Demand for my IP Clinic - Flash in the Pan or Straws in the Wind

By Steve Partridge, CC BY-SA 2.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9270036

Jane Lambert

I have been holding monthly IP clinics in Yorkshire since 2004.  I have therefore experienced the economic downturn which resulted from the banking crisis, the slow recovery, and the 20.4% slump in GDP which the Office for National Statistics announced yesterday (see GDP monthly estimate, UK: April 2020, 12 June 2020 ONS).  I have found attendance at my monthly IP clinic in Barnsley to be a pretty good bellwether of the state of the economy.

This week for the first time in months I had three enquiries.   As I explained in Barnsley IP Clinic 14 April 2020 I have had to offer these clinics online.  That enables me to see clients at a mutually convenient rather than a two-hour session at the Business Village in Wilthorpe.  I also hold a similar clinic at the Menai Science Park in Anglesey which is now online (see Online Support for Businesses in Wales 13 April 2020 NIPC Wales).  However, until this week I had received only one enquiry and that came from North Wales),

What is encouraging about this week's enquiries is that they were all about new business ventures.  Obviously, I can't disclose who they were or anything about their businesses but they were interested in legal protection for their brands and technology. The conversations on branding led to trade marks and the discussion on protecting technology led to patents and alternatives to patents.  I also mentioned trade mark and patent searches and how to obtain them, clinics at the Sheffield and Leeds Business and IP Centres run by CIPA and others, and how and where to find a patent or trade mark attorney.

All three clients were enthusiastic and motivated.  They were aware that they were going into business at a very bad time but they had researched their markets and were sure that their businesses would grow as the economy revives. Now I may be wrong about this but I think they will succeed. I also think there are others like them from the Shetlands to the Scillies.  A flash in the pan?  Perhaps!  But I think they are straws in the wind.  I say that because something very similar happened in about 2011 and 2012. There were dips of inactivity now and then but as the economy picked up so dud attendances at my clinic.

Now for a tip.  At my clinics and inventors' clubs, I am often asked about T & C.  These are about managing risk which is why terms and conditions designed for one business may not necessarily suit another.  They are meant to dovetail with following best practice and public liability and other insurance. 

Just outside Wakefield, there stand the ruins of a medieval castle which was also about managing risk.  There was a moat to keep out wild animals, sturdy vagabonds, and other undesirables.  That was enough to deter most threats to the castle and its inhabitants.  To fight off besieging armies there was a curtain wall from which defenders could fire arrows and pour boiling all or molten lead on their attackers.  If the wall was breached, there was a keep with thick walls where the defenders made their last stand as Macbeth tried to do against Macduff.

Terms and conditions are the last line of defence.  Contract terms cannot be used to exclude certain types of liability.  The first line of defence is best practice.  That equates to the moat.   The second line is insurance. That is like the curtain wall.  Terms and conditions can sometimes be used to regulate risks that cannot be insured against and where best practice fails.   They should, therefore, be drafted with the needs of the business in mind with the insurance policy and manual if best practice to hand.

Anyone wishing to discuss this article or any of the topics mentioned in it should call my clerk on +44(0)7986 948267 or send me a message through my contact page while this emergency continues, I shall gladly respond by phone, Zoom or email.

Barnsley IP Clinic 14 April 2020

By Badics - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=35492068

Jane Lambert

On the second Tuesday of every month, I hold an intellectual property clinic at Barnsley Business and Innovation Centre at Wilthorpe between 16:00 and 18:00.  The next one is due to take place on Tuesday, 14 April 2020.  Obviously, I can't visit the Centre and neither can those who require advice but there is no reason why the clinic cannot be conducted by phone or video link.

As I said in IP Services during the Emergency 23 March 2020 NIPC Inventors Club, IP is now more important than ever:

"If we are ever to stop Covid-19 in its tracks it will be through the efforts of universities and biotech and pharmaceutical companies around the world whose research will have to be funded. Much of that funding will come from the private sector which will require legal protection for the revenue streams from which it will recoup such investment."

Very much the same is true of the design and development of medical devices, personal protection equipment, infection tracking and logistics software and all the other contributions that will be required to counter the menace.

Much of that work will be done by small businesses and in some cases individuals.   As I also said in the article, those businesses will need the best possible advice on patenting, licensing and technology transfer too and they will need them on affordable terms.  I cannot carry all the answers in my head but I can introduce you to attorneys, design consultants, specialist accountants and solicitors and others who can help take your project forward,   I described all the services that I offer in Barnsley Pro Bono IP Clinic 12 Nov 2019 7 Nov 2018,

So if you want to attend my online clinic please, complete the Initial Advice and Sihnposting form as soon as possible.

The Library @ The Lightbox - "Everything you need to know about IP for Small Businesses but did not know what, whom, where or how to ask"

Standard YouTube Licence Jane Lambert

The Library @ The Lightbox is an important resource for entrepreneurs and other innovative and creative people in Barnsley which opened in The Glassworks last Saturday.  Its facilities include a ground floor sharing space for up to 45 people with a large 86” Tango screen.

I have been invited to give a talk in that sharing space on Monday, 22 July 2019 between 17:30 and 18:30.  The title of my talk will be "Everything you need to know about IP for Small Businesses"  It will cover everything a startup or other small business needs to know about protecting its investment in branding, design, technology and creativity.

On branding, I will cover not only registered trade marks and passing off but less obvious protection such as database rights in market research and customer service records which is the basis of a business's goodwill.

On design, I will discuss both decorative design which is protected by design registration and in some cases copyright but also functional design which is covered by unregistered design right and sometimes semiconductor topographies.

On technology, I will mention not only patents but also trade secrets (including the new Directive), unregistered design rights, copyright and database right for programs and data, unregistered design rights and plant varieties.

In relation to creativity, I will talk about copyright and rights in performances.

On enforcement, I will consider litigation options (the Patents Court, Intellectual Property Enterprise Court multitrack and small claims track, the IPO's tribunals. the Chancery Division and County Court) and alternatives to litigation such as ICANN's UDRP and Nominet's DRS for domain name disputes, IPO examiners opinions on the validity or infringement of patents and mediation).

I shall explore funding options such as before and after the event insurance.

I will tell attendees where they can get more information such as the British Library and Leeds and Sheffield Central Library Business and IP Centres. For those who want to consult a specialist lawyer or patent or trade mark attorney, I shall speak about my own pro bono clinics at the Barnsley Business Village and Sheffield Central Library as well as the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys' at Leeds, Sheffield and elsewhere.

This is a must for anyone who owns or contemplates setting up a small business.  The next time I am likely to deliver a similar talk will be in London and the conference organizer charge £645 + VAT for such events. Should anyone wish to discuss this article or any topic mentioned or referred it in it, call me on 020 7404 5252 during office hours or send me a message through my contact form.