I noted in IP and the Sustainable Development Goals in Wales on 14 Jan 2024 that Wales has gone further than most countries in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals by enacting the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015. That Act establishes 7 Well-being Goals that are compatible with but not identical to the Sustainable Development Goals. The relationship between the Well-being and Sustainable Development Goals is illustrated in the following table.
Wales has no shortage of creative, enterprising and innovative men and women who can advance the above goals but they will need investment and Welsh and UK government cooperation. For that reason, Gwenllian Owen and I invited representatives of all those interests to our World IP Day Seminar.
Our keynote speaker was Mr Derek Walker, the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales. He was our representative from the Welsh government in that his office was established by s.17 (1) of the Well-Being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 to perform the functions set out in s.19 of the Act. He was appointed by the Welsh Government under s.17 (2) in consultation with the Senedd. In his short video address, Mr Walker summed up the aims of the legislation and his statutory responsibilities and how innovation and creativity will further them.
Dr Jonathan Tudpr, Investment Partner of the Clean Growth Fund represented investors. He had been sitting next to me on Gwenllian Owen's table at the St David's Day Celebrations at the Guildhall and it was then that I invited him to address our seminar on World Intellectual Property Day. In his succinct but comprehensive presentation, he introduced the audience to the Fund and outlined some of the projects in which it had invested and the Fund's criteria for investment. Despite its strong connections with Wales the Fund had not yet made an investment in Wales. That prompted me to observe that there were many companies in M-SParc and Aberinnovation that might well meet the Fund's criteria. Dr Tudor invited them to contact him through the Fund's website.
One of the innovative entrepreneurs whom I had in mind when speaking to Dr Tudor was Tom Burke. He had helped to launch Animated Technologies and Haia and he was now working with M-SParc as its Digital Innovation Manager in which capacity he had delivered Hac Iaith. He could thus cover the "Prosperous Wales" and "Vibrant Culture and Thriving Welsh Language" goals of the Welsh legislation as well as many of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. In his presentation, he discussed how Haia had evolved from a video conferencing to an events platform, how he had used technology to facilitate language training and the intellectual property rights that protected his companies' investment in technology and creativity. He briefly touched on software-implemented inventions for which he had been told that patents were very difficult to obtain. This will be a topic for a seminar in the near future.
In her capacity as Regional Policy Advisor at the Intellectual Property Office Emma Richards represented the UK government. As her mission extends to the devolved nations she had a crucial role in assisting Welsh creatives, entrepreneurs and innovators to achieve the Well-Being Goals. Ms Richards outlined the work of the IPO and its relationship with the central government, the services it provided, the IP attaché network and the help that it could offer to startups and SMEs as they begin to expand and the IPO's commitment to use the Welsh language in all its services. I asked whether the hearing officers and examiners could speak the language and was assured that anyone who wishes to submit a patent, trade mark or design application in Welsh or give evidence or present arguments in that language before a tribunal could do so.
Our last speaker, Elinor Cavil of DLA Piper gave her whole presentation in Weksh. She had the difficult task of gathering all the strands of the seminar together which she did admirably. She introduced herself, her firm and its services, gave a quick overview of intellectual property law and discussed how different intellectual property rights advanced different aspects of the Welsh Well-Being and the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. Ms Cavil attended last year's IP Law Summer School in Cambridge and she impressed me and my fellow faculty member, Tim Powell, with her knowledge of, and enthusiasm for, intellectual property law.
Our last speaker, Elinor Cavil of DLA Piper gave her whole presentation in Weksh. She had the difficult task of gathering all the strands of the seminar together which she did admirably. She introduced herself, her firm and its services, gave a quick overview of intellectual property law and discussed how different intellectual property rights advanced different aspects of the Welsh Well-Being and the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. Ms Cavil attended last year's IP Law Summer School in Cambridge and she impressed me and my fellow faculty member, Tim Powell, with her knowledge of, and enthusiasm for, intellectual property law.
During the time that I have known Tim Powell, he has shown considerable interest in my work in M-SParc. His previous professional commitments had always coincided with M-SParc activities but he has now set up a new practice with an office in Chester that should enable him to spend more time in Wales In the panel discussion at the end of the seminar, I invited him to introduce himself and his practice to the audience. He also made several pertinent observations and asked some interesting questions at various stages of the seminar for which I was very grateful. He has recently posted this very kind comment to Linkedin.
This was not only the most ambitious and challenging theme for World IP Day it was also the most interesting and satisfying. I am grateful to all the speakers and everyone who worked on the project. I need to acknowledge in particular the contributions of Emily Roberts in the early planning stages for this event and Gwenllian Owen in the latter stages and on the day. Without their resourcefulness and ingenuity, this event could not have taken place.
Anyone wishing to discuss this article may call me on 020 7404 5252 during normal office hours or send me a message through my contact page,
This was not only the most ambitious and challenging theme for World IP Day it was also the most interesting and satisfying. I am grateful to all the speakers and everyone who worked on the project. I need to acknowledge in particular the contributions of Emily Roberts in the early planning stages for this event and Gwenllian Owen in the latter stages and on the day. Without their resourcefulness and ingenuity, this event could not have taken place.
Anyone wishing to discuss this article may call me on 020 7404 5252 during normal office hours or send me a message through my contact page,
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