Rise & Design Returns to Leeds

 

Jane Lambert

I introduced Rise & Design in Rise & Design in Marshall's Mill on 28 Feb 2024.  They returned to Marshall's Mill on 7 March 2025 for its monthly meeting on the theme of Growth Through Innovation.  As usual, we had three speakers but, unusually one of them was the Head of Design Networth North, Terry McStea.

Terry demonstrated the power of artificial intelligence in creating designs.  He had instructed an AI system to design a team of robots accepting an award,  The end result was the image that appears above but there were a number of intermediate stages where the robots had extra fingers and other body parts.  All of those systems have to be trained and that is a hot issue in the law with cases like Getty Images (US) Inc and others v Stability AI Ltd [2023] EWHC 3090 (Ch) (1 Dec 2023) trundling through the courts.  HM Government has recently completed a consultation on IP and copyright which I discussed in UK Government Launches Consultation on AI and Copyright on 18 Dec 2024 in NIPC News.

The other speakers were Mike Waldron, Managing Partner of RDD+ and Colette Safhill, Managing Director of Myth Drinks.  RDD+ is a product design and development service which works with some big names.  Mike took us through a number of case studies showing the chain of development from the concept in the client's mind's eye to the finished product.  As that would amount to inventing in some circumstances I asked him whether he or the client would own the right to patent the invention,  He said that it would depend but in many cases, the client would own the intellectual property.  Colette introduced her company and some of her tempting products.  Alas, there were no free samples.  The most intriguing part of her story from my perspective was about a massive competitor who marketed a product with a very similar mark or name.  Apparently, she considered legal action but was advised that it was too risky and too expensive.

Colette left before the end of the meeting which was a shame because Phil Stephenson and Simon Woods of Bailey Walsh were in the audience as well as me and we could have helped her avoid similar problems in the future through trade mark registration and IP insurance,   Phil gave an elevator pitch about his firm and I gave another one on developing a simple IP strategy,

As usual, we had a very congenial and stimulating morning.  Terry chose good speakers and an excellent venue and arranged copious quantities of hot drinks and bacon butties.  Anyone wishing to discuss this article may call me on 020 7404 5252 during office hours or send me a message through my contact form at any time.

Rise & Design in Marshall's Mill

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's Mill 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. 

Rise & Design in Huddersfield

Jane Lambert

"It is not every office that has a 3D printer chugging away in reception" I thought to myself as I passed through the entrance of the 3M Buckley Innovation Centre in Huddersfield. I was there at the opening in 2012 (see Launch of Huddersfield University's 3M Buckley Innovation Centre 27 Sept 2012). Despite my offer "to help on behalf of my network of patent and trade mark attorneys, solicitors, product design consultants, angels, financial institutions and other contacts with talks, clinics and any other way I can" they had not been in touch with them nor they with me.

The reason I came back was a Rise & Design networking meeting arranged by Design Network North at the Centre between 08:30 and 12:00 on Friday, 20 Jan 2016. The theme of the meeting was "The Power of Collaboration". The event consisted of presentations by:

• Richard Hall of pd-m and Dr Pete Culmer of the University of Leeds;
• Amanda Scacchetti, Innovation Director at Mamas & Papas, and
• Patrick Burke of Paxman Coolers Ltd and Ertu Enver and Chris Sorbie of Huddersfield University.

There were short pitches by various members of the audience and a quick news update by Terry McStea, network manager of Design Network North.

Pete Culmer had already described his collaboration with Richard Hall on his LinkedIn page:

"Richard and his team at Pd-m were commissioned to work with our Surgical Technologies research group on the commercialization of a medical device here are the University of Leeds.

We needed Pd-m’s expertise in converting a research-level concept into an innovative, realisable and manufacturable product which we could present to commercial partners for a license deal.

The project required Richard and his team to work closely with a multidisciplinary team including academic researchers at the university, surgeons at Leeds Teaching Hospitals and commercial partners.

Pd-m were instrumental in helping to deliver a robust prototype for evaluation in a product live trial at the project’s culmination, ensuring that it was a success.

In summary, Richard and his team are a professional innovation consultancy and I can highly recommend them."

 Amanda Scacchetti spoke about developing a market for her company's reconditioned pushchairs which she described as tantamount to a start-up.  She spoke about the coordination of technical and marketing staff within the business, the market research that was undertaken, the financial planning and the not-inconsiderable risks that were taken in the early days. She mentioned the emotional attachment that families develop for their children's pushchairs and how some actually conducted farewell rituals as though they were seeing off a member of the family.  She reported that the scheme has been a success and has actually boosted sales of new accessories.

The last presentation was on the development of a cap for cooling the scalp of patients undergoing chemotherapy by academics of the University of Huddersfield for Paxman Coolers Ltd. The purpose of the cap is to protect hair follicles from chemotherapy drugs by cooling the scalp to a temperature that impedes blood flows. The device is in use in hospitals around the world and patients wearing the cap report relatively little hair loss. Apparently it took several iterations with different tools and materials to perfect the product and several samples of the device were demonstrated to us.  Patrick Burke proudly told us that his company had two UK and two "world patents" for the cap.  Had there been time for questions I would have asked him about Paxman's IP strategy, in particular, the countries in which patents were sought, whether any of the applications had been granted and how they would fund the defence of a revocation claim or an infringement action given the cost of IP litigation in this and other common law jurisdictions. Sadly, there was no time and they left the meeting before I could make my way over to them.

There was, however, time for me to greet Richard Hall whom I have known for many years and with whom I have collaborated occasionally.  It was good to renew my acquaintance with Ian Rowland of Grant Thornton and to meet his colleague, Emily. I also renewed acquaintances with Adrian Sewell who has started to practise as Tandem Patents just outside Keighley and introduced myself to Phil Stephenson of Bailey Walsh. Other folk I met after the talks included Robin Tones of RTC, Gill Watson of Kirklees Council and Leeds LEP, Jason Roebuck of Fizical Design and Tim Stern of AME.

Both the 3M Buckley Innovation Centre and Design Networth North announced some interesting networking meetings which I shall tru to attend in future.