 |
| Author Lad 2011 Licence CC BY-SA 4.0 Source Wikimedia Commons |
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.
"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)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
- 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
...........
Saturday 15th April (10.00 - 15.30)There’ll also be the opportunity for networking, a chance to find out more about the Business & IP Centre and ask your questions."
- An Introduction to Marketing
- Tax and bookkeeping
- An overview of copyright and trade marks
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,
