Name: Sam Harvey Firm: Bristows LLP Location: London University: University of Manchester Degree: Physics (MPhys)
The three Cs – curiosity, critical thinking, communication To be a top solicitor in this practice area, it’s important to develop a genuine curiosity for the subject matter – being able to question the impact that artificial intelligence, for example, might have on the IP and patent sphere is a crucial aspect of the job. Sam also highlights the need for candidates interested in IP law to be “big critical thinkers”. He says: “Candidates need to be able to look at a problem, start breaking it down and be logical about the way they plan to solve it.” As well as being a curious, critical thinker, good communication skills are also key. “It’s important that candidates are capable of expressing ideas clearly because ultimately that’s the output of the work,” he explains. But how do aspiring lawyers know whether they will enjoy working in IP law? Becoming a lawyer is not an easy road to navigate so Sam advises candidates to speak to as many people working in the practice area as possible about their route into practice and what makes them tick. Candidates should also find some experience before committing themselves to a career they might not enjoy. “It is difficult to know whether you will enjoy or even be good at a job without having experienced it.” Reflecting on his own journey to becoming a solicitor, Sam encourages aspiring lawyers to be honest with themselves when identifying their strengths and weaknesses. Figuring out what makes him tick “was a really important process,” and a “key part of the training contract application process,” he concludes.
worlds interlink and the regular changes to law is crucial to becoming a successful lawyer. The impact of covid-19 and Brexit, while obvious talking points, can be a great place to start and are impossible to ignore. Speaking about the pandemic’s effect on Bristows, Sam comments on the resilience of the firm’s sector focus – technology and life sciences. “One of the big issues at the moment, is the IP waiver of vaccine technology,” which could have a significant impact on the pharmaceutical sector. Delving into the issue further, Sam says: “The complexity is that not all of these aspects are protected by patents – for example, a lot of it is confidential know-how, which can’t be protected.” Alongside the pandemic, the sector has also been dealing with a “raft of changes to certain IP rights,” as a result of Brexit, “which lead to a short uptake in work for IP rights that were governed by EU law – for example, design law had an overhaul in January and some of the ramifications are still being ironed out,” Sam explains. However, Brexit has not had the same level of impact on the patents’ sphere because “the European Patent Convention, which governs how European patents work, is independent of the EU, so the UK is still part of that.” Meanwhile, moving away from covid-19 and Brexit, another hot topic in the patent sphere is simply: (AI). Referencing a case from last year, which involved a man applying for patents on behalf of an AI machine he claimed could invent things, Sam explains that “the way the law is drafted at the moment means you have to be a human to be an inventor.” With technology continuing to advance at a rapid pace, it does start to bring up interesting questions. Sammuses over the following: “What are we rewarding with the patent – the invention itself or the intellectual labour that goes into it, which a machine isn’t capable of?”
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