The IP Federation is pleased to announce that Belinda Gascoyne has been elected as the new President of the Federation, effective 13 July 2018.

Belinda is a UK Chartered Patent Attorney and European Patent Attorney with over 20 years of practical experience in all aspects of intellectual property gained both in private practice and in industry. She has represented IBM on the Council of the IP Federation since 2011. Belinda specialises in the fields of computing and electronics and has a degree in physics from the University of Bristol.

Belinda also represents IBM on the techUK IP Policy Group, the DIGITAL­EUROPE Patents Working Group and the CIPA Computer Technology Committee, and is a Director of ORoPO (Open Register of Patent Ownership).

Outside work, Belinda enjoys spending as much time as possible with family and friends as well as swimming, walking and sailing.

Belinda will be assisted by Immediate Past President, James Horgan.

James is a UK Chartered Patent Attorney and European Patent Attorney, and has a master’s degree in IP litigation. He has over 20 years of experience in patents, having joined the patent profession directly after gaining a degree in chemistry from the University of Oxford. James has represented Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD) on the Council of the IP Federation since 2013, and previously served on the IP Federation patent committee. He is an inaugural industry member in the IAM list of the World’s 300 Leading IP Strategists.

James has worked on a range of subject areas in the pharmaceutical and biotechnological sectors. He is also a member of the IP Commit­tees of Business­Europe, the European Federa­­tion of Pharma­ceutical Industries and Associa­tions (EFPIA) and the Inter­national Federation of Pharma­ceutical Manufacturers & As­so­ciations (IFPMA). He lives and works in the UK.

In life outside MSD, he is an active Christian and a mem­ber of an evangelical church. He also enjoys teaching science to his daughter, exploring England and reading good books.

He was President of the IP Federation from 2017 to 2018.

They will both work with newly elected Vice-President, Suzanne Oliver.

Suzanne is a UK Chartered Patent Attorney and European Patent Attorney, as well as a Chartered Engineer. She has over 14 years of experience in patents, having entered the profession after working for a number of years as an engineer for Nortel Networks; she has a master’s degree in electronics from the University of York.

Suzanne has represented Arm on the Council of the IP Federation since 2013 and she supports a wide range of IP strategy, patent and trade mark manage­ment issues for Arm. Suzanne was involved in Arm, becoming a founder member of ORoPO, the world’s first open patent register. In 2016, Suzanne joined the launch panel for the inaugural “Women in IP” networking event, as a part of the UK’s “IP inclusive” initiative. Before joining Arm in 2012, Suzanne worked in a private practice law firm in Cambridge, UK.

Outside of work, she likes to travel, as well as spend time with her family and friends. She is also a keen rambler.