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HAVE YOUR SAY in the ip review poll

Which type of magazine do you read the most to keep up-to-date with Industry news?

Tibor Gold MBE

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Partner, Kilburn & Strode; editor, CIPA journal; and recent recipient of an MBE

Why IP – what drew you to the field?
At Oxford, I was heading for a lousy degree in Physics, so I went to a careers advisor who convinced me that I was still relatively intelligent because I could speak several languages. I asked, ‘What can I do?’ and IP was the answer.

How long have you been practising IP?
Since 1964.

What’s your most memorable career event to date?
I’ve got a very naughty answer to this: it was at the height of the Rubik’s Cube trial, when I was forced to sleep in a hotel’s matrimonial double bed with a leading IP barrister. We were each fearful of waking to find that the other had stretched out an amorous arm.

What’s your top tip for IP networking?
Smile! In fact – if I may be serious for a moment – I do think that of all my attributes, the most important is intense curiosity. So if you can really listen to people and it’s not faked, that will interest them.

Which professional do you think is making the biggest waves in IP at the moment?
Robin Jacob would certainly come to mind, but then everyone talks about him, so I’ll go for Todd Dickinson, the chief counsel for General Electric.

What is your favourite aspect of the IP profession?
People. I love talking to people and listening to them. My red-letter days are when I teach at QM [Queen Mary College at the University of London] or do in-house training. For me, it’s all about sharing knowledge.

What is your least favourite?
Too many patents of little intrinsic value being granted without adequate examination.

Which IP-related book would you recommend to fellow professionals?
Death of Patents, edited by Peter Drahos and published by Lawtext – not because I agree with it, but because it opened my mind to all sorts of provocative ideas.

In the 2007 New Year's Honours List, Tibor was awarded an MBE by Her Majesty the Queen, in recognition of services to Intellectual Property.

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