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| Joseph Bramah |
World Intellectual Property Day is a celebration of creativity, enterprise and innovation. Over the years Barnsley folk have demonstrated those qualities in abundance. As for creativity, the composer John Arthur Casken, the playwright John Arden and the poet Ian McMillan came from Barnsley. So, too, did the entrepreneur Rita Britton whose conversation I discussed in Meeting Rita Britton, a Living Legend on 9 April 2024. But perhaps the Barnsley scion who has had the biggest impact on the world is the inventor, Joseph Bramah because he invented a device that enables large concentrations of humans to live healthily in close proximity to each other
That device was the water closet which was Bramah's first and most famous invention but it was not his only one. He developed a particularly secure kind of lock for which he received a patent in 1784. On the strength of that invention, he set up the Bramah Locks Company which continues to this day. He also invented a hydraulic press the drawings of which are on Espacenet under the title "Obtaining and Applying Motive Power". In his lifetime he received 18 patents for inventions that ranged from fire trucks to beer engines. Wetherspoon has a pub called The Joseph Bramah at 15 Market Hill in Barnsley town centre.
Over the 20 years or so that I have been running a pro bono IP clinic at The Business Village I have seen many budding entrepreneurs and inventors. Some I have referred to Sheffield Central Library for a patent search, Others I have referred to product design consultants. I have introduced several to local patent or trade mark attorneys. On a few occasions I have helped businesses settle potentially ruinous disputes on advantageous terms at the earliest possible stage.