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Last Monday I chaired the fourth Wales Enterprise Day seminar at the Menai Science Park ("M-SParc"). It was filmed by Iwan Pitts and readers can watch the whole proceedings on YouTube. Wales Enterprise Day was the brainchild of Emily Roberts. She intended it to be a counterweight to World IP Day which M-SParc has celebrated every year since 2019, As World IP Daty takes place in Spring M-SParc focuses on start-ups on that day though it does not ignore scale-ups, In Autumn Wales Enterprise Day focuses on scale-ups but does not forget start-ups.
Our theme this year was Developing an IP Strategy and it was set out comprehensively but also comprehensibly by Antony Craggs of Shoosmiths. Antony spoke about IP Strategy and Enforcement just before lunch on the last day of the Cambridge IP Law Summer School at Downing College. Winning and holding an audience's attention in that slot is an uphill task but Antony had us sitting bolt-upright as he delivered his talk. I have heard nearly as many presentations on IP strategy and enforcement as I have had hot dinners but Antony's talk was exceptional. I booked him for Wales Enterprise Day before he even left the lecture hall.
Antony chose the same theme for his talk to M-SParc but he delivered it in a very different way, That was partly because it was given over the Internet and partly because he had a different audience. Most of the attendees at the Cambridge IP Law Summer School are lawyers. Some are trainee solicitors but most are assistant solicitors with a good knowledge and some practical experience of IP. Antony's audience on Monday consisted mainly of business owners. His talk was interactive and he used slido to encourage participation. He illustrated his talk by considering the business issues and decisions that would be taken by the founders of a new solar power company called "Folt". The reason for the spelling will be appreciated when it is remembered that "F" is pronounced "V" in Welsh. If anything Antony's presentation to M-SParc was even more impressive than the one that he gave at Cambridge. Readers can watch it all on the above video,
The next speaker was Geraint McGrath, Senior Investment Manager of the Foresight Group which is one of the fund managers of the Investment Fund for Wales, I met Geraint at the St David's Day dinner at the Guildhall in London. One of the topics we discussed was flotation on the London Stock Exchange, Having read Capital Issues: Reforming the UK’s Capital Markets to Boost Science and Tech by the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change and Onward which advocated root and branch reform of capital markets I suggested told us the revival of local capital markets in Britain. I pointed out that several had subsisted until 1972 when they merged with the London Stock Exchange. I have just found an interesting article about those regional exchanges by Gareth Campbell and others entitled The Rise and Decline of the UK's Provincial Stock Market 1869 to 1929,
Though not exactly a start-up, MDF Recovery Ltd opened a new office at M-SParc in May of this year (see MDF Recovery expands presence with new office at M-Sparc, Anglesey 7 May 2024), The office is led by Rob Elias who is Head of Business Development at the company. I first met Rob when he chaired a workshop on sustainable packaging that I addressed in January 2019 (see IP for the Welsh Food and Packaging Industries 30 Jan 2019 NIPC News). He was also a guest speaker at M-SParc's World IP Day celebrations in 2020. Rob introduced us to his company's technology which extracts wood fibre from waste medium-density fibreboard so that it can be reconstituted into fresh blocks.
Tom Burke has founded several successful businesses and is also Digital Innovation Manager at M-SParc. His latest enterprise is Streams+ which promotes eSports. Tom told us about his pivot from video conferencing to eSports. He mentioned the first Welsh-speaking eSports event at the National Eisteddfod which he helped to organize and promote (see Emily Roberts Historic First: Welsh Language Esports Competition Debuts at National Eisteddfod 7 Aug 2024 M-Sparc's website). He also said that the International Olympic Committee has organized an annual eSports Series and that the event was gaining popularity rapidly.
The last speaker was Emma Richards, Regional Policy Advisor at the IPO. Last year I quizzed her about the use of Welsh at the Intellectual Property Office. As there has definitely been some progress since then I introduced her as "the lady who can get things done" (see IPO's Welsh Language Website 13 Nov 2024 NIPC Wales). Emma modestly disclaimed credit for the language progress but she introduced us to the IPO's YouTube channel and showed us the IP Basics and attachés videos. Most importantly, she promised support to enable M-SParc to provide its tenants and local business community with the services available in the Business and IP Centres network in England, As a first step she has arranged for Gwenllian Owen, M-SParc's Commercialization and Innovation Officer, to attend the IPO's IP Masterclass and Gwenllian will be followed on that course shortly by Lois Bevan Shaw, Business Support & Project Development Manager at M-SParc.
This is a convenient point for me to express my gratitude to Gwenllian for all the work that she did to make the Wales Enterprise Day seminar happen. I suggested speakers, promoted the event in this publication and on social media and chaired the seminar on the day but Gwenllian did everything else which must have required a lot of work. I see from Gwenllian's LinkedIn page that she has recently marked her second anniversary with M-SParc. Her achievements at the science park have been considerable and I think she can fairly chalk up Monday's seminar as yet another resounding success.
Finally, I remind readers that Monday's seminar was not an isolated event. It was just one of several free services that Sean Thomas, Andrea Knox, Steve Livingston and I offer together with other IP professionals (see An IP Clinic for M-SParc 25 Jan 2024 NIPC Wales). These will complement the Business and IP Centre services that Emma Richards referred to in her talk, Immediately after the seminar I was consulted by two young local inventors who are contemplating an interesting business venture, Anyone wishing to access those services can do so at any time by completing the attached form.
Anyone wishing to discuss this article may call me on +44 (0)20 7404 5252 during UK office hours or send me a message through my contact form.
