US Patent and Trademark Office Webinar - Invention-Con 2021: Capitalizing on your intellectual property

Author ReubenGBrewer Licence CC BY-SA 4.0 Source Wikimedia Commons

 

Jane Lambert

One of the few good things to have resulted from this pandemic is the live streaming of events that would previously have been limited to the venue where they took place. One of those events is the United States Patent and Trademark Office's webinar Invention-Con 2021: Capitalizing on your intellectual property which will take place between 18-20 Aug 2021.  It is billed as an event for inventors, makers and entrepreneurs. There is nothing quite like it in this country or as far as I can see anywhere else in the world.

According to the event web page presentations and workshops will cover:

• "Putting your creativity to work
• How IP applies in various fields, such as artificial intelligence, robotics, fashion, music, and literature
• Types of IP protection: patents, trademarks, and copyrights
• Marketing, manufacturing, and building a competitive advantage around your ideas
• Fun, free educational resources for kids and teens
• Innovation and the fight against COVID-19
• And much more"

There are also special events for children and young people, They will include a session with Gitanjali Rao who was named "Kid of the Year" by Time Magazine and several other promising young inventors. Registration Is through Eventbrite. There does not appear to be a charge and it seems to be open to everyone everywhere in the world.

Although American intellectual property law does differ from our own in a number of important respects the basic principles are the same. The USA is this country's biggest trading partner and its importance is likely to increase if HM Government ever concludes a bilateral trade treaty with it. Businesses that wish to trade or invest in the USA will need to be aware of US intellectual property law and should protect their own intellectual assets by taking out utility, design and plant patents (equivalent to patents, registered designs and plant breeders; rights in the UK) and trade marks in the USA,   

Businesses wishing to apply for patents and trade marks in the USA can ask their British patent or trade mark attorneys to appoint an American agent or they can approach an American one directly.   For those wishing to instruct an American attorney, I can recommend Antoinette M Tease who runs a specialist IP practice in Montana.   I have worked with her on a number of occasions over many years and I have received only good reports of her from my clients.

The USPTO offers a large number of other events some of which would be useful to UK businesses.  Restaurateurs might be interested in Don’t burn your brand: intellectual property for restaurants which takes place this Monday 19 July, Trademark Basics Boot Camp, Module 7: Keeping your registration alive on the following Tuesday, and so on. The USPTO's events page is here.

Anyone wishing to discuss this topic can call me on +44 (0)20 7404 5252 during UK office hours or send me a message through my contact page.

Taking your Ideas to Market in Wales

The Atrium of the Menai Science Park

© 2019 Jane Lambert: all rights reserved

 

Jane Lambert

Yesterday I chaired a webinar organized by the Menai Science Park entitled IP and SME, Taking your Ideas to Market in Wales (see Menai Science Park's Contribution to World IP Day 2021 25 April 2021 NIPC Wales).  I have been taking part in events like that for some 20 years but yesterday's was the best ever.  The seminar covered a lot of topics in 100 minutes but there are two important takeaways.  One is that Wales provides support to new businesses that is no longer available in England.  The other is that Inngot Limited provides a range of tools for valuing intellectual assets even when those assets are at an early stage of development.

One of the big differences between business support in Wales and England is that the Welsh government continues to support business centrally through an agency called Business Wales.   Business Wales describes itself as

"a free service that provides impartial, independent support and advice to people starting, running and growing a business in Wales. With regional centres across Wales, we offer a mixture of online and face-to-face support, as well as training workshops and individual advice."

To English eyes, that seems to be very much the sort of thing that the regional development agencies and Business Link did before their abolition and replacement by local enterprise partnerships.  

Yesterday we heard a presentation by David Wooldridge who is the Intellectual Property Manager of the Welsh Goverbment['s Innovation Team in Swansea.  According to Business Wales's Funding page, 

"Funding is available for all phases of a research and development, from initial feasibility to market exploitation:

• Technical and Commercial Feasibility - help to assess whether your idea is technically and commercially viable.
• Industrial Research - help for practical research and to develop basic working models.
• Experimental Development - use the results of the industrial research to produce a pre-production prototype.
• Exploitation - help with the costs of launching your new product/process on the market."

These include innovation vouchers to

• "fund capital equipment that supports a technology step-change
• bring in technical consultancy expertise from the private sector
• work with universities and colleges to help solve technical problems
• improve processes in design and manufacturing
• access expertise services for intellectual property (IP) registration."

A service that appears to support new businesses is Expertise Wales which describes itself as 

"The online resource for driving collaboration and innovation in Wales."

One of Expertise Wales's services is SMARTCymru.  Another is the Small Business Research Initiative.  There appear to be many more.   I am indebted to Richard Fraser-Williams, Growth Relationship Manager at Business Wales for putting me in touch with David Wooldridge.

Richard also told me that many entrepreneurs require a guide to navigate the various funding schemes and he referred me to BIC Innovation.   It is a company that I have known for many years and with which I have collaborated.    Mark McGowan of BIC Innovation explained how he and his colleagues assisted businesses to seek funding not only from the Welsh government but also from business angels and venture capitalists.  Businesses that are not already in Wales would be very well advised to consult someone like Mark before opening up there.

Like the Welsh Government's Innovation Team. Inngot is based in Swansea.  One of its founders is Iwan Davies who held the Sir Julian Hodge Chair of Law at Swansea University and is now Vice-Chancellor at Bangor.  He is a distinguished academic lawyer with expertise in both asset finance and intellectual property.  For several years, Swansea law school hosted the IP Wales/ED Cymru website which was an excellent resource on intellectual property law.  Yesterday's presentation on IP valuation was given by Alison Orr who is Inngot's Business Development Manager.   According to Inngot's website

"Alison leads many of Inngot’s IP audits and technology evaluations, and provides her expertise to clients requiring training and coaching on IP, assistance with technology scouting, and help exploiting their IP in international markets. She has also helped shape Inngot’s intangible asset identification tools."

 Alison introduced her audience to Inngot'ss services and focused on the valuation of intellectual assets of startups and other small companies.  Obtaining such a valuation right at the start could avid a lot of the personal tragedies that I have witnessed in my career at the bar.   It could also assist a business to obtain the right sort of funding and thus secure its future.   It goes without saying that Inngot offers its services to entrepreneurs, business owners and investors everywhere and not just in Wales.  

Any business not already in Wales that is contemplating a move or expansion there would do well to consider the Menai Science Park or at least the immediate area because the park already hosts a lot of experts.  BIC Innovation is there as is Andrea Knox of Knox Commercial Solicitors and Steve Livingston of IP Tax Solutions.  Both gave excellent presentations yesterday.   Like Alison and Mark, they can be consulted by anyone anywhere and they are also first-class professional advisors.

Anyone thinking of doing business in Wales should find useful material on my IP Wales website at www.nipcwales.co.uk.  Contact me on +44 (0)20 7404 5252 or through my contact page if you want to discuss this article or any of the matters mentioned in it

http://www.nipcwales.co.uk