the features of Covid-19 has also been the repeated display and reliance on mathematics – the “models” of infection and the now completely jargonised infection rate, or R number. Admittedly, some of the mathematician commentators – connected by another surging technology, Zoom – have

Citroen DS19 (1960) – early example of self driving technology modified by the Road Research Laboratory

observed that the maths and especially the graphical representations of the maths, are simply awful. But the profile of mathematics and science generally, has led to a new interest in aspects of maths and science for a number of people. Similarly stories of the development of tests – antigen and antibody test, of spray patterns of droplets carrying viral material, of tracking and tracing (and apps for doing this), of vaccines and immunity, and of infection clusters, and the discussion of social behaviour, amongst many others display science to the general public. But sadly the level of understanding portrayed by politicians still appears to be weak. Why else is the UK, a leader in innovation including life sciences, one of the worst performers in handling the Covid crisis? Many of the lessons from this crisis are ones that could have been learnt, or at least interest excited, by displays at the Science Museum.

I do not expect politicians and broadcasters to become conversant in

Dominic Wilcox concept vehicle – on loan from Dominic Wilcox

science in a moment, but I would like them to understand enough of it to know when and how to rely on it. Or to ask appropriate questions to make the decisions supported by it, and then convey that to the public. An example which springs to mind – and no doubt we will learn more about it in the future – is how decisions on testing were made in the UK. My lay conclusion at a very early stage (consistent with World Health Organization guidance) was that testing was important. I had been involved in work with both biotech companies and with the NHS and NHS laboratories. When I first heard that testing was going to be extended from the Public Health England Laboratories to labs in NHS hospitals 6 , my jaw dropped – why on earth had testing not been carried out more widely before or was the UK in a position that it could not keep up with testing requirements immediately following that announcement. Talking with colleagues in the patent profession, they repeated stories, similar to sourcing

issues in other areas: many of their clients had facilities that could be used for testing. All anecdotal of course. A similar example of limited understanding amongst some of the broadcasting community was during a recent national election, when Jeremy Paxman observed in relation to the results from an opinion poll something along the lines: “I appreciate that the results are not statistically significant, but what do you think they mean”, to which the obvious answer ought to have been “Nothing of course. [Is that a trick question].” There have been many other examples in the course of the last few months.

It is therefore even more important than ever that a genuine and lasting interest for all ages is created in understanding and not being frightened by science and technology – and in the role that professionals play in employing technology and communicating it to the public. That includes the role of protection for technology and of intellectual property professionals. It also includes understanding and being willing to debate social and political issues relating to technology and its interaction

with intellectual property protection.

So to start with, I would like to encourage IP professionals to take this opportunity to spread the word about the excitement of science and technology – you can start with the suggestion below. Urge IP professionals not to be deaf to the wider social issues both of technology and the use intellectual property rights in relation to technology.

Many patent attorneys I have spoken to have favourable memories of the Science Museum – but mostly dating from their childhood or their children. Some of the older memories are reflected in an anecdote from the last firm I worked for. When I and a colleague set up an IP practice there about 30 years ago, the firm were generous enough to permit us to have a launch party at the Science Museum. My colleague sent around an email to partners in the firm saying that they would be able to recognise the patent attorney guests. They would be staring intently into the glazed cabinets holding the exhibits. He was partly correct on two counts – glazed cabinets and a significant number of attorneys were conforming to the description.

The Science Museum – as indeed to many of the other museums in the UK – still holds a world-leading position in public engagement through museums, and has much more than dusty examples of the industrial revolution. Housed in glass cabinets, it has examples of the latest technology. Its exhibits challenge visitors on wider questions, such as the impact of modern technology on individual privacy, moral questions on the use of autonomous vehicle, the impacts – life saving and harmful – of advances in medical technology, such as the thalidomide disaster, and the importance of public health, with displays about polio, and understanding wider access to public health, with an exhibit if of a waterless toilet, the Loowatt toilet, which has been installed in Madagascar to provide access to toilet facilities which use no water and from which the human waste can be collected in biodegradable bags and

The Self-Conscious Gene – Marc Quinn

used to generate biogas or as fertiliser 7 . These are part of the Science Museum’s recently opened Medicines Gallery which even extends to art works as well as a fascinating collection of less conventional medical artefacts from Henry Wellcome’s collection.

The London museum also has illustrations of how innovation does not necessarily come without dedication to the point of bankruptcy (or serious illness or death) for the innovators. As with other National Museums, its objectives are not just to be a repository for examples of past technology, but to educate and communicate. One of its programmes, close to the heart of the Institute, is promotion of STEM.

Fortunately also a great deal has changed in the patent profession since those days. Even the reluctance of patent attorneys to engage in debates about the politics of IP – and the sort of questions the Science Museum now poses – has changed significantly. That, I fear, has not always been mirrored by politicians regard for innovation. Although acknowledging the importance of innovation to the economy and investing

Display of artefacts form the Wellcome Collection

considerably in funding for innovation, one has to ask whether they really appreciate the science and technology. It is easy to hold up the example of steam engines and how the UK was once a leader in technical innovation – but it is equally dangerous to assume that because the UK was one of the leaders of innovation in the 19th Century, or even more recently, that innovation is just something that will roll off the presses. It is still hard work, takes imagination and support; and it takes people who are interested and excited in science and technology – whether that is mechanical or electrical, or the science behind social behaviour or business – from supply chains to finance. It would be great if there was a wider community of such people and especially of politicians.

Of course, at the time of writing, museums are still closed. However, some virtual tours of museums 8 are very active still and museums will, we hope open soon. In the meantime, spend some relaxing time vritually visiting – with children or over a drink without. And when they are open, come and appreciate one of the great innovations in museums, “Lates” – evening opening of the museums. In the case of the Science Museum 9 it is for adults only so you can appreciate the galleries without potential distractions. The cafes and bar will be open. And there should, in the galleries, be enough room for social distancing. One anecdote is that the Science Museum Lates are a top location for dating couples!

Get stuck in – enjoy yourself at a museum (and drag a few of your less technologically aware ones, especially politicians with you). You can help guide them around the intricacies of science and technology and introduce them to the importance of IP protection all at once. And you can do a bit on the road to improving diversity in science and technology and even the profession.

Alasdair Poore is a consultant at Mills & Reeve LLP in Cambridge. He was seconded as General Counsel to the Science Museum Group from late 2019. See more at www.mills-reeve.com

Notes and references

1. The ideas expressed in this article are entirely the authors and do not represent the views of the Institute or the author’s employer. 2. There were (and to a lesser extent still are other very significant issues with diversity, so the challenge by no means stops here 3. I spent five months up until about the pandemic lockdown working on secondment as Interim General Counsel at the Science Museum 4. I would like to avoid the somewhat overused word “unprecedented” 5. www.covidinnovations.com/ 6. Of course there may have been entirely sound scientific reasons. As far as I am aware they have not been communicated. www.england. nhs.uk/2020/03/nhs-to-ramp-up-coronavirus-testing-labs– (11 March 2020) the article says capacity at PHE labs had not been exceeded, but this is presumably because testing scope had been so severely restricted; a day later Boris Johnson announced that testing except for the seriously ill would stop according The Guardian (www. theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/01/absolutely-wrong-how-uk-coronavirus-test-strategy-unravelled) 7. Highly commended (justifiably), including part of Henry Wellcome’s collection of medical artefacts www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/see-anddo/medicine-wellcome-galleries 8. Science Museum (www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/virtual-tour-sciencemuseum); Natural History Museum (www.nhm.ac.uk/visit/virtualmuseum.html; The British Museum: (https://blog.britishmuseum.org/ how-to-explore-the-british-museum-from-home/);

The National Gallery (www.nationalgallery.org.uk/visiting/virtual-tours) 9. www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/see-and-do/lates