About the Intellectual Property Regulation Board

The Legal Services Act 2007 (LSA) requires those involved in the regulation of legal services to separate the representative activities of their professional bodies from their regulatory functions.

The Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA) and the Chartered Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys (CITMA) are the representative bodies of patent attorneys and trade mark attorneys respectively. They are also approved regulators under the LSA. In order to separate their representative functions from their regulatory functions, CIPA and CITMA have delegated their respective regulatory functions to the Patent Regulation Board (PRB) and the Trade Mark Regulation Board (TRB); the PRB and the TRB may (and usually do) sit jointly as the IPReg Board. The Board comprises five lay members (including the Chair), two patent attorneys and two trade mark attorneys.

IPReg regulates around 3,440 individual attorneys (of whom around 70% are patent attorneys, 24% are trade mark attorneys and 6% are on both registers). We also regulate around 250 firms.

Reflecting on the progress made in achieving its initial strategic priorities, the new strategic priorities were “re-cast" by the Board in November 2023 to the following:

A) Users of IP legal services and the public

Strategic priority: To improve consumer knowledge and empowerment among users of IP legal services.

We will do this by:

Increasing the public profile of IPReg to the regulated community and users of IP legal services.

Increasing our understanding of the needs and expectations of users of IP legal services.

Providing targeted and proportionate information to enable those users to make informed choices about their legal adviser.

Increasing our understanding of the needs and expectations of all types of regulated attorneys/firms and disseminating information about best practice.

B. The profession (current and future)

Strategic priority: Setting, promoting and enforcing high quality education and professional standards for entry to the professions.

We will do this by:

Using data and insights from our regulatory activity to influence the future of the profession in a way that ensures that appropriate standards are maintained and routes to entry onto the registers are varied and fit for purpose.

Encouraging an increase in the good quality providers of qualification pathways and examinations in particular as a tool to increase the diversity of the trade mark and patent attorney professions.
Gathering data about the diversity of the profession (attorneys and students) to inform our decision making.

C. IPReg

Strategic priority: Carrying out our regulatory activities proactively, effectively and inclusively, ensuring the efficient use of resources.

We will do this by:

Building our capacity to understand and respond to global and market trends (including the use of technology) that impact on intellectual property matters, the wider environment and our approach to regulation.

Acting quickly and consistently when we identify potential breaches of regulatory requirements and conducting investigations efficiently and effectively.

Encouraging innovation and competition in the provision of regulated IP legal services.

Some of the matters that we are responsible for include:

Setting and enforcing our Core Regulatory Framework. You can find all the new regulatory arrangements and accompanying guidance on our dedicated webpage;
Setting the education and training requirements for qualification as a patent attorney and as a trade mark attorney;
Maintaining the registers of patent attorneys and trade mark attorneys;
Setting the requirements for continuing professional development in order that patent attorneys’ and trade mark attorneys’ knowledge, skills and expertise are maintained at a high level;
Investigating complaints of misconduct and, where appropriate, taking disciplinary or other action.

Our Business Plan

Download a copy of our 2025/26 business plan here.

IPReg Education Review

IPReg is embarking on an exciting project to undertake an education review with and for the professions that it regulates: patent attorneys and trade mark attorneys. Key drivers for the review are to achieve the following:

Widen entry to the professions.
Uphold high educational and professional standards in the context of changing professional practice, service delivery, employer and consumer needs.
Maintain sustainability in education/examination routes into the professions.

Key areas of focus within the review will include the following:

Identifying the ‘day-one’ professional capabilities required for registration and practice as a patent attorney and trade mark attorney and the capabilities for development at post-registration level, depending on registrants’ scope of practice, practice environment and role.

Ensuring continued consumer access to the services of patent and trade mark attorneys who demonstrate high levels of intellectual property (IP) and subject matter expertise, as well as client-centred professionalism.

Exploring the implications of developments in AI and LawTech for the professions’ education and practice.
Adhering to best practice in contemporary approaches to professional and higher education and assessment.

Addressing equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) issues, including to understand and optimise potential enablers to widen access to the professions and the potential role of apprenticeships in achieving this.

Demonstrating proportionality and accountability in how IPReg fulfils its delegated regulatory functions relating to education.

In line with the ambitious, high-stakes nature of the review, the project will comprise several stages of activity. Effective stakeholder communications, engagement and collaboration will be built into each stage. This is key to building and maintaining stakeholder trust and confidence in the review, both as a process and in terms of its outputs and outcomes. Likewise, the enactment of robust project management and governance structures and processes will be critical to the review’s delivery and success.

Live project activity, involving detailed exploration of key themes and consultation with stakeholders, is due to run over three to four years. There will also be a strong focus throughout the review on planning for the subsequent implementation and evaluation of its outputs and outcomes.

IPReg is looking to expand its capacity to undertake the education review. The Education Policy Associate and Project Support Officer roles will join a Head of Education Review (appointed in September 2024) to form the dedicated project team within IPReg’s wider executive.