Celebrating Barnsley's Intellectual Property on World IP Day

Joseph Bramah

 

Jane Lambert

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.

Barnsley's Library @ The Lightbox where I gave a presentation to local entrepreneurs entitled IP for Startups and Other SMEs in 2019. The Lightbox is part of the Business and IP Centre South Yorkshire which is itself linked to the British Library's nationwide network.  It is possible to access a lot of useful resources including Esp@cenet from the Lightbox and one-to-one interviews with experts are offered on that site.

Anyone wishing to discuss this article may call me on 020 7404 5252 during office hours or send me a message through my contact page.

Meeting Rita Britton, a Living Legend

Jane Lambert

For the last 20 years, I have offered a free advice service on intellectual property and technology law to tenants of the Barnsley Business Village and other local businesses known as "Initial Advice and Signposting".  One of those tenants is Clea Digital which hosts a monthly event at the Business Village called the Creative Collective.  I attended that event yesterday because the guest speaker was Rita Britton.

Ms Britton is a living legend because she set up and ran a remarkable business called "Pollyanna."  This was a shop in Barnsley town centre that sold clothes and accessories from the world's top designers.  Though I am not sure whether I ever bought anything other than refreshments in the shop's cafe, I made a point of visiting it to admire the merchandise whenever I was in Barnsley.  If I met a visitor from another part of the UK or from overseas I would send them to the shop.  Ms Britton closed Pollyanna in 2014 after suffering a stroke and brain haemorrhage (see Rita Britton closes Pollyanna boutique in Barnsley after 50 years 16 June 2014 BBC website),  

Closing that shop was not the end of Ms Britton's story because she is still in business.  She recently incorporated a company called Pollyanna Barnsley Limited to make and sell clothing and accessories. That company is one of the tenants of the Business Village.  Yesterday's Creative Collective meeting was attended largely by Ms Britton's fellow business owners and tenants.  Most of the audience were women but I counted several men including Mr Kevin Steel, the Business Development Manager of the Business Village.

Ms Britton spoke animatedly and energetically without notes about her life and work  She mentioned her parents, upbringing and education.  She left school at 15 and found a job in a paper mill.  She passed her driving test soon after her 17th birthday which was apparently unusual for girls of her age in her neighbourhood  Her employer made use of that skill by asking her to transport workers to its premises in the South of England whenever some extra help was needed. She rose quickly through the company which provided an opportunity for her to learn a lot of useful management skills.

She opened her business with help from her father,  One of her first suppliers was Mary Quant and she also mentioned Barbara Hulanicki.  She spoke nostalgically about the 1960s and all the changes that it brought socially and culturally. Before the 1960s girls would dress like their mothers. The miniskirt allowed them to look and behave very differently.  I remember that period well though I am a few years younger than Ms Britton and grew up in suburban Surrey.  The social and cultural changes that she mentioned coincided with the change of government which led to the abolition of capital punishment and decriminalization of homosexuality.  There was also England's victory in the World Cup, protests against the Vietnam War, the first stirrings of women's liberation, the availability of oral contraceptives, student riots in Nanterre and the idea of flower power which contributed to the mood of the times.

Ms Britton mentioned some of the great personalities of the fashion world with whom she had negotiated.  She compared a visit to Jean Muir to an audience with the late Queen.  Some of her suppliers were very snooty on learning that she came from Barnsley.  Others showed great courtesy.  She found the Japanese to be particularly accommodating.  She recalled an incident where a Japanese supplier dismissed a Scottish employee who had been particularly offensive to Ms Britton during difficult times.  Ms Britton described herself as placid by nature but she quickly learned how to deal with aggressive behaviour in others.

The last part of her talk covered plans for her business.  She had recently designed a new bag with the words 

LONDON
PARIS
NEW YORK
BARNSLEY

but was thinking of omitting the word London.  One member of the audience suggested striking out all the names except Barnsley.  She had met some pushback from customers in London, two of whom are members of my profession.    She also spoke of the opportunities that she wanted to create for young designers.   She passed around a catalogue of jewellery made from jet which she had introduced to Dover Street Market.  What was needed, in her view, was a centre of excellence for local designers.   After her talk, I mentioned that we had such a centre in Huddersfield.

Today is one of the days on which I visit the Business Village for my drop-in IP clinic.  I have not had any appointments for today so far. However. I have been the first port of call for many young designers from all parts of the country who have sought advice on trade marks for their branding, registration for their product designs and copyright and design right protection for their merchandise and promotional materials.

Anyone wishing to discuss this topic further can call me on 020 7404 5252 during office hours or send me a message through my contact form at other times.

Yorkshire IP Practitioners' TIPSY Night Out

Leeds Light Festival

Author Donald Judge Lince  CC BY-SA 2.0 Deed Source  Wikimedia Commons

Jane Lambert

TIPSY is an abbreviation, not an adjective.  It stands for The Intellectual Property Society of Yorkshire and it was started by my fellow St Andrean, Andrew Clay of Sonder & Clay,  I have mentioned TIPSY twice before in this publication.  The first time was when we entertained His Honour Judge Hacon to dinner (see TIPSY 10 Dec 2018).  The second was when we welcomed Mr Justice Birss as he then was just before lockdown (see TIPSY Dinner for Mr Justice Birss 28 Feb 2020).  I have attended a few more of these dinners but I have not always been inspired to write about them.

Yesterday's is worth writing about because the guest of honour was Justin Turner KC. He spoke to us about Mrs Justice Joanna Smith's decision in Getty Images (US) Inc and others v Stability AI Ltd [2023] EWHC 3090 (Ch) (1 Dec 2023) and the Supreme Court's judgment in Thaler v Comptroller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks [2023] UKSC 49 (20 Dec 2023).  I have a particular interest in those cases having mentioned both of them in my first newsletter. I wrote about Mrs Justice Joanna Smith's decision in Copyright and Artificial Intelligence - Getty Images (US) Inc and others v Stability AI Ltd in NIPC Law on 12 Dec 2023 and the Supreme Court's in The Supreme Court's Judgment in DABUS on 26 Dec 2023 in NIPC Law.

Justin focused on Getty and he produced a number of slides and handouts for the audience,  He began his talk by introducing us to Duncker's problem which Wikipedia describes as "a cognitive performance test, measuring the influence of functional fixedness on a participant's problem-solving capabilities." The objective is to fix and light a candle on a corkboard in a way that the candle wax won't drip onto the table below.  Each person who takes part is issued with a board, a candle, a box of drawing pins and some matches.  

He also screened an extract from a scientific paper but left it to us to guess its connection with Dubcker's problem, the concept of artificial intelligence and Mrs Justice Joanna Smith's decision not to strike out Getty's case against Stability AI.

In his discussion on DABUS Justin referred to para [52] of Lord Kitchin's judgment where he said:

"in this jurisdiction, it is not and has never been Dr Thaler's case that he was the inventor and used DABUS as a highly sophisticated tool. Had he done so, the outcome of these proceedings might well have been different."

That prompted me to ask the question: "Who is funding this and similar litigation around the world and why?"  Neither Justin nor anyone else around the room knew the answer to that conundrum.

On 31 Jan 2024, I attended an excellent introduction by Klaire Tanner to various artificial intelligence software that is available to the public and was shown what they can do.  I used one of those application to make the masthead for the second issue of my newsletter

Earlier today I was delighted to learn that Parminder Lally and one of her colleagues have accepted an invitation to speak at the Cambridge IP Law Summer School   She has drafted a lot of specifications for computer-implemented inventions and she knows a great deal about the legal issues relating to AI.  She is the author of the brAIn blog newsletter.  Her presentation last year was excellent.  I look forward to hearing again this August,

Anyone who wishes to discuss this article may call me on 020 7404 5252 during normal office hours.  At other times they can send me a message through my contact form.

Rise & Design in Marshall Mills

Author Steve Buxton Licence CC BY-SA 4.0 Deed  Source Wikimedia Commons

 

Jane Lambert

"Rise & Design" refers to Design Network North's free monthly networking meetings that take place on the second Friday of every month.  Design Network North is a project delivered by RTC North.  According to its website RTC North is "one of Europe’s leading technology transfer companies with a trusted reputation for delivering services in innovation and business growth." Its head office is in Sunderland and it has branches in Leeds and Daresbury.

I was introduced to Design Network North when it held a Rise & Design meeting at the 3M Buckley Innovation Centre in Huddersfield on 20 Jan 2017.   I wrote about the event in Rise & Design in Huddersfield on 21 Jan 2017.  Most of its other meetings have taken place in  Gateshead or other venues in North East England which is a long way to travel for a morning networking event,  

However, during lockdown, Terry McStea Head of Design at Design Network North held formal or informal online discussions for entrepreneurs, designers, makers and their professional advisors almost every week.  As I live on my own I was very grateful for those sessions because they helped me to keep in touch with the rest of humanity during that difficult period.  I discussed some of those events in Rise and Design Online: A Webinar for Designers in Northeast England on Designing our Way out of Lockdown 16 June 2020 IP North East, The Impact of EU Exit on the Health and Life Science Sectors 19 Nov 2020,  IP North East, Rise & Design: Wearable Tech Webinar 13 March 2021, IP North East and The Bright Side of Death 14 Oct 2021, IP North East.

On 23 Feb 2024, Design Network North held a Rise & Design in the Chapter Hall of the Northern Monk brewery in the Old Flax Store of Marshall Mills on Marshall Street in Leeds.  The Chapter Hall is at the top of several flights of stairs of a building that does not have a lift,   As I am still nursing an injury that I sustained in a ballet workshop nearly 2 years ago I had to work hard and take my time to reach the meeting room.  Happily, ample supplies of hot drinks and sausage and bacon rolls rewarded our exertions.  I was one of the first to arrive and I made several new acquaintances over those refreshments before the meeting began.

Eventually, Terry called us to order and invited us to greet and exchange pleasantries with the person sitting next to us.  I met Sharon Sheard of Medola Comms on my table.   Terry then introduced Design Network North and the day's topic which was "The Power of Innovation".  He explained that innovation meant a new way of doing things which could include inventions but the concept was much wider than that.  Changing the way we communicate with customers, manage our staff or find new suppliers can also count.   Each of the speakers discussed a different aspect of the concept.

The first speaker was Fiona Conor, Managing Director of Trust Electric Heating Ltd. who had been on her feet when I arrived at the UK RI's Innovate Local event at Dean Clough Mills on 14 Nov 2023 (see Innovate Local Visits Halifax 29 Nov 2023). Mrs Conor's husband had invented a wall-mountable electric heater for which their company had sought a European patent.  Apparently, the initial design had been unpatentable but Mr Conor introduced some refinements which satisfied the examiners.  The speaker also told us that part of the development work had been undertaken by a university with Knowledge Transfer Exchange funding.   There was a short debate on the merits of collaboration between businesses and universities in Mrs Conor's Q&A in which I participated.

The second speaker was Darren Evans of the Engine Room whom I first met when the consultancy was based in the Huddersfield Media Centre.  Mr Evans is an engaging speaker whose abiding message was that one's brand is one's business and vice versa.    He discussed the case history of Paxman Coolers Ltd. which has developed a device to cool chemotherapy patients' scalps thereby preventing or reducing hair loss.  I remembered that that device had been featured at the Rise & Design meeting in Huddersfield just over 7 years ago.  I remarked in the Q&A that it had been impressive then and was even more interesting now.

The last speaker was Richard Hall of pd-m who is a product design consultant.   I have known him for many years and have chaired many meetings at which he has been the guest speaker and also shared platforms with him on more than one occasion.   He had been one of the speakers at the Rise & Design meeting in Huddersfield in 2017.  He always has something interesting to say and I think it was the opportunity to hear his presentation that attracted me to that Rise & Design meeting in Huddersfield.  Last Friday's event was the first time we had met since lockdown. pdM has grown over the years and has taken on new staff.  Most of its work is in the medical devices sector.   

After the talks, I gave a short pitch for the Initial Advice and Signposting service that I am relaunching from the Barnsley Business Village (see Relaunch of the Barnsley IP Clinic 16 Feb 2024) and promoting the IPEC Small Claims Track in Leeds (see Bringing or Defending a Small IP Claim in Leeds 8 Feb 2024). Incidentally, I have offered an Iittial Advice and Signposting service in the North East as well as Yorkshire since 2020 (see Initial Advice and Signposting in North East England 24 May 2020 IP North East)  and its has been possible to bring small IP claims in Newcastle upon Tyne as well as Leeds for several years (see Small Claims Track IP Litigation in Newcastle upon Tyne 19 July 2019 IP North Easr.

Both the Yorkshire and the North East England initial advice and signposting schemes operate on a triage basis.  If, for example, it appears that a client needs to see a patent attorney I will try to make a free 30-minute appointment with one which can take place by phone, Zoom or in the attorney's office.  One of the new connections that I made on Friday was with Greg Carty-Hornsby of Marks & Clerk.  He also gave a short presentation immediately after me and he has kindly agreed to give users of our initial advice and safeguarding service who need to meet a patent attorney up to 30 minutes of his time.

The last presenter was Ian Barber of IT consultancy Reach Aware Ltd which offers IT support and outsourcing.

Terry announced that the next Rise & Design meeting will take place in Newcastle.  There will be a video link for those who cannot attend in person.  He also promised a return to Huddersfield on 7 June 2024.

Anyone wishing to discuss this article may call me on 020 7404 5252 during normal business hours or send a message by my contact page. 

Relaunch of the Barnsley IP Clinic

Photo ChicXulub Licence CC BY-SA 4.0 Deed Source Wikimedia Commons

 

Jane Lambert

Until the pandemic, I hold pro bono consultations on IP and tech law at the Barnsley Business Village on the second Tuesday of every month. I continued to offer those consultations over Zoom during lockdown and afterwards (see IP Clinics FAQs 8 March 2023 IP Yorkshire). Even though a consultation could take place at almost any time they were never as popular as the drop-in clinic. Barnsley Business Village is therefore restoring the one-to-one clinics at the Business Village with effect from 16:00 on Tuesday 12 March 2024.

The new clinics will differ slightly from the previous ones in two respects,   First, I have recruited patent and trade mark attorneys and other IP specialists to our clinic.  If, for example, you want to apply for a patent for your invention you need to talk to a patent attorney rather than a lawyer like me.  If you need a prototype I will introduce you to a product design consultant.   I have spent my career advising specialist solicitors and patent and trade mark attorneys on difficult points of law, drafting complex legal instruments for use in business as well as litigation and representing parties in court, IPO tribunals and negotiations.  I should be best placed to advise on strategy, licensing and dispute resolution. Secondly, we shall make more use of Zoom and other technologies so that we can address your issues promptly. rather than wait until the second Tuesday,

The first step is to contact us,   The best way is by completing the form below but you can also call the Business Village on  01226 249590 or me on 020 7404 5252 to make an appointment for initial advice and signposting   If I think someone else is better placed to help you than me I will put you in touch with them.  Whoever you see will give you up to 30 minutes of his or her time absolutely free. 

Fill out my online form.

Bringing or Defending a Small IP Claim in Leeds

Author Rich Tea Licence CC  BY-SA 2.0 DEED  Source Wikimedia Commons

 

Jane Lambert

Nearly 10 years ago I wrote How to Bring or Defend a Small Intellectual Property Claim in the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court in NIPC London. I wrote it with litigants in person in mind though I thought it would also be useful to lawyers who do not specialize in intellectual property and patent and trade mark attorneys who do not litigate regularly in the civil courts. It was intended to supplement A Guide to Bringing and Defending a Small Claim by the Civil Justice Council and A Guide to the Patents County Court Small Claims Track which has been replaced by the Guide to the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court Small Claims Track ("the Guide").

Much of that article remains true though there have been a number of developments since then.  The UK has left the European Union which means that IPEC is no longer a Community designs or EU trade mark court. Disputes over unregistered Community designs or EU trade marks that have arisen since 31 Dec 2020 are no longer within the IPEC Small Claims Track's jurisdiction.  The Leeds District Registry and the District Registries of several other major cities have been integrated with the courts in the Rolls Building in London to establish the Business and Property Courts (see my article Launch of a Judicial Super Highway? 12 July 2017 IP Northwest).  As a consequence of that integration it has been possible to bring certain types of small intellectual property claims in Leeds for most of the last 5 years (see Jane Lambert Small Claims Track IP Litigation in Leeds 10 July 2019).  According to Annex A of the Guide small IP claims in Leeds come before District Judge Prest KC.  Since 3 July 2023 most small IP claims litigation has been conducted in the North because Manchester Civil Justice Centre is now the new home of the IPEC Small Claims Track (see Jane Lambert IPEC Small Claims to be managed in Manchester 9 June 2023 IP Northwest).

The sections of How to Bring or Defend a Small Intellectual Property Claim in the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court that continue to apply are those headed "Do you need a Lawyer?" and "Have you got a Case?"  In addition to the pro bono services listed in section 6 of the Guide, I would add IP Pro Bono which is now part of Lawworks, Advocate which was formerly known as "Bar Pro Bono" and my own "Initial Advice and Signposting" clinic which I run in conjunction with Barnsley Business Village.  

It is still necessary for claimants to write a "letter before claim" unless there are very good reasons not to do so but the practice direction referred to in the section headed "Pre-Action Correspondence" has been revoked and replaced with the Practice Direction - Pre-Action Conduct and Protocols (see my article What to do about the new Practice Direction - Pre-Action Conduct 6 May 2015 NIPC Law).  Guidance on the steps to be taken by parties to intellectual property disputes is no to be found in para 6 of the Practice Direction.

The first paragraph of the section headed "Starting the Claim" has to be modified since the Manchester Civil Justice Centre and not the Rolls Building is now the home of the IPEC Small Claims Track and a small IP claim can now be issued out of the Business and Property Courts in Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Liverpool, Manchester and Newcastle as well as Leeds.   If you want a case study of an IP case in one of those other cities, see Small Claims Track IP Litigation in Bristol 24 Feb 2022 NIPC Severn-Hafren.

I would repeat everything else I said in my previous article.  Anyone who wishes to discuss this topic should call me during normal business hours on 020 7404 5252 or send me a message through my contact form.

Innovate Local visits Halifax

Dean Clough Mills

Author Charlesdrakew  Source Wikimedia Cinnions

 

Jane Lambert

United Kingdom Research and Innovation ("UKRI") was established by s,91 (1) of the Higher Education and Research Act 2017. It consists of 9 bodies one of which is Innovate UK. Innovate UK is the national innovation agency.  It helps businesses grow through the development and commercialisation of new products, processes, and services,

Innovate Local promotes UKRI and Innovate UK to the regions. On 14 Nov 2023, it held an event for West Yorkshire businesses at Dean Clough Mills in Halifax,  The day began with introductions from UKRI and Innovate UK executives, Tracy Brabin, the Mayor of West Yorkshire, and other local authority leaders.  It was followed by success stories from business owners.

A buffet lunch was served between 12:00 and 13:00 which offered a chance to visit the stands of local universities and agencies.  The University of Huddersfield stand was staffed by Prof. John Allport who teaches Turbocharger Engineering in the Department of Engineering and Technology.  Prof Allport and I had an interesting discussion on why relatively few women make careers in engineering.  In his view, too many girls (but not boys) are encouraged to believe at an early age that maths and science are not really for them.  Other countries do not seem to have that problem to anything like the same extent.   That accorded with my experience.  It may have a lot to do with very early specialization in England and Wales.

After lunch there was a choice of breakout sessions between 13:00 and 14:00:

• "Inclusive Innovation - by and for everyone"
• "Healthcare Innovation: funding and cluster opportunities" and 
• "Supporting your Business Innovation Journey."

I chose "Healthcare Innovation! in the hope of hearing about such initiatives as Bradford University's Institute of Pharmaceutical innovation. There was plenty of information about the biomedical catalyst and support for SMEs in the healthcare technology sector.  There was an interesting case history from one of those companies.  There was some discussion about medical devices but nothing on pharma as such. However, I did learn that the West Yorkshore Combined Authority had an interest in health tech.  Through exploring its web pages on health tech I discovered a five year Healthtech Strategy for the region.

Between 14:00 and 15:00 the choice lay between:

• "West Yorkshire Manufacturing Cluster"
• "Women in Digital Innovation Network" and 
• "Financing your Business Innovation Journey."

I attended the financing session and found it was the most interesting of the day.   There was a panel of angels and venture capitalists chaired by Basit Mohammed, Knowledge Transfer Manager ‑ Regional Investments Innovate UK KTN.  There was one entrepreneur who had actually started a business and it was interesting to see the tangible support that was actually available.   As most of the seats had been taken by the time I arrived I found myself an excellent heckling position at the back of the room.  I asked about valuation of start-ups when their only assets were a patent application at best.  I was looking to the private equity investors and I did not really get a clear answer about any of that.   I also asked the VCs about flotations on the Alternative Investment Market  for successful scale-ups.   I got the impression that it was still early days.

This is trhe second Innovate Local event that I have attended,   I was at a similar event in Bradford last year (see Innovate Local West Yorkshire 22 Oct 2022).   It is very important for intellectual property lawyers - particularly barristers - to attend events like these. It enables us to keep tabs on what is happening to businesses that may require legal advice and representation.   Anyone who wants to discuss this article may call me on 020 7404 5252 during UK office hours or send me a message through my contact form.