Join us for an extra special intellectual property (IP) event where our guest speaker Professor Mark Bradley from the School of Chemistry will talk about his research journey navigating the patent system. Mark will share his personal examples, experience and insights from an academic perspective, as well as explain the benefits to research of engaging with Edinburgh Innovations and having a strategic IP and patent plan from the earliest possible stage.

Dr Richard Gibbs is a Partner at Marks & Clerk and acts for the University on patent matters. He will provide a quick overview on Marks & Clerk’s involvement with the University in the patent process and the support provided. 

Richard Curtin will give a short update from Edinburgh Innovations on processes and services available to academic staff for patents and IP and how academic engagement with EI works in practice.

The speaker part of this update is intended to last around half an hour, allowing the audience a great opportunity to ask direct question to the panel of speakers.

This event will be of interest to researchers at any level and we encourage academics from any College interested in cross disciplinary collaboration and exploring commercial opportunities. Students are also actively encouraged to participate.

Speaker profiles:

Professor Mark Bradley

Mark Bradley is Professor of Chemical Biology in the School of Chemistry at The University of Edinburgh. The Bradley group makes a wide variety of highly novel molecules and materials and develops new technologies, with the focus of using them to control, modulate, or manipulate biological processes with biomedical application and possible translation always in mind. Thus throughout his career Mark has been at the forefront of turning ideas into real-world applications and has published more than 20 patents, focused on the application of chemistry to solving medical problems (chemical medicine) for example polymers for biomedical applications and fluorescent probes for clinical and pre-clinical imaging. He is the founder/co-founder of six (still active) spin-outs. 

Dr Richard Gibbs

Richard Gibbs is a chartered and European patent attorney and Partner at the Glasgow office of Marks & Clerk. He completed a bachelor’s degree in Medical Microbiology as well as a PhD at the University of Edinburgh. He has particular expertise in the field of biotechnology and technologies relating to antibodies, vaccines, biologics, virology, bacteriology and molecular biology. He has worked with all of Scotland’s major universities and is a regular speaker at IP conferences and events. Richard has worked with thousands of innovators to protect their IP and help their ideas take off. “Key to any business is a solid IP portfolio. Making sure you’ve protected not only your main product and brand but all of the company’s IP interests, safeguards the value investors look for”.

Richard Curtin

Richard Curtin is IP & Patent Manager for Edinburgh Innovations. He has nearly 25 years of professional experience in Intellectual Property. He worked in various multi-national companies as their in-house IP expert, as well as working in legal private practice. In his current role he helps oversee the University’s pending patent cases and trade mark work, manages the University’s external patent providers, and leads on providing internal IP education and training. If you are interested in speaking to Edinburgh Innovations about protecting your intellectual property and how to take the first steps, please get in touch: richard.curtin@ed.ac.uk

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