If only ...........

Jane Lambert

 

Barristers are called upon to advise or provide representation when something has gone terribly wrong.  Often, we are called in far too late. When that happens, we say to ourselves, "If only the client had taken professional advice sooner."  That is particularly true of intellectual property law where a right of action can be lost because the client did not seek legal protection for his or her invention, brand or product design or he or she stumbles into an infringement claim because he or she did not carry out the necessary patent, trade mark or registered design searches before launching his or her business or product.

There are two reasons for this.  The first is that clients do not always know whom to consult.  There are many different types of professionals in intellectual property, such as patent and trade mark attorneys (formerly known as "patent" and "trade mark agents"), patent searchers and specialist IP counsel and solicitors that the public rarely encounters.    I counted 23 separate professions in How to Get Into IP.  The other reason is that they are worried about intellectual property practitioners' fees which can be pricey.

The initial advice and signposting service that I have offered for many years in London, the North of England and Wales meets both concerns.  In many instances, I can give you the answer to your question immediately for nothing.  In others, I may have to refer you to another professional, such as a patent or trade mark attorney, a specialist IP tax consultant or a product design consultant who will also give you at least 30 minutes of his or her time free.

It is important to note that not everything is free.  We will analyse your needs and explain your options pro bono, but if you ask any of us to advise or act for you further, we will charge for our service, albeit at a competitive rate.

It gives me great satisfaction to report that the Barnsley Business Village, which hosts some great innovative businesses, is promoting my initial advice and signposting service to its tenants.   It is important to stress that anyone can register for the service by completing this form.  This scheme is not restricted to Business Village tenants or even to residents of Yorkshire.   

The Initial Advice and Signposting service is only one of several offered by NIPC Inventors' Club.   We also hold events, give online talks.  The next event will be a conference at the Business Village in February on writing an IP strategy and integrating it into a company's business plan.  Finally, we publish the NIPC Inventors Club blog. 

If you want to learn more about our service, call me on 020 7404 6262 or send me a message through this form.

Immediate IP First Aid Nationwide

Field Hospital in First World War

Author National Museum of Health and Medicine
Source Wikipedia
Creative Commons Licence

Jane Lambert

I have been conducting free monthly consultations on IP law in London and the North for the last 10 years or so. I have seen lots of clients in that time and can count a number of successes as a result.

However, that service does have some five limitations.

1. it requires my presence and I can only be in one place at any one time. 
2. A month can be a very long time to wait when a  matter is urgent or you are impatient for information. 
3. I often need to refer clients to another professional such as a patent or trade mark attorney or a product design consultant which results in further delay. 
4. Many problems can be dealt with by a simple phone or Skype call or email. 
5. Clients who need to see me sometimes have to travel for miles.

I have therefore decided to improve and extend my IP Clinic in the following way.

Anyone who wants a free IP consultation with me or some other IP professional should call

020 7404 5252

during office hours and ask for an appointment to speak to me by telephone. I am not always available because I may be in court or a meeting but someone will take your name and number and arrange for me to call you back. Tell the person who takes your call that you are calling about my IP clinic.

Alternatively, you can send me a message through my contact form.

I should be able to give you some basic advice there and then and there will be no charge for that service. Should it appear to me that you need to see some other professional I will call at least one member of the relevant profession who practises in your area wherever possible and ask whether he or she would be willing to see you for an initial meeting or talk to you by telephone for up to 30 minutes free of charge. If the answer is "yes" I will pass you on to him or her.

Please note that you can only use this service once. If you want to consult me or any of the other professionals to whom I may refer you again you will have to instruct us in the usual way and that will usually require a fee the amount of which will be negotiated at the time.

In the next few days, I shall launch an IP clinic website which will provide further information including a knowledge base of answers to frequently asked questions.

Patent Box Roadshow in London

On 4 May 2013 I referred to the patent box roadshow that is trundling round the country (see "Patent Box Roadshows").. The patent box is an important tax concession that which came into force on 1 April 2013 in order to encourage innovation in this country.

On 12 July 2013 the roadshow came to the Liverpool embassy in London and I reported the event in our IP London blog (see "London Patent Box Workshop" 16 July 2013 IP London). There were three speakers, Howard Veares, tax director at BDO, Michael Sandys, head of commercial at Broudie Jackson Canter and me. You can download copies of our slides and handouts from here.

One of the strengths of our chambers is that we are not only strong in IP (see "We can now field a cricket team" 19 July 2013) but also in tax as we share space and facilities with Atlas Tax Chambers. One of the members of that set is Anne Fairpo who is an authority in IP and taxation.  Atlas and the IP Group work closely together.

I have put together the resources of our two groups on the patent box plus some links to some other useful sites in a new blog on the Patent Box. The London event was so successful that we are holding another at the Liverpool embassy on 13 Sep. This time Anne Fairpo will be the star speaker.   Tickets are likely to go like hot cakes so if you want to attend give us a call on 020 7404 5252 or complete our contact form.

Patent Box Roadshows

The patent box is a valuable tax concession to encourage invention in the UK. It came into force on 1 April 2013 and we are holding a series of workshops on the new incentive with our good friends at BDO and Jackson & Canter.

The first of those events took place in Liverpool on 29 April 2013 and you can download the presentations that were given at that workshop from "The Patent Box Workshop: Liverpool Inventors Club" 3 May 2013 IP Northwest.

The next event will be at Leeds Central Library on 8 May 2013 at 18:00 where the main speaker will be BDO tax partner Dan Brookes (see "Leeds Inventors Group: Patent Box and R & D Credits" 4 May 2013 IP Yorkshire).

Further events are planned for London at the Liverpool Embassy in the Royal Mint on 12 July 2013 and others are planned for Manchester and other parts of the country. If you want to attend any of those events  please call me on +44 020 7404 5252 or send me an an email through my contact page. You can also follow me on Facebook,Linkedin, twitter or Xing,