Advertise on podcast: Two IPs In A Pod

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we speak with Ken Seddon, CEO of LOT Network, about the increasing influence of non-practising entities (NPEs) and the growing role they play in patent litigation through the acquisition and assertion of patents. The discussion explores LOT Network’s “herd immunity” model, under which member companies automatically receive a licence if patents are transferred to an NPE, helping to mitigate patent risk across sectors including technology, automotive, banking, and semiconductors. The episode also considers why patents are increasingly viewed as “stronger” assets in today’s litigation environment, alongside wider trends shaping the global patent landscape.

Send us Fan Mail “Courts competing” might sound odd, but it can lead to what clients actually crave: faster and more predictable decisions. Joining Lee and Gwilym for this episode, recorded at INTA 2026, in London, are Tammy Terry, a Texas-based patent litigator, and Daniel Chew, a UK and European patent attorney and Chair of our International Liaison Committee. They consider how different forums shape strategy, not just outcomes, and how cross-border collaboration is becoming more important for patent litigators. The discussion moves on to the Unified Patent Court and why its pace is drawing attention well beyond Europe. The group also wrestles with forum shopping: when it’s a legitimate search for efficiency and when it starts to feel like gaming the system. The thorny issue of substantive patent law harmonisation (SPLH) and the patent grace period debate comes up - and why trade negotiations keep these topics alive even if global harmonisation still feels out of reach.  The episode closes with a focus on the human side of the profession: education, networking, and the messages the group would want policymakers and industry leaders to hear, including the idea that IP is not just a sector, it’s embedded in every sector. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, share this with a colleague, and leave us a review.

Send us Fan Mail Recorded at INTA, this latest episode explores the challenges businesses face when protecting and enforcing intellectual property rights overseas, and the practical steps organisations can take to strengthen their international IP strategy. Kayleigh Nauman, Adin Samson, and Samuel Stone discuss the risks businesses can encounter when expanding internationally, from trademark disputes and enforcement costs to misconceptions around automatic IP protection across borders. The conversation also covers strategic trademark filing in the US, post-Brexit IP considerations in Europe, the role of the Unitary Patent and UPC, and why China requires a tailored enforcement approach. With practical guidance on building a strong international IP strategy, this episode offers valuable insights for businesses looking to support growth, investment, and global expansion.

Send us Fan Mail This episode features Deborah A. Hampton in conversation with Gwilym Roberts and Lee Davies, exploring the realities of modern trade mark practice, leadership, and career development within intellectual property. Deborah reflects on her journey from working as a receptionist in a paralegal department to becoming a global brand enforcement leader and the President of INTA. She discusses how trade mark administrators and IP paralegals play a far more strategic role than often recognised, contributing to brand protection, business decision-making, and stakeholder management at the highest levels. The conversation also examines practical challenges facing today’s IP professionals, including trade mark infringement, counterfeiting, and managing external counsel effectively. Deborah shares insights into translating complex legal advice into clear business options, building credibility with senior leadership, and why understanding the commercial side of a business is essential for successful trademark practice. Alongside discussions on leadership through INTA and the future impact of AI on the profession, the episode closes with a candid reflection on resilience, mentorship, identity, and navigating workplace challenges while continuing to grow professionally within the IP community.

Send us Fan Mail To mark World IP Day’s sports theme, we explore how intellectual property quietly shapes the world of winter sport, from performance and safety to sponsorship and visibility. Drawing on stories from the Olympics and beyond, we unpack how patents, trade secrets, and open standards influence everything from the equipment athletes use to the way competitions are run and experienced by fans. In this episode, we cover: How parabolic skis transformed technique and speedThe patented spring loaded slalom gate and its unexpected impact on safetyAirbags in downhill skiing and the balance between protection and riskAthlete branding and Olympic sponsorship as drivers of visibility and incomeFour year innovation cycles and why trade secrets can outperform patents in elite sportClapskates as a case study in know how and competitive advantageThe UK roots of skeleton and links between sport, the military, and university researchInnovation in ski mountaineering gear, from skins to pin bindingsAvalanche transceivers, open standards, and why interoperability mattersA preview of standard essential patents for a future deep diveIf you enjoyed the latest episode, please leave us a review or share it with your friends and colleagues to help grow the audience.

Send us Fan Mail The rules of qualification aren’t being rewritten overnight, but the questions are getting sharper. We sit down with Debbie Slater, Chair of CIPA’s Education Committee, to unpack the IPReg Education Review and what it could mean for anyone training as a UK patent attorney or trademark attorney over the next few years. The focus is forward-looking: what skills, knowledge, and professional behaviors should someone have at the point of registration, and how do we build training and assessment that actually matches the work attorneys do.  We explore why the UK pathway can’t be separated from the European Patent Office and the EQE route, especially when so much UK practice runs through Europe. Debbie and the hosts dig into the apprenticeship model, mentoring, and why the profession often talks about “exams” when the reality looks much more like competency-based assessment. We also get practical about what proportionate quality assurance looks like for a small profession, and how costs, resources, and fairness shape access and diversity.  Then we take on the topic everyone’s wrestling with: AI in patent drafting, prosecution, and client communications. If a large language model can generate a first draft and clients can arrive with AI-assisted interpretations of prior art or office actions, what must trainees still learn the hard way? The answer keeps circling back to judgment, fundamentals, and the ability to review critically, not just produce text.  If you have views on the IPReg call for evidence, now is the time to share them. Subscribe for more conversations on intellectual property, send this to a trainee or supervisor who’s affected, and leave a review so more people can find the show.

Send us Fan Mail Lee and Gwilym are joined on the podcast by Laura Whiting from Freshfields and Arty Rajendra from Osborne Clarke. Ever wonder who decides the price of your medicine, the terms behind your 5G connection, or why your favorite streaming platform keeps changing codecs? We sit down with two leading IP litigators to pull back the curtain on the high-stakes world where innovation meets the courtroom—life sciences, telecoms, and the streaming wars. First, we unpack how patents power the business model in pharma. With only a tiny share of compounds making it to patients, those limited years of exclusivity fund a decade of risk and research. We explore how innovators defend that window and how generic companies plan surgical challenges to enter earlier and drive prices down. It is a constant chess match, played out across multiple countries with hundreds of millions at stake in a single market. Then we turn to standard essential patents and FRAND licensing. After Unwired Planet, the UK became a pivotal venue for setting global license terms—one decision, worldwide effect. Now the battlefield is shifting to streaming and video codecs. Where do you license—decoder or platform? How do you price a license when usage, audiences, and devices vary wildly? The valuation debate is intense, merging economics, data, and legal precedent in new ways.

Send us Fan Mail Virginia Driver recounts entering a profession that once enforced skirts and skepticism, then earning credibility across computing, telecoms, and the smartphone wars, where old devices became courtroom gold. That history matters: it shaped her insistence that AI must be auditable and accurate, not just fast. We unpack the real sweet spot for AI in patents—deep analysis across thousands of documents, transparent claim mapping, and outputs a human expert can verify. No hype, no black boxes, and a clear line from machine reasoning to attorney judgment. Enjoyed the show? Subscribe, share it with a colleague, and leave a quick review so others can find us. What part of patent work do you most want AI to transform next?