World IP Day and Start-up Leeds

Author Lad 2011 Licence CC BY-SA 4.0 Source Wikimedia Commons

Leeds Central Library

 

Jane Lambert

In Where to Learn about IP for Free which I posted to NIPC Inventors Club on 10 April 2023 I discussed the Intellectual Property Office's Online Training Tools and how to access them and the nationwide network of Business and Intellectual Property Centres ("BIPC").  My nearest Business and IP Centre is at Leeds Central Library in Calverly Street.  I know it very well because I helped Ged Doonan and Stef Stephenson to set up the Leeds Inventors Club and I chaired almost every one of its meetings before the library became part of the BIPC network.

I have just received notice from the Leeds BIPC of two events that I particularly commend:

• Intellectual Property: Innovation and Creativity at the Central Library between 10:30 and 12:00 on 26 April 2023 to celebrate World Intellectual Property Day; and 
• Start-up Leeds on 12 and 13 May 2023 at Deacon House, 1 Seacroft Avenue, Leeds LS14 6JD.
  

For those who are not already aware of it 

"World Intellectual Property Day is an international festival of creativity and innovation which takes place on or around 26 April of every year. It celebrates the entry into force of the international agreement that established the World Intellectual Property Organization ("WIPO"), the UN specialist agency that assists governments to protect investment in creativity, enterprise and innovation ("intellectual assets") through a bundle of laws known collectively as "intellectual property".

You can find more information about the day on the World IP Day page of NIPC Wales. The event at Calverley Street will be a celebration of inspirational women inventors, creators, and entrepreneurs. The Business and IP Team will give a short talk about "fantastic inventions created by women that changed the world and made an impact on everyday life".  According to the Eventbrite card "an opportunity to meet and network with fellow entrepreneurs and discuss the challenges and the advantages of women in business."

Sadly, I won't be at the Leeds event because I shall be on my way to Anglesey to chair the Menai Science Park's World IP Day Seminar as part of Wales's celebrations of World IP Day. That event starts at 12:30 which is half an hour after the event in Leeds is due to finish and it will take place online as well as in front of a live audience at the science park.  Everybody who attends the Calverley Street event - indeed everybody in Yorkshire - is cordially invited to attend the Welsh event online and they will learn a lot if they do.  In keeping with the themes of the event, two young women entrepreneurs, Anna Roberts who set up Explorage.com and Anna Burke who set up Animates Technologies will talk about their businesses and how they use IP. The discussion is likely to focus on trade marks, database rights, trade secrets, copyright and maybe even patents.  Chipping in with expert advice will be patent and attorney Louise Carr from Cameron IP.  In the audience, there will be other experts such as Ian Wishart of Sybaris Legal and IP Insurance and I will cover anything that others may miss such as enforcement and transactions.  To attend the Welsh event via Zoom click here.

In Invention-Con 2022: The US Patent and Trademark Office's Online Conference for Inventors, Makers and Entrepreneurs I wrote on 22 July 2022 in NIPC Inventors Club:

"There is a great need for practical advice on patent, design and trade mark prosecution, grant, equity and loan funding, setting up businesses and scaling up which Invention-Con appears to deliver."

Start-up Leeds seems to go part of the way towards meeting that need.  I could not find an Eventbrite  card or any details on Leeds BIPC's website for this year's workshop but the following events took place last year according to the card for last year:

"Friday 14th April (9.30 - 16.30)

• Building the foundations of a successful business
• Business planning using the Business Model Canvas
• How to price your products and services
• How to forecast your cashflow

You’ll also find out more about the free support on offer through the Business & IP Centre, including the exclusive resources available for new and existing businesses

...........

Saturday 15th April (10.00 - 15.30)

• An Introduction to Marketing
• Tax and bookkeeping
• An overview of copyright and trade marks

There’ll also be the opportunity for networking, a chance to find out more about the Business & IP Centre and ask your questions."

Although I would have expected a little bit more about IP such as how it should be integrated into a business plan, enforcement, insurance and at least an introduction to patents and trade secrecy anybody attending this course would get a good grounding.

Anyone wishing to discuss this matter further can call me on 020 7404 5252 during office hours or send me a message through my contact page, 

Sheffield Business and IP Centre: IP Rights and Brexit

IP Rights and Brexit from Jane Lambert

One of four things has to happen between now and the 29 of this month:

• The withdrawal agreement that art 50 (2) of the Treaty on European European Union required the EU and UK to negotiate and conclude may be approved by Parliament in which case we shall leave the EU on the 29 but EU law will remain in force until 31 Dec 2020 at the earliest;
• The Prime Ministers notice of intention to leave the EU may be revoked in which case everything will remain the same forever;
• The UK and remaining EU member states may agree to extend the 2-year notice period in accordance with art 50 (3) in which case everything will remain the same as it is now until the end of that further period; or
• Nothing may be done between now and the 29 of this month in which case the UK will leave the EU at 23:00 on the 29 and EU law will cease to apply.

We shall not learn which of those four will happen until 12 March at the earliest and perhaps not even then if the withdrawal agreement is voted down again.

My presentation to Sheffield Business and IP Centre at Sheffield Central Library on 6 March 2019 considered the consequences for IP of each of the four scenarios.  It analysed the IP provisions of the draft withdrawal agreement which will be implemented under draft secondary legislation pursuant to the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 from midnight on 1 Jan 2021 at the latest if that agreement is approved by Parliament.   Such secondary legislation will come into effect at 23:00 on 29 March 2019 if the UK leaves the EU without a withdrawal agreement.  The legislation will not be needed at all if the 2017 notice is revoked.  Its implementation will be delayed until at least the end of the extension period if the 2-year notice is extended.

The presentation considers the future of the Unified Patent Court and the unitary patent.   If the 2017 notice is revoked the UPC Agreement could come into force with continued British participation so long as a challenge to the constitutionality of  German certification in the German Constitutional Court is defeated. If the notice period is extended or a withdrawal agreement is approved by Parliament continued British participation may be possible.   It is highly unlikely if the EU leaves without an agreement.

The draft secondary legislation provides for the conversion of EU trade marks and Community designs and plant varieties into corresponding national rights.  EU legislation on supplemental protection certificates and compulsory licences will be incorporated into national law.  But the Brussels Regulation and Lugano Convention could fall away without a withdrawal agreement and English and Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish courts will lose the right to seek preliminary rulings on the interpretation of EU law from the Court of Justice of the European Union.

Should anyone wish to discuss this presentation or the effect of Brexit on IP rights generally, they should call me on 020 7404 5252 during office hours or send me a message through my contact form.  

Hull Central Library joins PatLib

Hull

Photo Wikipedia

PatLib is a European network of some 320 patent information centres where members of the public can obtain information about patents and other intellectual property rights. There are 15 of those centres in the United Kingdom including three in Yorkshire. I write about the network in PatLib Libraries in the UK 28 Jan 2015 Inventors Club.

Hull Central Library is the latest to join the PatLib network. Its reference library holds an enormous collection of resources for business in print and on-line including an Enterprise Hub where workshops and seminars take place. The full range of services include:

• information on Intellectual Property (IP), copies of Intellectual Property Office (IPO) and European Patent Office (EPO) literature
• enquiry service
• assisted searching by appointment only
• fee based document supply
• referrals to other advice/service providers
• free public access to internet, IP information resources, business and company databases, market research databases
• patent clinics offering free appointments with IP advisrrs by appointment
• workshops and Seminars.

Information on  those services can be obtained from the reference library on (0)14 8222 3344.

These additional services have arrived at an opportune time. In her report for The Business Desk Humber LEP continues to drive growth for region of 30 Jan 2015 Ellie Newton-Syms wrote about the strong recovery of the Humber estuary based largely on investments in the energy industry. With falling oil prices this will be a challenging time even for the renewable sector and businesses will need to be agile to ride the challenge. Having access to the latest technical literature and expert advice has never been more important.

If anyone wants to discuss this article or IP generally call me on 01484 599090 or use my contact form.

Forthcoming Events: Sheffield - Movers and Shakers

Joyce Gray of Sheffield Central Library who has recently taken over the organization of the Sheffield inventors club has brought the following event to my attention.

It is called Inspiring Entrepreneurs: Movers and Shakers and will consist of a talk by Rekha Mehr followed by a live streaming from London of a panel discussion by

• Michael Acton-Smith OBE, founder of MindCandy
• Vanita Parti, founder of Blink Brow Bar
• Sam Bompas, founder of Bompas & Parr.

The event will take place at The Electric Works, Sheffield Digital Campus, Sheffield, S1 2BJ on 22 Sept 2014 between 17:45 and 21:00. Click here to book your place.

Holding your Own - How to stop others from ripping you off if you are a Private Inventor

Sheffield Central Library, Monday 7 April 2014 18:00 - 19:45

On Monday 7 April 2014 at 18:00 I shall deliver a talk to Sheffield Inventors Group at the Business and IP Centre of Sheffield Central Library on how to stop others from ripping you off if you are a private inventor.

Until very recently the blunt answer to the question "How can I stop others from ripping me off?" was "You can't". That was because the cost of proceedings in the Patents Court or even the Patents County Court was prohibitive. Litigation in common law countries such as England and the United States has always been more expensive than in civil law countries like France, Germany and the Netherlands.  Moreover, in England the losing party usually has to pay the winning party's costs whereas in the USA it does not.  Moreover, lawyers in the USA have always been allowed to accept instructions upon the promise of a share in any damages that may be awarded whereas until recently English lawyers were not. All of those factors combined to make England one of the most expensive and hazardous jurisdictions for individuals or small or medium enterprises ("SME") to enforce their intellectual property rights ("IPR") in the world,

Up to 2002 that did not matter so much because legal aid was available for IP claims as it was for most civil proceedings. In April of that year paragraph 1 (h) of Schedule 2 to the Access to Justice Act 1999 came into effect which abolished public funding for matters arising out of the carrying on of a business.  Word quickly spread that enforcing a patent or other IPR was too expensive and too risky for all but wealthy individuals and big companies and organizations.  Consequently, fewer and fewer individuals and SME bothered with patent applications with the result that the country of Newton and Faraday now trails not only Germany and France but even the Netherlands with one third of our population and Switzerland with one eighth in the number of applications to the European Patent Office (see "Why IP Yorkshire" 10 Sep 2008).

Since I wrote that article there have been a number of changes that make it cheaper and easier for individuals and SME to protect themselves. First, the costs that a successful party can recover from the other side  in the Patents County Court were capped at £50,000 on 1 Oct 2010 (see "New Patents County Court Rules" 31 Oct 2010 NIPC Law). Secondly, a new small claims track in the Patents County Court was launched on 1 Oct 2012 for claims up to £10,000 (see "Patents County Court - The New Small Claims Track Rules" 20 Sept 2012 NIPC Law). I gave a talk on this new jurisdiction to the Sheffield Inventors Group in "How Small Businesses in Yorkshire can protect their Intellectual Property" 14 Oct 2012. The Patents County Court was abolished on 30 Sept 2013 but it was replaced by the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court ("IPEC") which operates in exactly the same way and with the same rules as its predecessor. Thirdly, new insurance and funding options are now available which reduce the cost and risk of litigation (see "Intellectual Property Litigation - the Funding Options" 10 April 2013 NIPC Law). Finally, HM Government has entered an agreement with most of its EU partners to set up a Unified Patents Court which will hear disputes over unitary patents (European patents treating the territories of the contracting states as though they were one country) (see "Unified Patent Court Comes One Step Closer" 17 Aug 2013 NIPC Law).

In my talk on Monday I shall discuss:

• the Institutions: the Intellectual Property Office, European Patent Office, Chancery Division, Patents Court and IPEC;
• the Legislation: the Patents Act 1977 and other IP statutes, the European Patent Convention, Part 63;
• Practice: Patents Court, Chancery and IPEC Guides;
• Claims for breach of confidence: How to bring proceedings in IPEC's small claims track;
• Entitlement Proceedings
• Infringement Proceedings in IPEC and the Patents Court
• Threats Actions
• Revocation Actions
• Insurance
• Unified Patent Court.

I shall explain each of these concepts and steps in everyday non-technical language with links to other materials and I shall later post the slides to this website. 

I do hope to see as many readers as possible on Monday but if you can't make it and want to discuss any of these points don't be afraid to give me a ring on 020 7404 5252 during office hours or send me a message through my contact form, tweet me, write on my wall or get in touch through G+, Linkedin or Xing.

Leeds Inventors Group: Patent Box and R & D Credits

The patent box is a tax concession to encourage businesses to invest in research and development in the UK which came into force on 1 April 2013.  As  one of the few sets of chambers with expertise in tax as well as intellectual property we have been touring the country with our good friends in BDO and Jackson & Canter.

We have already held one workshop on the patent box in Liverpool on 29 April 2013 at which Vince Walker and I gave talks. You can download our presentations from "The Patent Box Workshop: Liverpool Inventors Club" IP North West on 3 May 213.   

There will be a similar workshop at Leeds Inventors Group which will take place at Leeds Central Library, Calverley Street, Leeds, LS1 3AB on 8 May at 18:00.   My presentation will be very much the same as at Liverpool but the the main speaker will be Dan Brookes tax director of BDO's office in Leeds whose face appears above.

If you want to discuss the patent box or any aspect of patent law call us on  0113 320 3232, 01484 599090 or 020 7404 5252 or send a message through our contact form. You can also follow me on Facebook, Linkedin, twitter or Xing.

Biddleston to talk to Leeds Inventors Group

Inventor, product developer and former school master John Biddleston will talk to Leeds Inventors Group this month. His presentation to the Sheffield club was very well received indeed.   For more information about this presentation, see the article in my Inventors Club blog.

John is an excellent speaker so you are in for a treat.  The talk will take place on 18 Jan 2012 at 18:00 at Central Library, Calverley Street, Leeds, LS1 3AB. For further information call Ged Doonan or Stef Stephenson on  0113 247 8266 or  email [email protected].