Embracing neurodiversity in innovation at Marks & Clerk

At Marks & Clerk, we’re built on innovation and brilliant ideas. Our co-founder, George Croydon Marks, worked alongside the legendary Thomas Edison - a name synonymous with the invention of the light bulb. But beyond his groundbreaking contributions to science and technology, Edison is also recognised today for exhibiting many traits associated with autism, highlighting the diverse ways in which extraordinary creativity and intellect can manifest.

Related to this, the IP Regulation Board (IPReg) 2024 Diversity Survey has recently reported that 1 in 8 respondents considered themselves to be neurodiverse, in line with the estimated 15% national average. This is surely a call to action, and for greater understanding, within the IP community.  

In Sir Simon Baron-Cohen’s influential book “The Pattern Seekers”, he suggests that Thomas Edison was one of “millions of hyper-systemizers who have driven human invention … autistic people were and still are the drivers of the evolution of science, technology, art and other forms of invention…”. Indeed, Baron-Cohen’s book includes a chapter devoted to “The Mind of an Inventor”. Clearly, this is relevant not only to the early days of Marks & Clerk - dating back to 1887 - but also to the future of our profession: our purpose is to promote the creation and protection of ‘Intellectual Property’, i.e. property that is the product of the human brain.

Marks & Clerk’s positive approach to neurodiversity is consistent with our long-standing values of Trust, Collegiality, Resourcefulness and Excellence, which nurture and benefit from the talents of everyone: those who are neurodiverse as well as those who are more neuro-‘typical’. For colleagues who feel able to talk, we will always listen and make the accommodations we can do to our working environment. However, we also realise that many neurodiverse people prefer privacy. This is supported, in particular, by the value we place on collegiality: we accept one another without judgment, and treasure our differences.

Indeed, our collegiality ties in with the recent experience of a neurodiverse patent attorney at Marks & Clerk: “I have my own office, where I can work quietly and without interruption. At the same time, I work in a caring and close-knit team. No-one minds if I stay away from crowded situations like networking events and office parties – the noise makes me feel uncomfortable and I can’t filter out individual voices  so end up trying to lip-read, so stressful. But my manager has always helped so much to foster kindness and co-operation in our office. This means that I can fully enjoy doing my job to the best of my ability”.

Since Marks & Clerk established its first office in Birmingham in 1887, our success has no doubt relied on the contributions of countless neurodiverse and neurotypical people. Nevertheless, the IP world can still become fairer, more innovative and more welcoming, by using insights from modern psychology to recognise and value everyone’s unique characteristics.  

At Marks & Clerk, we must and always will support both neurodiverse and neurotypical individuals, and strive to enable everybody to play to their strengths.