Cracking Ideas: My Encounter with Wallace & Gromit

Yesterday I attended the "Cracking Ideas" awards ceremony at the Spaceport in the Seacombe ferry terminal near Wallasey. The event was attended by Baroness Wilcox, Minister with responsibility for Intellectual Property, TV presenter Gareth Jones, 14 innovative youngsters and their families and, of course, these two characters. Wallace & Gromit.

The "Cracking Ideas Competition" is a collaboration between Aardman Animations Ltd. and the Intellectual Property Office. It is part of a wider project consisting of lesson plans, activity packs, challenges and the Cracking Ideas website, to encourage innovation and creativity amongst children and young people between the ages of 4 and 16.

According to the IPO's press release, the competition attracted 4,000 entries.  The national winners were

• Jessica Williamson, aged 8 of Stewarton, who invented Wallace & Gromit style ‘Wrong Trousers’ lace-up football boots, with a spring sole contraption to assist with goal-scoring;
• BritneyAnn Guest, aged 11 of Kidderminster, who designed ‘Mini Flatleys’ dancing shoes with a free lucky charm bracelet for greater performance and comfort; and 
• Elliot Comnene, aged 13 of Bonnyrigg, who created the ‘Footie ChairSpring-O-Matic’ to help wheelchair users develop their football skills.

This year's contest has a space theme.  A good place to start would be the Spaceport's exhibition on astronomy and space travel.  Apparently they host parties so I shall recommend  the Spaceport to Henry Carr QC as a venue for the Intellectual Property Bar Association bash.  It would make a change from Middle Temple.   I can't be the only one who would like to send Sir Robin Jacob into orbit.

Catapulted - Forwards or Back

Last Friday I attended a workshop on Shaping the CDE Catapult to support digital SMEs at the Electric Works in Sheffield.   "Catapults" are the new name for the technology and innovation centres proposed by Hermann Hauser in his report "The Current and Future Role of Technology and Innovation Centres in the UK".   I discussed them in detail in my article "Catapult: Is that really the Sort of Initiative that we need to stimulate Growth?" which I posted to my chambers website on 3 June 2012.  "CDE" stands for "Connected Digital Economy" and it is a collaboration between the creative industries, electronics, sensors and photonics and ICT knowledge transfer networks of the Technology Strategy Board.

Over 80 delegates had signed up for this event though not everybody turned up. Those who did make the effort included Trevor Beard of e2E Services in Hatfield, local lad Adrian Tunicliffe of Can Sudios and Danny Licari, self-styled digital media fixer.

We had a comprehensive introduction to the Catapult concept from Nick Appleyard, Head of Digital at the TSB. After a brief Q & A session, we were divided into groups and asked to address a short questionnaire on the priority areas for small and medium enterprises. My group included Trevor, Adrian, Danny and a bright young chap called Tom who offered somewhat rashly to act as our rapporteur. I had read Hargreaves and the IPO's proposals to help SME to get value from their IP the night before and was thus conscious of Hargreaves's finding that many SME were bewildered by the choice of range of IP advice already on offer.   I argued that the Catapult should work with existing resources such as the IPO and PatLib libraries rather than complete with them.   I also stressed that innovation should be market driven rather than bureaucrat or boffin led. A final task after lunch was to imagine a "user journey" to illustrate how an SME might use a Catapult.   We spotted difficulties in IP sharing and our business's jounrey ended in failure.

As I said in my article this is not the first time a government has tried to induce innovation by bringing together business, the universities and the public sector.   That was the thinking that led to the NCC in 1966 which had to be remodelled in order to survive. One hopes that the Catapult initiative will do better though it is not clear why it should.

Finally, Carmel Harrison, head of public relations for the Institute of Directors in Yorkshire, drew my attention to an event at New Broadcasting House between 98L00 and 10:00 on 21 June 2012 called  "Boost your business with thebigword boss". In a comment to my earlier article, Carmel wrote:

"Based on the Knowledge Transfer Partnership it actually allows SMEs to tell Unis what they need and help them shape and deliver the key skills. WE have been here before and will be again but we need to get SMEs to get closer to the academic and learning community."

The event is free and it takes place at the start of the day so it won't cost you much to attend,   I encourage as many of my readers as possible to find out what Leeds Met can do for your business.  If you do go, let me know whether you found it useful by calling ne on 0800 862 0055 or contacting me through my contact form,, Facebook, Linkedin, Xing or twitter.

IPO's Plan to support SME

"From ideas to growth: Helping SMEs get value from their intellectual property" is the title of the Intellectual Property Office ("IPO")'s plan for supporting small and medium enterprises ("SME"). The services that it proposes to offer are as follows:

1. providing training and awareness raising seminars for businesses;
2. providing online tools to help businesses assess their IP assets, 
3. funding strategic IP audits for businesses where IP has been identified as a critical issue for their growth;
4. funding Masterclass training for business advisers within other public sector business support schemes, such as GrowthAccelerator, the Technology Strategy Board’s Catapult Centres and the Patent Library network;
5. extending the model used at the Business and IP Centre in London to six regional patent libraries;
6. working with the local enterprise partnerships to offer tailored local advice to businesses in different regions;
7. stimulating the creation of business and IP advice networks across the UK;
8. creating a strong network of business advisers that SMEs are able to access for sound commercially relevant IP advice;
9. continuing the Cracking Ideas competition to introduce school children to intellectual property, and
10. working with universities to reach students who need a good understanding of intellectual property to benefit their future careers and the wider economy.

The public is invited to comment on those proposals by 3 July 2012.  The IPO will use any feedback to develop new and improve existing services.   Responses should be addressed to sme@ipo.gov.uk.

Kate Reid: Confidentiality and Licensing

Counsel are probably in the best position to judge whether a solicitor, patent or trade mark agent is any good because we are instructed by members of those professions. Since the 4 July 2004 barristers have been permitted to deal directly with the public. Public access has changed the way we are instructed but it has not changed the work that we do. If a case requires a solicitor we have a professional duty to advise our client to that effect.   As often as not, the first question from the client is "Can you recommend one?"  I usually make a number of suggestions depending on the nature of the work but it it involves litigation or licensing I nearly always include Kate Reid, principal of Pemberton Reid.

According to her web page, Kate qualified as a solicitor in 1995 and worked at both Hammonds and Lupton Fawcett in Leeds before setting up Pemberton Reid.  In addition to her LLB she holds a post-graduate diploma in Intellectual Property Law and Practice.   She has been instructed in some important cases:

"Antec International v AVS (patent infringement), Antec International v SWC (passing off), Scholes Windows v Magnet (design right infringement), Tyco European Metal Framing v Clewer & others (design right infringement ), 1-800 Flowers (objection to a trade mark application), Bentone v EOGB (trade mark invalidity proceedings)."

Her work now includes:

• advising on the existence and extent of intellectual property
• advising on infringements of intellectual property rights
• intellectual property agreements such as licences and assignments and confidentiality agreements
• intellectual property litigation in the High Court and Court of Appeal
• proceedings in the patent office regarding ownership and entitlement to patents
• prooeedings in the trade marks registry regarding opposition and invalidity of trade marks
• WIPO domain name dispute resolution actions 
• due diligence for purchasers and sellers of intellectual property
• distribution, supply and commercial agency agreements
• terms and conditions of trading
• advising on the Commercial Agents Regulations 1993
• litigation in relation to the Commercial Agents Regulations 1993.

Kate was guest speaker to the World Intellectual Property Day meeting of Leeds Inventors Group on 18 April 2012 (see "Kate Reid at the Leeds Inventors Group 18.4.12"  26 April 2012).  The title of her talk was "Confidentiality and Licensing"). On confidentiality she discussed

• why use a confidentiality agreement
• what is confidential information
• when is information not confidential
• how long will information be confidential, and
• what can it be used for.

On licensing she talked about the nature of a licence and the rights that can be granted, royalties and the usual terms with a few special words about trade marks.   

Immediately after her talk we had a presentation from FabLab Airedale which is now open for business (see

"FabLab Airedale: Introductory Offer and Visit" 2 May 2012 IP Yorkshire). The next meeting of the Leeds Inventors Group will be a visit to FabLab Airedale in Keighley on 16 May 2012 between 18:00 and 20:00 (see "16th May Leeds Inventors Group -visit to Fablab Airedale" 2 May 2012 Leeds Inventors Group blog).   Inventors from Sheffield are also invited and I am sure that those from elsewhere would be very welcome.   If you want to come please call Ged or Stef on  0113 247 8266.

Finally, a plug for Sheffield Inventors.   If you want investment to develop your invention come to Sheffield Central Library, Surrey Street, S1 1XZ at 18:00 sharp on 14 May 2012 to hear Mr. Russell Copley of Angels Den speak on  "Raising Business Growth Investment - Alternatives to Bank Finance". Angels Den is one of the largest angels networks in the UK.

Further Reading

Jane Lambert "All you need to know about confidentiality" 14 June 2006

Jane Lambert "Enforce a Confidentiality Agreement for as Little as £475" 21 Aug 2010

Jane Lambert Sample Confidentiality Agreement 21 Sep 2010

Lean Startup

A very good friend keeps telling me that great ideas are 10 a penny. An evening at any inventors' club anywhere in the kingdom seems to prove the point.  Britain is buzzing with inventive talent.   What is much harder to find is great execution.  Many (indeed most) of those great ideas never see the light of day.   Indeed, most of the patents on the register have never been worked.

A possible solution to the problem of getting great ideas to market may be the lean startup methodology. It is a principle developed by entrepreneur and author Eric Ries in his book "The Lean Startup". It is summarized in the following proposition:

"The Lean Startup provides a scientific approach to creating and managing startups and get a desired product to customers' hands faster. The Lean Startup method teaches you how to drive a startup-how to steer, when to turn, and when to persevere-and grow a business with maximum acceleration. It is a principled approach to new product development."

The basic concept is the "minimal viable product" which is represented by the circle set out above. An idea for a new product or service is tested by building one that has just the features that enable it to be deployed and no more. Market reaction is measured and considered and the product is either refined or abandoned.

Publisher and visionary Tim O'Reilly suggested that it is an approach that can be applied to many things other than business:

"The Lean Startup isn't just about how to create a more successful entrepreneurial business...it's about what we can learn from those businesses to improve virtually everything we do. I imagine Lean Startup principles applied to government programs, to healthcare, and to solving the world's great problems. It's ultimately an answer to the question 'How can we learn more quickly what works, and discard what doesn't?"

In other words how to use time effectively.

Ries's book has given rise to a worldwide movement of lean startup enthusiasts. A group has existed in London for some time.  There is now a group in Manchester which will meet on Bank Holiday Monday at the Business School at 18:00. I will be there and am looking forward to meeting other members of the group.

Keighley FabLab opens for Business

Over the last few months we have said a lot about FabLabs in this and our accompanying blogs (see Jane Keats on "Factories of the Future" 7 Nov 2011 and the "Further Information on FabLabs" at the end of my article on Haydn Insley's talk to the Liverpool Inventors' Club of 28 Jan 2012).

The first FabLab in Britain opened in Manchester and I wrote about it in "FabLab Manchester" and "The Manchester FabLab" in IP North West on 18 July 2011. Now a second FabLab has opened in Keighley and I took a look at it on 20 April 2012.

The Keighley FabLab (known as "FabLab Airedale") is a joint venture between Bradford City Council, the Airedale Partnership and Leeds City College which has a campus at Keighley. The connection with the College  enables the FabLab Airedale to supply business as well as technical advice to users. That is a service that not every FabLab can offer.

FabLab Airedale has all the equipment that I saw in Manchester on 5 August plus two impressive bits of kit of its own, namely a Denford lathe and a Denford router, Denford is based in Brighouse which is not far from Keighley.  James Kitson, the manager of FabLab Airedale worked there before he took up his present appointment.

If you have not yet visited a FabLab you have an opportunity on 16 May 2012.  Leeds inventors club are paying them a visit on that day between 18:00 and 19:45 (see "16th May Leeds Inventors Group -visit to Fablab Airedale"  on the Leeds Inventors Group blog for 30 April 2012).  If you want to attend the event call Ged or Stef of Leeds Central Library on 0113 247 8266.

The next FabLab to open will probably be Freerange Artists in Carlisle which I mentioned in my article "Introducing IP to Freerange Artists in Carlisle" on 10 March 2012.   Others are planned for Scotland, Merseyside and Northern Ireland.  If anyone is interested in learning more, there is a FabLabUK group on meetip.com and a FabLab Manchester group on Linkedin.  There are also organizations run on very similar lines to FabLab such as Sheffield's Refab Space which I discussed in "Integreatplus's Learning Lunch: Refab Space and FabLab" on 24 Feb 2012 in IP Yorkshire.

If you want to find out any more, contact me through my contact form,, Facebook, Linkedin, Xing or twitter or call me on 0800 862 0055.

HutchinsonIP's First Anniversary

Over the last year I have done a lot of work with Tom Hutchinson of HutchinsonIP. This has included seminars to the Manchester FabLab and freerange at Carlisle (see "FabLab Manchester - Introduction to Intellectual Property" 6 Nov 2011 and "Introducing IP to Freerange Artists in Carlisle" of 10 March 2012 in my IP North West blog) as well as professional work. Tom has been one of the best patent agents I have ever worked with and I have known a few in my time..

As his firm passed its first anniversary Tom recruited a trade mark attorney. He can now cover the whole spectrum of IP work from patents and registered designs to British and Community trade marks as well as unregistered design right, unregistered Community designs, semiconductor topographies, copyrights and rights in performances.

Until the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys and Liverpool Central Library can reopen the Liverpool patent clinic, I shall be referring any enquiries that require advice from a patent or trade mark attorney from Merseyside, North Wales, the Wirral and West Lancashire to HutchinsonIP.  Should you wish to consult the NIPC IP Clinic you should complete our on-line enquiry form or call me 0800 862 0055.

If you want to consult Tom directly he practises from

Hutchinson IP Ltd
57 Hoghton Street
Southport
PR9 0PG
Tel: 01704 532 683

mail@hutchinsonip.com

Forthcoming Events - Sheffield and Carlisle

Two great events you will not want to miss.

Sheffield 5 March 2012

James Wallbank of Access Space will talk about Refab-Space which provides many of the facilities that are offered by the FabLabs around the world.   I heard James speak at Integreatplus's Learning Lunch  and he is a really inspiring speaker.

The talk takes place at Central Library, Surrey Street, Sheffield, S1 1XZ at 18:00 on 5 Match 2012.   If the talk is anything like the last one it will be standing room only.  Admission is free but you are strongly advised to book your place in advance. Call or email Lynne Hichcliffe on 0114 273 4736 to let her know you are coming.  See today's post  "Refab - a fabrication laboratory for Sheffield" in IP Yorkshire.

Carlisle, 8 March 2012

On the other side of the Pennines IP North West will present an Introduction to Intellectual Property Law to Freerange Artists in Carlisle on 8 March 2012 between 10:30 and 13:30.  Speakers include patent attorney Tom Hutchinson of Hutchinson IP and David Flint of MacRoberts one of the leading intellectual property lawyers in the United Kingdom.  As a Scottish solicitor, David can give some insight into some of the features of Scots law that differ from those of England and Wales.  He can obviously assist creative entrepreneurs  immediately to the North of Carlisle wall but he can also alert those in Cumbria and Westmorland with customers and suppliers to the North who prefer their own legal system of the pitfalls and advantages of Scots law.   I shall chair the meeting, introduce the topic generally and speak on enforcement.  Call or email Hannah Stewart on 01228 401324 for further information.

If anybody has any questions or comments, he or she can contact me through my contact form,, Facebook, Linkedin, Xing or twitter or call me on 0800 862 0055.

Finding a Route to Market for Your Invention - Unsolicited Approaches are not usually a Good Idea

When I was a child in the late 1950s and early 1960s my favourite book was "Ideas and Inventions", a large, red cloth bound volume telling the history of some of the world's great inventions and the often difficult life stories of their inventors. My bedroom was littered with all sorts of rubbish such as cotton spindles, fuse wire, bits of string and rope ends of various thickness and hundreds of hundreds of elastic bands which I fashioned into unpromising contractions. It is probably one reason why I am so untidy as an adult.

My dream was to invent something that would bring me fame and fortune.  Some of my ideas were not half bad. I remember devising a video recording system in my head and dismantling an old dictating machine that my mother had brought home from work together with an ancient Kodak box brownie camera. My plan was to build a prototype and offer it to Mullard or Ferguson or one of the other great British radio set makers of the day. I hoped that one of them would marvel at my invention and put it into production paying me a massive royalty that I would probably have spent on sweets.

Now with several decades of experience of practising intellectual property law I understand the naivete of that plan. However, through my clinics and inventors clubs I am consulted by many adults for whom an unsolicited invitation to a market leader remains the preferred route to market.   "I'm a serial inventor, me", many of them say. "I don't care about money. Just leave me in my workshop to get on with inventing things and pay me what you think the invention is worth."  Actually they do care about money if their idea or invention is actually taken up - or if they imagine that it is.

Although there are some companies such as Procter & Gamble, Henkel and Boots which have always encouraged approaches from individual inventors, it is not as a rule a good idea to cold call companies.   The vast majority of firms will not be interested simply because they have got quite enough on their plate as it is with global competition and declining markets.  Of of the few firms that may take an interest in your invention most will be reluctant to enter a non-disclosure agreement with you. There may be many reasons for their reluctance.   In some cases it will be because they are working on a similar invention and they don't want to risk a claim by you that they have stolen their idea.  Another reason may be that they have scoured the universities looking for fine minds whose pet projects are rarely taken up and firms don't want to upset those staff still further by giving house room to an idea off the street.   Yet another reason - although a very rare one - is that if your idea really is a disruptive technology, businesses that have invested heavily in the conventional technology just don't want to hear about it.   The usual reason for not taking up unsolicited ideas is that businesses do not see how they can make any money from your idea.

The best route to market if you really do have a good invention is to make it (or get it made) and market it yourself. That means going into business with all the hazards that entails.  I won't tell you how to do that.  There is already plenty of good advice on the Business in You website.   If you want a business advisor you can find one through Mentorsme.  There are great local resources built on city central libraries such as Business and Patents in Leeds and the Business and IP Centres in London and Newcastle.  You need to consult those resources even if you want to license your invention because your potential licensee is much more likely to take you seriously if you can produce a business plan which shows how your invention will fit into his existing business and make him money.

Whatever you decide to do you are likely to need a lot of help with patent, trade mark and perhaps design registration, licensing, distribution agreements, joint ventures and the like. If you need to discuss any of those matters feel free to call me on 0800 862 0055  or use my contact form. You can also contact me through Facebook, Linkedin, twitter or Xing.

Straight from the Horse's Mouth:"Filing a UK patent application - process and procedures"

When you apply for a British patent you have to satisfy the Intellectual Property Office  that your invention is new, involves an inventive step, is capable of industrial application, does not fall within any of the statutory exclusions and meets all the other requirements of the Patents Act 1977. The official who considers your application is called an examiner. The photo shows a group of them to the left. Very brainy people as you can imagine. Albert Einstein once did that job for the Swiss federal intellectual property office.

It's not often that you actually get a chance to meet a patent examiner but this opportunity will arise on Monday 6 Feb 2012 in Sheffield and Wednesday 15 Feb 2012 in Leeds.

Sheffield and Leeds inventors groups are delighted to welcome Kalim Yasseen, an examiner of the UK Intellectual Property Office to our February meetings. Kalim will talk about  "Filing a UK patent application - process and procedures".

These talks are important not just for inventors but also for patent agents, entrepreneurs, business advisers, bankers, angels and venture capital investors and just about everyone involved in the patenting process.

The Sheffield talk will take place at Sheffield Central Library, Surrey Street, Sheffield, S1 1XZ on 6 Feb at 18:00.

The Leeds talk will take place at Leeds Central Library, Calverley Street, Leeds, LS1 3AB  on 15 Feb at 18:00.

Both events are free.

Liverpool Inventors Club Re-launch - Fabulous FabLab

As everyone in Liverpool knows, Liverpool Central Library at William George Street has been closed for refurbishment since 23 July 2010. According to patent librarian Ruth Grodner, it is not due to re-open to the public until some time in  2013.

The library hosted Liverpool Inventors Club and th:e CIPA patent clinic. Since the refurbishment, both have been looking for a new home. Now thanks to QualitySolicitors Jackson & Canter, we have found a new one for the Inventors Club and the patent and trade mark agents and other IP practitioners in IP North West will provide a patent clinic service for Liverpool until the CIPA one is up and running again.

The Inventors Club will kick off to a fantastic start with a presentation by Haydn Insley of the Manufacturing Institute who runs the fabulous FabLab Manchester. The meeting will take place on Monday, 27 Feb 2012 at 18:00 at the offices of QualitySolicitors Jackson & Canter at
88 Church Street
Liverpool
L1 3AY

This is an event for everyone in Merseyside, not just inventors but artists, business angels, designers, patent and trade mark agents and other IP professionals, venture capitalists.   The lot.

Space is limited so book your ticket quickly. Click here to register for the event or contact your host Michael Sandys at 0151 282 1700 for further info on the event.

Further Information on FabLabs


IP North West
FabLab Manchester, Introduction to Intellectual Property
The Manchester FabLab
FabLab Manchester

Inventors Club
Jane Keats "Factories of the Future"

IP Yorkshire
FabLabs for Yorkshire: IntegreatPlus Learning Lunch

FabLabs for Yorkshire: Progress Report

A FabLab for Keighley

FabLab Manchester

FabLab Manchester website

Linkedin Group (invitation only)

Miscellaneous Links

Neil Gerchelfeld's presentation on TED

Neil Gerschenfeld's home page

Center for Bits and Atoms at MIT

BIPC Newcastle

Newcastle City Library

Author UserUltra7  Licence Public Domain  Source Wikipedia Commons

Jane Lambert

On 26 Oct 2010, I blogged an announcement by Mark Preece MP of a new collaboration between the British Library, NESTA, Newcastle City Library and Northumbria University for a new Business and IP Centre in Newcastle along the lines of the British Library's Business and IP Centre in London (see Jane Lambert "Resources for Inventors in North East England"). I am pleased to say that the Centre is now open at Newcastle City Library, and it has a website and Twitter feed.

The home page of the website claims to be the "only dedicated Business and Intellectual Property Centre outside London". Leeds Business and Patents would be entitled to argue with that. Like Leeds, the BIPC sets out to be  "a comprehensive one-stop-shop for the region’s business talent, offering everything from research materials to subscription database access; tailored 1:1 consultation sessions to the latest business journals."

The BIPC's resources include:

• A wide selection of business reference and lending books.
• Free factsheets and guides (including Trade Marks, Design, Copyright, Esp@cenet, Historical Patents Searching, Patent Information and IP protection)
• Current and backdated newspapers and journals including Management Today, Investors Chronicle, Trade International, Moneyfacts, Marketing, People Management and Contrax Weekly.
• A dedicated seating/study/networking area for business use.
• Display cabinets exhibiting successful case studies and historical patents journals.
• 2 x Apple Macs and 1 PC dedicated to business use.
• Business database subscriptions including Keynote, Cobra, Corporate Researcher and Which?
• A private interview room with PC/internet access.
• Interactive ‘Skills Swap’ networking board.

Resources available in the wider library include a 100-seat café with a terrace area, printing, photocopying, scanning and faxing facilities and free internet and Wi-Fi.   All good stuff.

The enterprise is a joint venture between the City and British Libraries, Newcastle Science City, Northumbria University, the Bdaily business network, some local solicitors and the Newcastle branch of a firm of patent and trade mark agents. Advertised services include assistance with business planning, patent, trade mark and design searches and skill training.  BIPC has an interesting programme of events starting with business coaching and a talk by Trevor Baylis on 24 Jan 2012. It plans to develop a range of services on the London model.

One thing that they do seem to lack in Newcastle is an inventors group like the ones in Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester and Sheffield.   When I published my article in 2010, I received a number of enquiries and offers of help from inventors in the North East.  Our chambers would be very glad to help set up such a group in Newcastle if anyone would care to contact us on 0191 580 8090 or through our form.

The Library is open until 20:30 on Monday to Thursday.   It shuts at 17:30 on Friday and Saturday and 17:00 on Sunday.   Its address is 33 New Bridge St West, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8AX.

Ideas North West: Going for Grants

If you missed Charles Lucas and Tom Bathgate of Going for Grants when they spoke in Yorkshire you can catch Charles in Accrington on Thursday.

He will be speaking to Ideas North West  at

The Globe Centre
St.James Square
Accrington
Lancashire
BB5 0RE
Thursday, 19 Jan 2012 at 18:00 for 18:30.

Further information from Margaret Tate on 01254 208419.

Leeds Inventors Club: John Biddleston

Leeds Inventors Group is in for a treat this month. The first speaker of the New Year will be John Biddleston who gave an excellent talk to the Sheffield Inventors Group on 7 Nov 2011.  

The title of John's talk will be "The Importance of Planning". He is well qualified for that topic as he us a product design consultant as well as an inventor.  He is also a qualified teacher and knows how to keep an audience's attention.   I wish he had been one of my masters.

The talk will take place on 18 Jan 2012 at 18:00 at Central Library, Calverley Street, Leeds, LS1 3AB. For further information call Ged Doonan or Stef Stephenson on  0113 247 8266 or  email piu@leeds.gov.uk.

Happy New Year - this could be the year the recovery starts

Last year a group of economists predicted a modest recovery for the British economy. Many of the economic indicators suggested that they might be right. Manufacturing was powering ahead and exporters were doing well. However, I thought they were over optimistic and said so many times in my twitter stream. Several people including one of my best friends accused me of talking down the economy but I am sorry to say that events proved me right.

This year, economists are predicting gloom and doom and again many of the indicators are suggesting that they may be right. Again, I take a different view. I think the pessimism is exaggerated. I believe that 2012 will be the year in which we see signs of recovery.

Why do I say that? The answer is that the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) and CIVETS (Columbia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Egypt, Turkey and South Africa) countries as well as other emerging economies are growing so quickly internally that they can lift the world from recession. That was the outcome that I envisaged at the start of the downturn (see The Coming Economic Downturn: How it will affect inventors and what they can do).

I am not alone in anticipating recovery. Neil Mackay, managing director of Advantage Business Angels for whom I have a particularly high regard has said so too in "A First Sighting of Recovery" though for somewhat different reasons.

The only fly in the ointment I can see is that property prices are falling in China. This seems to be the result of government policy but if real estate has been taken as collateral it could affect the Chinese banking system. Then we would all be in trouble.

Product Design Consultants in Yorkshire

By coincidence both the Sheffield and Leeds Inventors Groups had excellent presentations from product designers in November 2011.

John Biddleston of The Big Consultant spoke to Sheffield on 7 Nov. He has posted his slides to his blog which you can view and download here.

Alex Smith of TRIG Creative spoke to Leeds on 16 Nov 2011 and you can download his talk "Cost Effective Product Development" here.

John and Alex represent just two of many excellent design consultancies in Yorkshire. Others include Matthew Conley of HJC Design of Barnsley and Richard Hall of Pd-m International of Harrogate.

All of them are friends of the Leeds and Sheffield clubs.

Going for Grants

Going for Grants is a double act between Tom Bathgate and Charles Lucas. Tom's background is in management while Charles is an accountant. They have joined forces to help businesses find grant funding. They operate from Manchester Science Park.

Tom and Charles visited Leeds Inventors Group last month and they are coming to Sheffield Central Library on 5 Dec 2011 at 18:00. Here is a review of their talk when they came to Leeds and here is my photo of Tom in full flow.

The team's central message was that despite austerity there are still plenty of grants and low interest loans but these funds are in no sense free money. The funds have to be identified. Proposals have to be drawn up. Once a grant is awarded or moneys are advanced there are likely to be conditions that have to be complied with. Failure or delay in complying with those conditions can slow the flow of cash or even result in a demand for repayment.

According to its website, Going for Grants assists businesses in five ways:

• First, it looks for grant or soft loan funding that might be available to meet a business objective. Tom and Charles said at Leeds that they are often asked by businessmen what they should do to qualify for a grant. That is like putting a cart before a horse and it very rarely works. It is much better to plan the business and then look for funding whether grants, loans or even equity investment. In the talk I mentioned crowd funding and a new crowd funding venture by Amanda Boyle called Bloom VC. Tom, who is Scottish, had heard of Amanda through her work with Scottish Enterprise. Looking for available funding is not easy for a busy businessman or woman unless you know where to look. Tom and Charles do know where to look and they offer a preliminary search for £85 plus VAT.
• Once it has reported, Going for Grants offers its clients a free consultation to discuss any funding opportunities that may have come to light.
• If a funding opportunity is identified and the client wants to go for it Going for Grants will help him or her prepare a grant or loan application. Applications for the grant itself are usually made on a contingency basis but the company does charge for some services such as drafting a credible business plan.
• If a grant is awarded Going for Grants helps the client meet deadlines and comply with conditions to make sure that the funds keep flowing.
• Finally, they provide ongoing support in all aspects of the programme.

If you were not at Leeds last month it is certainly worthwhile coming to Sheffield on 5 Dec. The Sheffield Inventors Group meets the first Monday of most months and it has a good programme of speakers lined up. If anybody wants to discuss this article or any other topic he or she can call me on 0800 862 0055 or contact me through Facebook, Linkedin, Xing, twitter or through my contact form.

FabLabs - Jane Keats on "Factories of the Future"

On 5 Aug 2011 I wrote about the Manchester FabLab and the global FabLab network in my IP North West blog. On 21 Sept and 3 Oct 2011 the Leeds and Sheffield Inventors Groups heard from a FabLab user.

Jane Keats, a young New Zealand designer who is principal of Studio 52, presented "Factories of the Future", an introduction to the FabLab movement and additive manufacturing. Jane's slides cover the following topics:

1. FabLabs

2. The next industrial revolution

3. Factory of the Future

4. Open Innovation, and

5. Her Personal Experiences.

Here is a review of her talk to the Leeds Group on the 21 Sept 2011 in the LIG blog.

We in the Inventors Club are very supportive of the FabLab movement and I have advised and assisted the Manchester FabLab on a pro bono basis. On 12 Oct 2011 I chaired an Introduction to Intellectual Property and Licensing where patent attorney Tom Hutchinson, intellectual property solicitor Michael Sandys and I gave presentations. I shall upload our slides to Slideshare and make them accessible through this blog in the next few days.

As the Leeds review states, Bradford City Council and others have plans to set up a FabLab in Keighley and I have been in touch with the local authority to offer it our support. I brought the FabLab movement to the attention of Councillor Mehboob Khan, deputy chair of the Leeds City Region Local Enterprise Partnership, at the LEP Summit on 9 Sept 2011 so there is every chance that the project will get the support it needs. I will keep you posted.

Venture Hothouse - a Sort of Virtual Silicon Valley

Yesterday afternoon I met David Bagley at a seminar on private equity funding and initial public offerings hosted by Cobbetts at their spanking new offices in Leeds. David is a chartered accountant and a director of a number of companies including Finance Yorkshire which is how I got to know him. Over drinks he told me about Venture Hothouse of which he is chairman.

Venture Hothouse describes itself on its website as "a wealth of information for all those involved in business" and a cursory once over of the site certainly suggests that to be true. In the "Resources" section I found guidance on

• how to construct a balance sheet, cash flow statement and a number of other financial projections;
• how to organize a board meeting, a company flotation and an AGM;
• how to prepare a 4Cs and 4Ps, a business plan an executive summary of a business plan and so so
• how to register a patent, trade mark or domain name; and
• how to set up various types of companies.

The blog section has articles on such things as cloud computing and project management. A "useful documents" page has all sorts of useful precedents from confidentiality agreements to consultancy contracts.

However, to get the best of the site it seems you have to register and that costs money: £180 per year for entrepreneurs and £300 for investors such as angels and VCs, professional advisers such as accountants and law firms, mentors and business service providers. A downloadable booklet explains what subscribers get for their money:

"The core of the ‘Entrepreneurs’ section is the ‘Investment Profile’. The ‘Investment Profile’ is a secure, private web portfolio which can ONLY be accessed by the subscribing entrepreneur - and by third parties nominated by the entrepreneur, e.g. potential investors – via a secure a username and password. The ‘Investment Profile’ can be assembled quickly and easily, and contains all the documentation which will be required by a potential investor to assess an investment opportunity."

Investors and service providers appear to get advertising or at least a listing which brings them to the attention of investment ready businesses whose financial statements have been prepared using tools available to subscribers to the service. Glancing through the directory I noticed that there were quite a few angel syndicates, patent agencies, accountancy practices and, alarmingly, insolvency practitioners on the list.

While explaining it to me yesterday David described the service as a sort of forum for entrepreneurs and investors. "A sort of virtual Silicon Valley?" I suggested. David beamed "I suppose so. I never really thought of it that way, but yes it is." "Ah well" I replied "if you ever do use that term you can pay me a royalty." "OK!" he promised. I think we have a contract there, don't you.

David has offered to speak to the Leeds and Sheffield inventors clubs so I am sending copies of this article to Ged and Stef in Leeds and Lynn in Sheffield so that they can issue invitations. I think quite a lot of members of both clubs would be interested in Venture Hothouse.

Returning to Cobbetts' swish offices, one of the most intriguing features were lifts with no buttons. Visitors have to choose a floor from a key pad outside the lift. Imagine the queue at 08:55 when everyone in all the offices of the building turns up for work or at 12:55 when everyone wants to grab some lunch. If anyone from 1 Whitehall Riverside reads this article, perhaps they would like to tell us how this system works in practice.

Sheffield Inventors Group: A Link with Hallam

Sheffield Hallam University is literally just across the road from Sheffield Central Library which hosts the Sheffield Inventors Group. Yesterday we welcomed Heath Reed one of its principal industrial designers.

Heath specializes in

• design research
• industrial design
• ergonomics
• product development, and
• design for manufacture.

He works in designfutures, the product and packaging innovation service of the University, and its Art and Design Research Centre.

In a wide ranging two way discussion Heath introduced us to the work of the University as a whole, its excellence in research and teaching and consultancy, its comprehensive Enterprise Centre, designfutures consultancy, the design process and how it fits into the innovation process and his own work. What made his talk particularly interesting is that Heath is himself an inventor and thus had first hand experience of the issues facing individual inventors.

The University has a massive array of expertise ranging from active lifestyles to workplace development. Anybody who wishes to get in touch with the Centre should call on 0114 225 5000.

Ian the Inventor's e-petition

I have just received the following email from Mr Ian Davies, otherwise known as "Ian the Inventor":

"I've submitted an e-petition via the government e-petition website, the link is: http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/10956

It's suggesting that the Government encourage investment in inventors via grants or tax reliefs to businesses, I think we'd all like to have businesses more open to listening to us.

Please visit and register your vote, I'd also suggest you ask inventors, friends & contacts to do likewise.

In my case just one of my inventions has created work for over 12 UK businesses, I've no doubt that your members have created work for UK companies but how much more work could be created with a little encouragement?"

Makes more sense than restoring hanging or adding to homelessness. Ian's website is also worth a gander.

Inventors' Resources in Northern Ireland

On Saturday I published a case note on the recent decision of Mr Justice Denney in Siemens AG v Seagate Technology [2011] NICh 12. That was a patent infringement case which came before the Northern Irish courts. There have not been such cases from Northern Ireland and many practitioners expressed amazement that it could happen at all.

I take a different view. If Northern Ireland is to flourish its businesses have to innovate and if those businesses are to innovate their investment in branding, designs, technology and creative works have to be protected. Accordingly I checked the resources that are already there and found that there was quite a lot going for Northern Ireland:

"There is the Queen's University in Belfast "a broadly based, research-driven university with a dynamic world-class research and education portfolio and strong international connections". There is the HALO Business Angel Network on the Northern Ireland Science Park. There is a patent information unit at Belfast Central Library which is more than can be said for Manchester now that Chris Brown has gone or Liverpool while it is refurbished. According to CIPA there are 4 patent agencies in Belfast, namely Ansons, F R Kelly, Hanna IP and Murgitroyd and three of those firms have "Trade Mark Experts" listed on the ITMA website. I would add that there is also the excellent Eddie O'Gorman who runs the PatentNAV IP Search and Management Service. So there is already a lot going for Northern Ireland."

I have not however been able to find a patent clinic or inventors club either in Belfast or any other city or town in Northern Ireland and I am not sure what sort of advice is available through Northern Ireland Business Information which seems to be the equivalent of Business Link.

I hope to visit Northern Ireland in the next few weeks to meet colleagues from the Northern Irish Bar, local patent and trade mark agents and solicitors specializing in intellectual property and technology, media and telecommunications law. I hope also to meet Mr McFarlane who is the head of the patents section of Belfast Central Library to gauge whether there would be any enthusiasm for local patent clinics and inventors clubs.

In he meantime, I have uploaded a page on the inventors' resources in Northern Ireland that I have been able to discover onto the Inventors Club website. Should anyone wish to discuss it please give me a ring on 0800 862 0055 or use my contact form.

"Growth Through Innovation" - Digby Jones at PERA

Although Gordon Brown's trade minister, Baron Jones of Birmingham, was top of the bill at PERA's "Growth through Innovation" conference yesterday, the real star for me was PERA itself.

PERA's head office is in the ancient Leicestershire market town of Melton Mowbray. And what comes to mind when the words Melton and Mowbray are pronounced. Why pork pies and Stilton cheese of course. I had planned to arrive at Melton Mowbray half an hour earlier to visit one of the retail outlets of the Melton Mowbray Pork Pie Association but I missed my exit while overtaking a stream of ponderous Eastern European lorries with the result that I arrived at the registration desk with just 20 minutes to spare. I asked a member of PERA's staff where one could buy a pork pie and portion of Stilton after the talk was due to end. She had a word with someone in the PERA staff canteen who offered me a massive pie and an enormous chunk of cheese for £6.80. Now how about that for customer service!

But fine dining is not all that PERA do. Before introducing the guest speaker, Dr. Mark Wareing, commercial director of PERA who chaired the meeting, told us that PERA had been founded immediately after the Second World War, that it does a wide range of consultancy work, that it employs 280 scientists and engineers, that it has connections with some of the biggest names in British industry, that it was the first business to comply with the new British standard in collaborative working, that it never seeks to retain intellectual property to the intellectual assets that it creates for its customers and that it has considerable experience in writing proposals for grant funding and accessing investment.

Among the people it helps are private inventors and one of them, a Mr. Alfred Hamer of Lincoln, sat next to me in the conference. He told me that he had obtained considerable assistance from PERA. Mr. Hamer has great concerns about enforcing intellectual property rights which he expressed in a question to Lord Digby Jones which, with his permission, I shall discuss at length in a future post.

Anyway, as I have mentioned, the top of the bill was Lord Digby Jones and here are my recollections of what he said. After expressing contentment at finding himself in the East Midlands and reeling off a list of the directorships of public companies and other posts of responsibility that he held in the region he made clear that he was not wedded to any political party. He referred to one well known politician as a "furry little creature elected on the block vote of the RSPCA" - which raised a few guffaws - and to another as having just finished his gap year - coming as it did an hour after the Chancellor had described the growth (or rather flat lining) figures as "good news" that reference raised a nervous titter from the audience. He told us how he had been offered a job in Gordon Brown's government and that he had accepted the offer for the good of business and the good of the country. He did so on two conditions. The first was that he would never have to join the Labour Party - though he accepted the Labour whip in the Lords - and the second was that he would be able to resign his office within 18 months. It was imperative in his view for government to work with the grain of business and not against it.

The main message that he had for us was that the 21st century was Asia's century in the sense that the 19th century had been ours and the 20th century the USA's. No doubt dreaming with BRICs he included Brazil in Asia. Demonstrating his mastery of the one-liner, he declaimed:. "You know they have just discovered Saudi Arabia off Rio" referring of course to the Tupu oil discovery.

Returning to China Digby Jones spoke of the tacit agreement between the Chinese government and its populace whereby the people would make no trouble provided the government improved steadily their standard of living. That deal was fuelling the rapid growth of China's economy. Such growth was a threat but also an opportunity for British industry but to resist that threat and take advantage of that opportunity we had to invest much more in R & D and even more in education. He excoriated the illiteracy and innumeracy statistics of our school leavers. Folk in Asia like a taxi driver from Chennai whom he met in the Gulf and the Chinese peasant. Unless we innovate, invest in R & D and proper training they would get it.

For all of this to happen, the mood music in the UK had to change. Folk who had acquired their wealth through business were objects of envy whereas those who had acquired it by pure chance such as a lottery win were feted. That attitude was wrong.

In the Q & A that followed Mr. Hamer complained about the difficulty of enforcing IP rights. His Lordship agreed that it was a problem. Being first in the market was the solution he proposed. Someone else asked about the prospect of default in Washington. "Too awful to contemplate" was Lord Digby Jones's reaaction, "but it shouldn't happen because the politicians are very close to a deal.

After I chatted with Mr Hamer and another inventor over a cup of tea Brian Binley MP rose to speak. Unlike most of his fellows on the green benches Binley had had a life in business before politics though it meant that at age 63 he was one of the House's oldest entrants. He made a number of interesting points:

(1) civil servants are good at getting facts and figures but not so good at management;

(2) we gold plate EU regulations when we implement them into our law;

(3) legislation should have sunset clauses and there should be impact assessments on the effect of new legislation on small business;

(4) SME should be exempted from some legislation such as maternity and paternity rights;

(5) banks should be made to play fair with SME; and

(6) practical skills should carry the same prestige as degrees.

Most interesting of all in view of the growth figures that morning was his call to stimulate demand. That could only come with a recovery in the property market he said. He called for the return of MIRAS at least for first time buyers to stimulate the housing market.

In Q & A I suggested that closing down the RDAs and local Business Links without putting anything in their place had turned out badly. He had several answers to that one of the most startling of which was that the local enterprise partnerships had access to funding. He later modified his answer by saying that RDAs had been a good thing in the North but perhaps less successful south of the Wash and that Business Link had been good for engineering.

The discussion lasted until 18:00 after which I trundled off up to Sheffield for a conference with a client on the way home. Though I didn't agree with everything that Digby Jones and Binley had to say it was a good day out for which PERA are to be congratulated.

"Oh Me. Oh My. I hope the Little Mentor Comes By" - The Banks New Mentoring Network

"Oh me! Oh my. I hope the little lady comes by".

That was the chorus of "Leaning on a Lamp Post", one of the late George Formby's hits. I actually saw Formby perform the song after a pantomime at the Palace Theatre in London a few years before he died. I think it was the first time I had ever been in a theatre. My mother and one of my aunts, Northern exiles in the Smoke were entranced, though I couldn't see what the fuss was about. All I can remember was an old man who laughed at his own jokes quite a lot.

Anyway, I digress. I was reminded of the lyrics of the Formby song by the domain name of the new mentoring network, mentorsme.co.uk. According to its website:

"mentorsme.co.uk is operated by the Business Finance Taskforce, which has been set up by the British Bankers’ Association and is made up of five banks: Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, Royal Bank of Scotland and Santander. The taskforce was established to help businesses access the finance they need to grow."

This seems to be the new mentoring network that I discussed in "Son of Business Link" on 16 Nov last year. I have googled "Business Finance Task Force" and came up with this page and a report published last October on the British Bankers Association website.

mentorsme.co.uk describes itself as "Britain’s first online gateway for small and medium-sized enterprises looking for mentoring services." There is a database on the home page searchable by "Business Life Stage" and "Region".

I searched "Show All" for "Yorkshire and Humberside" and came up with "Success Doncaster" and "Business and Education South Yorkshire" plus a number of organizations offering national coverage some of which were on-line only organizations. I made the same search for North West England and came up with considerably more local organizations. I shall be checking these out over the next few days in my IP Yorkshire and IP North West blogs.

Not really a replacement for advisers of the calibre of Jane Hurn and Mary Roberts but better than nothing. I will keep you posted.

Sheffield Inventors Group: Taking Products to Market

The guest speaker at Sheffield Inventors Group on 4 July 2011 was Mr. Richard Campos of Richard Camps Business Support Ltd. The title of his talk was Taking Products to Market. Here are his slides:

Richard illustrated his talk with a case study. He brandished a sheet of plain white plastic leaving us to guess what it was. It turned out to be a board to place under doors, skirting boards and other edges while painting. That simple invention had been turned into a successful product by successful placing on a home shopping channel.

Everyone gained a wealth of tips from that talk on:

• market research - particularly the use of focus groups
• tailoring IP protection to a specific need
• adequate terms and conditions

and many other topics.

The Sheffield Inventors Group meets at Sheffield Central Library in Surrey Street on the first Monday of every month. Click here if you want to be notified of future events.

Manchester Inventors Group: The Essential Steps of Product Development

Independent design pro Steven Bookbinder will be guest speaker at the next meeting of Manchester Inventors Group on Tuesday, 5 July 2011 at 18:00.

The title of his talk is "The Essential Steps of Product Development". According to the Group's website, it will cover:

- general development process and reducing risk
- sustainable innovation
- materials and the importance of getting them right
- turning a good idea into a great idea
- what is quality, knowing when you can and can't cut corners
- the harsh reality of what it takes to get the big boys to bite.

The meeting takes place at City Library, Elliott House, 151 Deansgate, Manchester, M3 3UK.