The Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA) is the British professional body of patent attorneys. It was founded in 1882 as the Chartered Institute of Patent Agents and incorporated by Royal Charter in 1891. The Institute changed its name in June 2006.
Its objective is to promote awareness of, and well-founded confidence in, the UK Intellectual Property profession and to represent the interests of its approximately 3000 members, 1700 of whom are Registered Patent Attorneys, qualified by professional examination.
Another of CIPA's long-established objectives is regulation of the profession. In 2010, CIPA and the Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys (ITMA) set up the Intellectual Property Regulation Board (IPReg) to undertake jointly the regulation of the Patent Attorney and Trade Mark Attorney professions.
CIPA maintains the Register of Patent Agents under statutory authority on behalf of the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills and reports to the Comptroller-General of Patents, Trade Marks and Designs at the UK Intellectual Property Office.