The IPO's Welsh Language Policy

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Jane Lambert

Occasionally I am asked why I spend time and money on learning Welsh. After all, so the argument runs, only a few hundred thousand speak it and nearly all of them speak also English. The answer is the same as the reason for learning any language.  A language is the key to a treasure house of ideas and information not all of which are translated or translated well.

Ideas and information are intellectual assets  They take several forms: a line of verse, a catchy song,  an elegant solution to a technical problem or an unforgettable slogan.   They are the product of skill and labour and sometimes genius.   To incentivize their generation the law protects them.  It is that legal protection that we call intellectual property.

Ideas that are generated in Welsh can be protected in Welsh.  The Intellectual Property Office which is headquartered in Newport has operated a Welsh language scheme since 3 Oct 2007.  It was prepared in accordance with the guidelines of the Welsh Language Service pursuant to s.21 (3) of the Welsh Language Act 1993.

Paragraph 1 of that scheme promises "that, in the conduct of public business, it will treat the English and Welsh languages on a basis of equality so far as is both appropriate to the circumstances and reasonably practicable."  The document continues that, where possible, the IPO will explain and offer the IP system in Welsh to those customers wishing to register their IP rights in the United Kingdom through the medium of Welsh.  

Rule 14 (1) of the Patents Rules 2007 which came into effect on 17 Dec 2007, requires the contents of all documents contained in a patent application to be either Welsh or English.  However, while the English language patent forms are available online, Welsh speaking applicants or their agents must call 01633 814936 or email information@ipo.gov.uk if they require a Welsh version of any of the IPO's forms/booklets.  According to David Pearce, no patent applications in Welsh had been received by the Office by 28 Jan 2008 (see Welsh patent applications: the results are in! 28 Jan 2008 IPKat).

There is no equivalent to rule 14 (1) of the Patents Rules 2007 in The Registered Designs Rules 2006 or The Trade Marks Rules 2008 but para 49 of the scheme offers to accept applications for registered designs and trade marks in Welsh and to make the relevant forms and guidance available in Welsh on the IPO's website.  As far as I can see, applicants or their agents would have to call the above number or send an email to request the relevant form or other document in Welsh.

It would appear from para 34 of the scheme that proceedings before IPO hearing officers can take place in Welsh.  The paragraph states that if the hearing takes place in Wales, it can be conducted in Welsh in the Newport Office where arranged in advance. If, however, no advance notice is given then due to limitations on the number of Welsh speaking staff and the lack of an in-house interpreter, there may be no legally and technically competent Welsh speaker immediately available. The applicant will then be given the choice, without prejudice, of continuing with the hearing in English or adjourning it until a Welsh speaker is available.

The rest of the document deals with such matters as signage, telephone calls, visits from members of the public, seminars and publications. I owe it to the IPO for my first lesson on soft mutations while driving around Newport searching for signs to Concept House when I noticed that "patent" had suddenly morphed into "batent".

I do not know whether any of the Appointed Persons speak Welsh but the Business and Property Courts in Wales ought to be able to hear appeals from Welsh speaking hearing officers in Welsh as well as infringement, invalidity, revocation and threats actions in all areas of IP law except patents, registered designs, chip topographies and plant varieties. The Court of Appeal and Supreme Court have been known to sit in Cardiff and there is at least one Welsh speaking Supreme Court justice.

My Welsh is not yet good enough to present a case in Welsh, but once it is ............ Anyone wishing to discuss this article may call me on +44 (0)7404 5252 during office hours or send me a message through my contact page.

Big Ideas Wales- Understanding IP

 Contains public sector information licensed under the OG Licence v3.0.

 

Jane Lambert

Yesterday I attended a webinar given by the Intellectual Property Office to Big Ideas Wales entitled Understanding IP.  It consisted of a presentation given by Nich Chard, one of the business engagement officers at the Intellectual Property Office and a Q&A at which Nick and Emma Richards, Business outreach manager at the Office, answered questions from members of the audience.  It was advertised to begin at 17:30 and end at 18:00 but there were so many questions that it continued until 18:15. According to Nick, there were about 20 individuals on the call including him and Emma.

I attended the webinar because I have given a lot of talks on IP and held a lot of clinics across Wales mainly at the Menai Science Park on Anglesey but also at Parc Menai near Bangor, Aberystwyth University, the Beacon Centre at Llanelli and Glyndwr University at Wrexham.  I do that work because IP is essential to securing investment in branding, design, technology and creativity.  Such specialist advisory services as Wales enjoys are concentrated around Cardiff, Newport and Swansea.  If Wales is to attract investment to establish new knowledge-based industries to reverse the decline of so many of its industries and depopulation of its rural communities that have occurred during my lifetime it must protect such intellectual assets.

On its "About" page, Business Wales states that it "is here to inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs in Wales and encourage young people under 25 to develop enterprise skills whatever the career choice." its website provides an introduction to business for younger audiences and makes the right links to business.wales.gov.uk to help build knowledge of business; with tools, information and help for those who want to start a business.  Big Ideas Wales endeavours to help those under 25:

• "Get some inspiration about what you might want to do in the future
• Find out a what it’s like to start your own business
• Hear from other entrepreneurs in Wales (who share their stories and top tips!)
• Discover more about yourself with useful guides and self assessments
• Help you generate ideas and think them through
• Get involved in enterprise and take advantage of opportunities and workshops
• Learn about key business topics and links to improve your knowledge
• Find out what’s happening in your college or university and how to get involved!
• Find out what “business support” is all about and who might help
• Join like minded young people on our social media channels Facebook,Twitter and Instagram."

There is certainly a fair amount of information on the Big Ideas site including some guidance on intellectual property on "How to pick a business idea page". 

Nick's presentation covered trade marks, copyrights, design registration, patents and confident all within half an hour.  Clearly, he couldn't cover everything in that time and he did very well to cover as much as he did. While he was talking members of the audience were asking questions in the chat channel which Emma did her best to answer.  On certain aspects of trade mark law, Nick went into quite a lot of detail. However, one matter that could have been emphasized is that with a few exceptions IP rights have to be enforced by the owner in the civil courts and that can be both risky and expensive.  Whenever I give a similar talk I stress the need for adequate funding of enforcement which usually means specialist IP insurance since most legal indemnity policies specifically exclude IP.

Although they are concentrated in the Southeast corner of Wales, the country has some valuable resources. In addition to the Intellectual Property Office at Newport and the Business and Property Courts in Cardiff, there is Inngot IP at Swansea which superseded IP Wales, one of the most useful websites on IP in the UK.  Both initiatives were launched when the present Principal of Bangor University held the Hodge chair of law at Swansea. 

Since it opened in 2018, the Menai Science Park has hosted a lot of talks and other events on IP. It has reached out to neighbouring centres of excellence such as Bangor Law School and the Pontio Centre. It has offered the most ambitious contribution from Wales to World Intellectual Property Day.  It plans the best ever webinar on "IP for Funding and Growth" between 12:30 and 14:00 on World Intellectual Property Day on 26 April 2021 with speakers from the Intellectual Property Office, the Welsh Government, Inngot, BIC Innovation, Knox Commercial Solicitors and IP Tax Solutions.  It hopes to follow that up with another seminar later in the year - with any luck in its boardroom or training room - on "IP for Scale-Up" with speakers from the nearest business angels networks and private equity investors.

Anyone wishing to discuss this article or any of the topics mentioned should contact me on 020 7404 5252 during office hours or send me a message through my contact page.