AI in Business

Welsh Government's offices at Llandudno Junction

Author: Jonathan Wilkins  Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0  Source:  Wikimedia Commons

 

Jane Lambert

Business Wales describes itself as "a free, government-funded service by the Welsh Government that provides advice, guidance, and support for starting, running, and growing businesses in Wales."  It reminds me of Business Link before the abolition of the regional development agencies in England.  Among its other services, Business Wales holds conferences, workshops and seminars on business issues throughout the nation.  It held an AI Summit at the Menai Science Park ("M-SParc") immediately after the science park's finance and innovation conference which I discussed yesterday in "Tanio 2026" - M-Sparc's Finance and Innovation Conference.   I was at the summit, and it was one of the best events of its kind that I have ever attended.  

The event was moderated by Jordan Eardley, the AI adoption lead at Business Wales.   He introduced the afternoon's programme and explained how it would help Welsh small and medium enterprises to adopt AI practically, ethically and confidently.  Throughout the afternoon, Jordan addressed us almost entirely in Welsh.

Jordan's first speaker was Bill McAllister-Lovatt, who refers to himself as The Disruptive Innovator.  He considered whether artificial intelligence was making humanity lazy and the possible consequences.   Bill has made the video "I am a river to your dream" which introduces his skills and services.

The next speaker was Andrew McStay, Professor of Technology and Society at Bangor University.  He discussed ethics and AI for business, which was particularly apposite at a time of warnings of existential threats to humanity and the recent hacking of an Australian government website.  He considered the risks to privacy and other dangers and ways of mitigating them.

Kirsty Robson-Davies chaired a panel discussion on the skills, talent and training that Welsh businesses would require to thrive with AI and the support already available with Catherine Morris-Roberts of Ambition North Wales, Emily Roberts of M-Sparc and Nigel Holloway of Coleg Cambria.  One of the topics that came up was hallucination by AI systems.   I referred to the recent decision of the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal in Solicitors Regulation Authority v Kumar 29 July 2026 in which a registered foreign lawyer was prosecuted inter alia for relying on misleading materials generated by artificial intelligence.   I suggested that the only way to avoid this peril was to check everything that the system produced which would tend to defeat the purpose of artificial intelligence.  

The keynote speaker was Victoria Southam of Microsoft. She started by reminding everyone with a 365 licence that they already enjoyed the right to use Copilot.  She ran a video which illustrated the capabilities of the system and mentioned several examples of its successful use.   

Victoria was followed by short presentations from Tony Beever of Node9 Consulting, Ruth Astbury of the University of South Wales, Alan Munby of the University of Wales, Trinity St David, Euros Evans of Cian and Klaire Tanner of Artio Productions.  Euros had created the first Welsh-language AI tool for email and administration.  Klaire introduced the audience to the AI tools that have been particularly useful to her work.  I first heard her lecture on this subject in AI for Business in 2024 and have been one of her fans ever since.

The afternoon was rounded off with a barbecue at 17:00.   There was to be a coding hackathon using Lovable from 18:30 onwards which I would gladly have attended had I more time.  Anyone wishing to discuss this article may call me on 020 7404 5252 during UK office hours or send me a message through my contact form at any other time.

"Tanio 2026" - M-Sparc's Finance and Innovation Conference

M-SParc, The Menai Science Park at Gaerwen on Anglesey

Author: Chris Andrews  Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0  Source: Wikimedia Commons

 

Jane Lambert

Every year, the Menai Science Park ("M-SParc") holds a finance and innovation conference. I attended and reported on last year's conference (M-SParc's Finance and Innovation Conference where all the Speakers happened to be women, 20 June 2026) and the previous year's (M-SParc's Finance and Innovation Conference, 10 May 2025).  This year's conference was combined with Business Wales's AI and Business event, which took place in the same venue between 14:00 and 17:00 that same afternoon. Both events were very interesting and I shall review Business Wales's event separately in order to do it justice.    There was also an evening of vibe coding with Lovable after 18:30, which I would have attended had I more time.

The event followed the previous years' formula of short presentations and panel discussions with many of the same speakers.   They included Barbara Want, Emma Richards, Louise Jones and Nia Roberts.  Barbara chaired a discussion between Iwan Pritchard and Owen Tomos of Pelly and their angel investor, Bobby Williams, and gave another talk on pitching as she did last year.  Emma discussed patents, copyrights, trade marks and designs, Louise introduced us to Innovate UK, while Nia chaired the conference.

 One of the topics that Barbara discussed was body language, which she illustrated with photos of chimpanzees.  I have to confess that she was in danger of losing me at that point because she persisted in referring to chimps as "monkeys". Chimpanzees, like orangutans and human beings, are of course apes. One of the science park's most illustrious tenants is Gareth yr Orangutan and I was reminded of a scene in one of his videos in which he had struck out the word "mwnci."  

Whenever an entrepreneur accepts equity investment, he or she shares ownership and control of the business with the investor.  The point was mentioned in the panel discussion on Pelly.  It is rarely a problem with angel investment because the amount is relatively small. However, it can be different with private equity investment because the venture capitalist invests so much more.  In a panel discussion on investment, I asked Ashley Rogers of the Foresight Group what happens in a business where one of the founders is brilliant when it comes to technology but has no aptitude or interest in business.  To my great surprise, Ash replied that the issue had never arisen in his experience.  Potential problems of that kind can be avoided by thorough due diligence.  Unless he had full confidence in the management, the investment would not proceed.

I enjoyed all the discussions and congratulate all the speakers.   I particularly liked Pryderi ap Rhisiart's story.   Some interesting business ideas were presented.   I was especially impressed by Grantpal, Tom Burke and Hayden Kibble's grant and business support matching service,  Vedri, Dan Parry Evans's virtual production studio and a new mega drone project.  I wish all those businesses the best of luck.

Anyone wishing to discuss this article may call me on 020 7404 5252 during office hours or send me a message through my contact form.

M-SParc Joins PatLib Network

Standard YouTube Licence

Jane Lambert

PatLib is an international network of patent information centres linked to the European Patent Office ("EPO"). According to the EPO, there are over 300 of them spread across the countries that are party to the European Patent Convention ("EPC"), including the United Kingdom. There is a directory of patent information centres on the EPO website, starting with the Albanian General Directorate of Industrial Property in Tirana and ending with the Worcestershire Business and IP Centre at The Hive in Worcester. There are now 25 patent information centres in the United Kingdom, and the Intellectual Property Office publishes a helpful list of them.

The list was updated yesterday to add the North Wales Patent Library Centre at the Menai Science Park ("M-SParc").  Now, anybody who has ever visited M-SParc will be surprised to hear it described as a library because there are not a lot of books on display.   The EPO PatLib page explains:

"They are often referred to as "PATLIB centres", standing for PATent LIBrary. However, not all PATLIB centres are actually libraries."

It is worth adding that most of the resources are now online.  They include the EPO's esp@cenet and the IPO's patent search services.

I first wrote about the PatLib network in PatLib Libraries in the UK on 29 Jan 2015 in NIPC Inventors' Club.  In that article, I wrote:

"The Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield central libraries are linked to the British Library in a national network of Business and IP Centres. This network is sponsored by the Arts Council of England, the Department for Communities and Local Government and the Intellectual Property Office."

The first Business and IP Centre was a specialist reading room of the British Library which opened in 2006 (see "Celebrating 20 Years" on the British Library website).   The first Centre outside London was in Newcastle which I discussed in NIPC Inventors' Club in BIPC Newcastle on 21 Jan 2012.  These were joined by other big city central libraries in 2013 (see Enterprise and Libraries: a New National Network of Business & IP Support 6 March 2013, NIPC Inventors' Club).

I mentioned the Business and IP Centres and how they could help businesses in Northwest Wales in Whom you gonna call? IP Professionals and what they do on 2 April 2019 in NIPC Cymru:

"A network of public libraries has teamed up with the British Library's Business and IP Service to provide free access to databases, market research, journals, directories, articles and reports for entrepreneurs and small business owners. There is a programme of free and low-cost events and workshops on a range of topics including business planning, marketing and intellectual property at each of the libraries. The nearest Business and IP Centre for North Wales is at Liverpool. There is also a Business and IP Centre in Birmingham."

M-Sparc's accession to the PatLib network was celebrated with speeches and a panel discussion by Pryderi ap Rhisiart, Nia Roberts, Sue Lawson, Pierre Oliviere, Edward Jones and  Emma Richards, followed by a buffet lunch (see Iwan Pitts, M-Sparc launches North Wales Patent Library 4 June 2026, M-Sparc website).

One of the questions to the panel was "Who owns an invention made by an AI system?"  That was an excellent question and one which has perplexed intellectual property offices and judges around the world.  The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom ruled in Thaler v Comptroller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks [2023] UKSC 49 (20 Dec 2023) that only a natural person can apply for a patent for an invention (see The Supreme Court's Judgment in DABUS 25 Dec 2023).  Most courts and patent offices around the world have reached similar decisions.

The services promised by the North Wales Patent Library are as follows:

• "information on IP including EPO resources and copies of IPO literature
• 1:1 appointment with IP advisor (appointment only)
• referrals to a patent or trade mark attorney for a 1:1 (30 min appointment only)
• referrals to other advice/service providers
• IP workshops and webinars"

This is all very promising, but in my experience of working with the Business and IP Centres in Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester and Sheffield over the years, the most valuable contribution of those centres is that they catalyse other activities.  To start the ball rolling, I have helped Emily Roberts and her successor, Gwenllian Owen, set up and run events to celebrate World IP Day and Wales Enterprise Day and other events.  I offer Initial Advice and Signposting Clinics, and I have set up EDGC/NWIP, a support group for M-SParc and the North Wales PatLib centre on LinkedIn.

Anyone wishing to discuss this article may call me on 020 7404 5252 during office hours or send me a message through my contact form at any time.

Welsh Intellectual Property Society

Sir William Grove
Welsh Scientist, Inventor, Barrister and Judge

Author Murgatroyd49 Licence CC BY-SA 4.0 Source Wikimedia

Jane Lambert

For the last 8 years, intellectual property specialists living or working in Yorkshire have met at the Leeds Double Tree Hilton every three months or so to hear a presentation by a retired or serving judge or barrister at the intellectual property bar.  These meetings have been very successful, and I have commented on visits by Sir Robin Jacob, Sir Colin Birss, His Honour Judge Hacon, Justin Turner KC and other speakers in NIPC Yorkshire.

TIPSY meetings serve two very useful purposes.  They keep us up to date with developments in the law and they help us to get to know each other which probably makes it easier for us to do business on behalf of our clients.   When I have mentioned TIPSY to colleagues outside Yorkshire, they have often remarked that they should have something like TIPSY in their regions.

One of the regions in which such remarks have been expressed is North West Wales.  The region has a science park, a research university with strong departments in design, engineering and law, the North Wales Medical School, the Pontio Centre with its FabLab and theatre and a hearing centre of the High Court that can resolve many kinds of intellectual property disputes.  The region is an important centre for Welsh language broadcasting, publishing and education.  A PatLib library will open at M-SParc.  

An important difference between North West Wales and Yorkshire is that the population of North West Wales is very much smaller than that of Yorkshire.   There are fewer intellectual property practitioners and they know each other well enough already.  For that reason, evening meetings at a posh hotel every few months would probably not work.

By contrast, late afternoon or early evening meetings livestreamed from venues in different parts of Wales to attendees in the rest of the country possibly might.   The venue hosting a presentation might provide light refreshments to attendees who wish to attend in person.  Presentations would focus on issues of particular interest to Wales.   These might include plant breeders' rights because Aberystwyth's Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences is the leading centre in grassland research in the United Kingdom.  Copyright licensing with regard to Welsh language materials is another topic of particular interest to Welsh practitioners and their clients.

Local groups of members could support pro bono clinics, inventors' clubs and makers' groups in their neighbourhoods.  They could provide work experience or mini pupillages to local law students.  They could coach founders in pitching to business angels and private equity investors.

Pryderi ap Rhisiart, M-SParc's Managing Director, has kindly agreed to host the first meeting of a Welsh Intellectual Property Society in the science park and to provide refreshments in the Caffi Tanio for networking.   If the first meeting is a success, I shall look for venues in other parts of Wales for the second and subsequent meetings.   Slides of presentations will be uploaded to Slideshare, and copies of papers will be available in PDF format through a searchable database.

Over the next few weeks, I shall be canvassing support for this project from patent and trade mark attorneys, specialist lawyers in private practice, scholars in the universities and others with an interest in IP. Anyone wishing to discuss this article should call me on 020 7404 5252 during UK office hours or send me a message through my contact form at any time.

IP Events at M-SParc

Standard YouTube Licence

Jane Lambert

Ever since 2019, the Menai Science Park ("M-SParc") has led Wales's contribution to World Intellectual Property Day.  In previous years, these have usually taken the form of a lunchtime seminar, and readers can learn about those celebrations by clicking the links in the top-right panel. 

 This year, Lois Bevan Shaw, M-SParc's Business Support & Project Development Manager, plans a different format, namely a breakfast event for M-SParc's tenants on 28 April 2026.  She also plans a panel discussion on the lines of the very successful contribution by  Kelly Davies, Iwan Pritchard of Pelly, Tristian Griffiths of Your Empowered Mindset and Neil Thomas of Brandified to the Bridging Wales and London event at The Shard on 25 Feb 2026.  This discussion will relate to the theme of this year's World Intellectual Property Day, which I discussed in World IP Day 2026 - IP and Sports: Ready, Set, Innovate! on 28 Dec 2025 in NIPC News.

One of the topics to be discussed at the breakfast meeting will be the official launch of the North Wales Patent Library at M-SParc on 4 June 2026 between 12:00 and 14:00.  The announcement states that M-SParc will join a network of patent information libraries known as PatLib, which I discussed in PatLib Libraries in the UK on 25 Jan 2015 in NIPC Inventors Club.   This announcement gives me considerable personal satisfaction as I have been canvassing for M-SParc to enjoy the resources offered by the Business and IP Centres for as long as I have known the science park (see Whom you gonna call? IP Professionals and what they do 2 April 2019).

Anyone wishing to discuss this article may call me on 020 7404 5252 during UK business hours or send me a message through my contact page at any time.

Bridging Wales and London

The Shard

Author Mariordo Licence CC BY-SA 3,0 Source Wikimedia Commons

 

Jane Lambert

In Wales Week, London, I described the events that take place in the days leading up to and just after St David's Day as London's contribution to an annual worldwide festival of Wales.  This year's Wales Week, London promises to be the best ever.  One of those events was Bridging Wales and London hosted by M-SParc (the Menai Science Park) in conjunction with the Foresight Group and Menter Môn.

The event took place on the 23rd floor of the Shard between 16:00 and 18:00 on 25 Feb 2026.  According to Wikipedia, the building is 1,015 feet high.  In pre-metric times, it would have qualified as an artificial mountain.  A mountain was defined as an elevation over 1,000 feet.   A tower was constructed on Leith Hill in 1765 expressly to convert the 965-foot mound into Surrey's only mountain.   

Entering the building was like boarding an aircraft.   Visitors were asked for photo ID.  Possessions were screened by a metal detector.  Lifts were summoned by keying in the number of the destination floor on one of several screens at the lift entrance that resembled iPads.  On exiting the lift, the view was spectacular.  I jested with one of the speakers that, on a clear day, it ought to be possible to see Calais.  

At the entrance to the room where the event was to take place, I was greeted by M-SParc's managing director, Pryderi ap Rhisiart, who conducted me to a front row seat and offered me refreshments.  Among the first to arrive was Anna McMorrin, MP for Cardiff and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Wales Office.  I opined that the programme for this year's Wales Week, London, was the best ever, but ventured that it was somewhat London-centric.  There are many Welsh exiles in the rest of England, including my MP, keen to promote links between their birthplace and current home.  It is no coincidence that our region, which was once part of the possibly Welsh and certainly Brythonic speaking Kingdom of Elmet, has a lot in common with Wales, including hills, choirs and non-conformity   

Just after 16:00, Pryderi called the meeting to order and introduced Anna McMorrin MP as the keynote speaker.  She spoke about all the good things to be found in Wales, from its glorious mountains in the North to its magnificent coastal scenery.  Having established herself in London, she remembered her colleagues' surprise when she announced her return to Wales. "But we know better", she said to her audience with a smile.  There are now plenty of incentives to open a business in Wales.

Those incentives were explored in the first panel session by Johan Dyer of Buildboss, Dan Parry Evans of Vedri Virtual Production Studio, Dr Huw Vaughan Jones and Lisa Storey Evans of Cook Street Consulting.  In the Q&A, I observed that founders and business owners need the arts as well as outstanding scenery, business support and other incentives.  The Pontio Centre in Bangor, with its theatre, cinema, exhibition space and FabLab, meets those needs.

Another panel discussion, chaired by Kelly Davies of the Cymru Football Foundation, discussed sport, another important aspect of life.  The panellists were Iwan Pritchard of Pelly, Tristian Griffiths of Your Empowered Mindset and Neil Thomas of Brandified.  In the audience was a member of the English women's football team whom Kelly introduced at the end of the last session.   I met Kelly again on the tube later that evening.  She was going to Euston to catch a train to North Wales, while I was on my way to King's Cross for my connection to Doncaster.  I told her that the theme of this year's World Intellectual Property Day was  IP and Sports, which I discussed in World IP Day 2026 - IP and Sports: Ready, Set, Innovate! on 28 Dec 2025 in NIPC News.   She expressed considerable interest in the topic.

A lot was crammed into the two-hour event.   In addition to the talks and panel discussions that I have already mentioned, the Foresight Group spoke about the equity investments that it had made on behalf of the Investment Fund for Wales. David Wylie outlined Menter Môn's plans to promote Welsh food and drink.  I renewed many acquaintances that I had already made at M-SParc and made many more with UK and Welsh government civil servants, investors, entrepreneurs and business advisors.  The event was well worth the long journey on the first warm day of the year.

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 form at any time.

Bwyd y Ddraig

Standard YouTube Licence

Jane Lambert

Over the last few days, the Menai Science Park ("M-SParc") has been featuring on LinkedIn members of the panel who will take part in the Den Y Dreigiau investment pitching event at the science park on 27 Nov 2025 between 18:00 and 21:00.  They are an impressive bunch of people, but also impressive is the chef who will provide her award winning food between 19:45 and 20:30.

That chef is none other than Gita Mistry, winner of Britain's Best Home Cook.  Gita is no stranger to M-SParc, having taken part in many of its events over the years. She has cooked at many great restaurants, including Philippe Gaertner's "Aux Armes de France" in Ammerschwihr (where she was featured on French television and the regional press), Vivek Singh's "Cinamon Club" and Atul Kochhar's "Banares" (the first Indian restaurant to win a Michelin star).  

She has received rave reviews from the food critics. Jay Rayner said she was Britain's best Indian cook while The Times described her food as "better than sex."

She has been commissioned to cook in Miami, Vienna, Gdansk, London and many other locations in this country and around the world. Folks who have worked with her and eaten her food include Stephen Fry, Michael Palin and the film producer, Steve Abbott.  She also writes and lectures on food at such venues as the British Library and is a regular attender at the Oxford Food Conference.  Gita's testimonial book, which will be on display at M-SParc, contains many famous names.  You can add yours if you are inspired to do so which I am sure she will appreciate.

Gita's contribution to the pitching event is particularly appropriate because she is an entrepreneur herself.  When still a schoolgirl, she set up an outside catering business under the brand name "Enjoy a Gita Mistry Curry in the Comfort of Your Home."   That is a brand that she still uses.   She has served as a Yorkshire Patron along with Archbishop Sentamu and the late test cricket umpire Dickie Bird. 

I first met Gita when she attended one of my Initial Advice and Signposting Clinics in Bradford, which is very similar to the one I hold in Gaerwen. She is well aware of the importance of intellectual property for brand protection, revenue generation and attracting investment.   If you are looking for investment, don't be surprised if you hear a very searching question from the kitchen on Thursday night.

Anyone wishing to discuss this article can call me during office hours or send me a message through my contact form at any other time.

M-SParc's Finance and Innovation Conference where all the Speakers happened to be Women

View of Eryri National Park from Ynys Môn

© 2018 Jane Elizabeth Lambert: all rights reserved 

 

Jane Lambert

Towards the end of the Menai Science Park's Finance and Innovation Conference on 18 June 2025, a member of the audience remarked that all the speakers were women.  Emily Roberts, who was holding the floor at the time, thanked the intervener for noticing.  He replied that he was a mathematician and that the chance of all 22 speakers being women was an astronomical number.  I was surprised and had hoped to buttonhole him to ascertain his calculation, but a barbecue and mocktails were about to begin, and we were separated by the throng.  I had also noticed that all the speakers were women at the time of booking, but never gave it a second thought. That was because they were all professionals (many of whom I had known for several years and in some cases worked with) for whom I have the greatest respect.

The science park's mission is to ignite ambition and innovation for a sustainable Wales, and the  Finance and Innovation Conference offered practical guidance on how to achieve such ambition and innovation.  The day started with a keynote speech from communications expert and business angel Barbara Want.  She delivered valuable advice on presentation. She showed us how to take possession of a meeting and warned us against loading slides with text and statistics that are quickly forgotten.  Having listened to an interview while driving to the conference of a former advisor to President Trump who had opined that the President's mixed messages were a sign of his genius, I asked Barbara how that could be.  Mr Trump's utterances indicated confusion and indecisiveness to me.  To my surprise, she said that it was a tactic that had been developed by the framers of Project 2025 to disconcert the opposition. It was clearly effective because Mr Trump had won two presidential elections against the odds.

Barbara's second contribution was the most interesting of the day.  She chaired a panel discussion between solicitor Andrea Knox, graphic designer Catrin Owen, human resources consultant Leah Watkins and Explorage founder Anna Roberts, all of whom had founded businesses or professional practices in Northwest Wales with strong connections to M-SParc.  One of Barbara's first questions to the founders was whether it was right to call them female founders.  That question reminded me of a seminar that I had attended at my alma mater's innovation campus on 15 April 2025, entitled Engaging and Supporting Female Founders, which I mentioned in St Andrews Innovation in NIPC News on 16 Apr 2016.  One of the principal speakers was Simone Korsgaard Jensen, a remarkable recent graduate from St Andrews and UCLA (which happens also to be my graduate school) who joined us by video link from Silicon Valley. Simone had established a company called Stealth, which LinkedIn describes as "building an AI cancer doctor that personalises treatment." She had already raised considerable investment for that company through making a prodigious number of pitches.

It does not surprise me that many successful entrepreneurs are women.  Just before the Business and IP Centre network was formed, I helped to found and chaired inventors clubs at Leeds, Liverpool and Sheffield central libraries.  Most of the members of all those clubs were gentlemen of a certain age, but at each club, there was a young woman with a bright idea for a product that made it to market.  One young mother who was frustrated by her daughter's biting every part of a toothbrush except the bristle invented a toothbrush that was all bristle.  Another who was fed up with walking from a car park to a venue in heels devised disposable footwear that could fit in an evening bag. I do not think it is a coincidence that the most successful member of each of those clubs was female.  It may be that women's social roles encourage the development of transferable time and cost management and other organizational skills.  It would be a good research project for a sociologist.

A major asset of the United Kingdom is the NHS's collection of anonymized patient data. The possession of such data accelerates research in the biotech, pharmaceutical and medical devices industries.  The launch of the North Wales Medical School at Bangor is likely to spawn all kinds of new businesses in life sciences and attract considerable investment into that sector.  For that reason, the panel discussion entitled "Health+" was particularly interesting.  Gwenllian Owen interviewed  Colette Buckley of the Life Sciences Hub Wales, Marie Latham-Jones of the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board and Nia Jewell of Y Pethau Bychain about innovation in health and social care.  In England, there are regional healthcare innovation hubs like Medipex Ltd. in Yorkshire.  As the NHS is a devolved government responsibility, I enquired about the institutional equivalent in Wales.  I learned that there was no direct equivalent, but an IP policy for the Welsh NHS was developing.

The theme of women's enterprise continued with talks by Lucy Bulley and Olaitan Olawande. There was guidance on the available business support from Business Wales, Innovate UK and Big Ideas Wales.  Nia Roberts, an innovation consultant, patent attorney and former examiner with the European Patent Office, who chaired the day's meetings, and Emma Richards of the UK Intellectual Property Office gave comprehensive but succinct advice on intellectual property.  Nicola Sturrs spoke about business and university collaboration through the innovation voucher scheme.   I delivered a seminar on intellectual property law to the teams working on research, innovation, commercialization and partnership support for Bangor University on 23 Feb 2023.  I was very impressed and commend that university (see The Day I Went to Bangor, 24 Feb 2023, NIPC News).  The last panel discussion was between Emily Roberts, Debbie Jones and Sian Lloyd Robertson on M-SParc's contribution to developing skills.

I had attended the conference to learn, renew existing friendships and acquaintances and to make new connections.  However, even though I had no role at the event, I do offer a pro bono initial advice and signposting service to businesses in Northwest Wales throughout the year (see An IP Clinic for M-SParc, 25 Jan 2024).  Several individuals asked my advice on IP matters and I was glad to help.  

Anyone wishing to discuss this article may call me on 020 7404 5252 during office hours or send me a message through my contact form at any time. 

M-SParc's World IP Day Celebrations

 

Jane Lambert

World Intellectual Property Day is an international festival of creativity, enterprise and innovation on or around 26 April of every year.  The Menai Science Park ("M-SParc") has celebrated the event every year since 2019.  Information about its previous celebrations can be found on the World Intellectual Property Day portal of this website.

Each year, the festivities revolve around a different theme.  This year's theme is music. I wrote about that topic in World Intellectual Property Day 2025 - IP and Music: Feel the Beat of IP on 28 Dec 2024.  As I noted in that article, "music is an art form in which Wales excels in every genre and at every level."  As in previous years, M-SParc plans to hold a lunchtime seminar to celebrate the event.  As 26 April falls on a weekend this year, the seminar will take place between 12:00 and 14:00 on 29 April 2025.

Gwenllian Owen, M-SParc's Innovation and Commercialization Officer, has put together a great programme of talks which will include contributions from 

• Emma Richards of the Intellectual Property Office on IP strategy, 
• Dr Steffan Thomas of Bangor University Business School on music copyright, 
• Copyright consultant Dafydd Roberts on copyright, publishing and performance. 
• John Hywel Morris of the Performing Right Society on collecting societies, and  
• Liam Kurmos of Busnes Cymru on copyright and artificial intelligence.

I shall chair the event as in previous years.  We have invited a lot of distinguished guests from the performing arts, universities, legal profession in Wales and beyond.  Everybody who attends will have an opportunity to say a few words from the floor.

This promises to be M-SParc's most ambitious celebration of World IP Day yet. If you happen to be in Northwest Wales on the day, you will be welcome to join us in person at M-SParc.  Anyone, anywhere else in the world, can attend by video link.  In either case, click this link and follow the simple registration instructions on the Eventbrite card.

Anyone wishing to discuss this article may call me on +44 (0)20 7404 5252 during the usual UK office hours or send me a message through my contact form at any other time.

Gwynedd Innovation Conference

Lake Bala

Author Necrothesp Licence CC BY-SA 3.0  Source Wikimedia Commons

 

Jane Lambert

Yesterday's Gwynedd Innovation Conference took place at the Gwersyll Yr Urdd Glan-llyn on the banks of Lake Bala (Llyn Tegid), one of the loveliest parts of Wales.  Lakeside communities are rare in the United Kingdom.  I can think of Windermere and Ambleside in England, Pitlochry and Drumnadrochit in Scotland and Enniskillen in Northern Ireland.  They are all special places with an Alpine feel.  Bala is, however, unique because it abuts the largest lake in Wales and some would say the most beautiful.

Gwynedd is a massive county in Northwest Wales which occupies much of the territory of the medieval kingdom of Gwynedd.  The county has excellent secondary schools and a leading research university which have trained a disproportionate number of highly skilled men and women who have pursued glittering careers in business, government, academia, the arts and the learned professions in every part of the world except their own.   With such initiatives as the opening of the Menai Science Park and the Pontio Centre opportunities are opening for the movers and shakers of the region. Moreover, talented folk from outside are making their homes and settling up businesses there.

Yesterday's conference celebrated those developments.  We heard from Jonny Charlton who developed a light carbon tandem that is attracting worldwide attention, filmmaker Asa Bailey whose work has gone viral on YouTube and an executive from Ifor Williams Trailers Ltd., a Corwen company whose products are distributed around the world.  We also heard from representatives of the organizations that have assisted them such as Richard Fraser-Williams of Business Wales, Stella Peace of InnovateUK and others from Gwynedd Council, the Development Bank of Wales, the Welsh Government and Bangor University,

The event was initiated by the Menai Science Park.  It was chaired by the science park's managing director Pryderi ap Rhisiart and we heard from his colleagues Gwenllian Owen, Sion Wynne and Tom Burke,  Tom delivered presentations on tourism technology and agricultural technology both of which are vitally important as tourism and farming are mainstays of the Welsh economy.   They and others who worked on the conference but did not speak deserve many congratulations for their respective contributions to a very successful event.

M-SParc can build on this success.  A lady sitting behind me suggested future activities in places like Dolgellau and other towns in the former county of Meirionnydd, an idea which received an echo of appreciation,   

Anyone wishing to discuss this article may call me on +44 (0)20 7494 5252 during UK business hours or send me a message through my contact form at any time.

World Intellectual Property Day 2025 - IP and Music: Feel the Beat of IP

Catrin Finch

Author Maelor Licence Public Domain Source Wikimedia Commons

Jane Lambert

World Intellectual Property Day is an international festival of creativity and innovation on or around 26 April each year. It commemorates the entry into force of the Convention that established the World Intellectual Property Organization ("WIPO"), Every year the festival, focuses on a different theme. The theme for 2025 is "IP and Music: Feel the Beat of IP". According to the WIPO, this year’s World IP Day invites us to explore how IP rights and innovation policies empower creators, innovators, and entrepreneurs to bring fresh ideas to the music industry, safeguarding the work of songwriters, composers, performers, and all those who shape the music that moves us.

In preparation for the day, the WIPO has assembled IP resources and tools for inventors, creators and entrepreneurs relating to music. The featured link at the top of the portal is CLIP which stands for "Creators Learn Intellectual Property".  Other resources include guides on The Global Digital Music Industry, Artists in the Digital Music Marketplace and IP Awareness for Creative Industries and publications on How to Make a Living from Music, Are the best tunes played on the oldest fiddles? Distribution and digitization of recorded classical music and Musical Works and Audio-Visual Works - Collective Management Toolkit. There are also links to "IP success stories in the music sphere" and "Music and IP: Essential Tools for Creators, Inventors and Entrepreneurs."  

Music is an art form in which Wales excels in every genre and at every level.  The Menai Science Park ("M-SParc") has participated in every World IP Day celebration since 2019.  Every year it has held lunchtime seminars on the theme as well as other initiatives to benefit businesses and individuals in Northwest Wales.  M-SParc already participates in Gogledd Creadigol which is a network for the creative industries including music in North Wales.  

The science park was established by Bangor University which also set up the Pontio Arts and Innovation Centre an important music venue for Northwest Wales. On 10 Jan 2025 for example it will host the Welsh National Opera's New Year's Celebration in its Bryn Terfel Theatre.  On 18 Jan 2025, it will stage Gig Teulu with Meinir Gwilym, Elin Fflur and Buddug in the same auditorium.  Ballet Cymru has performed Tir to the music of Cerys Matthews in the Pontio.  Catrin Finch, whose photo appears above, also wrote the score for the company's Celtic Concerto.

In previous years, M-SParc has invited me to propose a programme for the lunchtime seminar and also to chair it.  Should the science park do so again, I shall invite composers, songwriters and performers from Wales and leading practitioners on copyright,  rights in performances and artificial intelligence from around the world to participate.  I would also try to involve the Pontio and Gogledd Creadigol in the celebrations.

Anyone wishing to discuss this article may call me on 020 7404 5252 during office hours or send me a message through my contact form at all other times.

Wales Enterprise Day - The Works

Standard YouTube Licence

Jane Lambert

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.

Wales Enterprise Day 2024 - Diwrnod Menter Cymru 2024

 

Jane Lambert

Wales Enterprise Day takes place on or around 18 Nov of every year.  It grew out of the Menai Science Park's World Intellectual Property Day celebrations in 2021,  The theme that year was "Taking your Ideas to Market".  The topic was so large that the science park decided to hold two events, one focusing on startups on Word Intellectual Property Daty and another on scaleups in autumn.  Emily Roberts suggested that the Autumn event should be called Wales Enterprise Day and the name stuck.  Last year Aberinnovation and Tramshed joined our celebrations.  This year we shall invite organizations, communities and individuals throughout Wales and beyond to take part in the day.

The main celebrations will be a hybrid online and in-person seminar on 18 Nov between 12:00 and 14:00.  We have some star speakers such as Antony Craggs of Shoosmirths, Geraint McGrath of the Foresight Group, Tom Burke of Haia and Streams+  and I shall chair the event.  Antony was one of the speakers at the  Cambridge IP Law Summer School and he gave one of the best presentations on IP strategy and enforcement that I have ever heard.  I signed him up to deliver a similar talk to Wales Enterprise Day before he left the conference hall.  I met Geraint at the St David's Day Dinner at the Guildhall in March.  He will discuss the Investment Fund for Wales and the massive opportunities it offers to Welsh businesses.  Tom has co-founded several of M-SParc's tenant companies and he is now the Innovation Manager of M-SParc.  We recently collaborated on the Convergent Content Scaler Programme on 25 Sept 2024 at which I discussed IP rights.  We have invited several other distinguished speakers and everybody in the audience will be invited to participate.

For those who want to attend in person, the seminar will take place in M-SParc's boardroom. The event is free and readers can reserve their places by booking online. Anyone wishing to discuss this article may call me on 020 7404 5252 during office hours or send me a message through my contact form.

M-SParc Returns to London

(c) 2024 Jane Elizabeth Lambert all rights reserved

Gareth the Orangutan at the London Welsh Centre 25 Sep

 

Jane Lambert

During last year's Indian summer, representatives of the Menai Science Park ("M-SParc") held a series of events at the House of Lords,  the London Welsh School and the Welsh Government's London offices in Victoria.  I attended two of those events and discussed them in Reflections on Wales Innovation Week in London.  Yesterday and the day before the M-SParc team returned to London to promote opportunities, investment, entrepreneurship and innovation in Wales (see M-SParc #ArYLonDon on the M-SParc website).

This year they held a reception at the London Welsh Centre on 25 Sept 2024 and continued the next day with STEM workshops at the London Welsh School and a pitching event organized by Global Welsh in Whitechapel at which M-SParc was a sponsor.  As soon as I finished my talk on intellectual property for the Convergent Content Scaler I took a train to London which arrived just in time for the reception at the London Welsh Centre.

Someone at M-SParc took or made arrangements for a video to be taken of the event and posted it to Linkedin.  The event took place in the first-floor bar of the Centre.  I was shown the dancing robot and invited to try my luck at one of the video games.  I also circulated and introduced myself to some of the speakers and other guests.

Sometime after 18:30, Pryderi ap Rhisiart, M-SParc's Managing Director, introduced himself to the audience.  He said a few words about the science park, the trip to London and the programme for the evening,  He then introduced Hywel Pitts, a superabundantly talented singer I would never have discovered had I not started to study Welsh.  

He had the audience in fits of laughter.  Sadly most of his jokes and allusions passed over my head because I could not keep pace with the lyrics or patter. While my Welsh is a little bit more than "tipyn bach" it is a long way short of "yn rhugl."  Simultaneous translation was available but I try not to use it when learning a language. It is usually possible to pick up the gist of a conversation and attune the ear but relying on an interpreter teaches nothing.  Happily, there is a song about Brexit recorded on YouTube that Hywel sang with another popular singer known as "the Welsh Whisperer."  The lyrics of that song are so obvious that anyone can follow that song sufficiently to appreciate both artists' wits.  

After the singing, Pryderi introduced a panel of speakers:

• Llinos Medi MP, the recently elected member for Ynys Môn 
• Owain James of Darogan Talent
• Huw Brassington of Tenet Consultants, and
• Peter Evans of Wales in London.

He had several questions on folded post-it notes that had been placed in a tricorne hat.  He invited each of the quests to pick one from the hat, read it to the audience and discuss it.  Some of the interviews were in Welsh where, again, I picked up the gist but not the detail.

After a short break, we met the star of the evening, Gareth yr Orangutan.  I have been a fan of Gareth's for years - long before he joined M-SParc.  I first encountered him during lockdown when I spent the fortnight that I had intended to spend in St Davids listening to "Say Something in Welsh" recordings.  I think I learnt more Welsh from those videos than ever I did from the courses at Nant Gwrtheyrn, Popeth Cymraeg and the London Welsh Centre.  Gareth speaks the Welsh of everyday conversation which is a lot less structured than the classroom version.  My favourite videos are his work experience in the chip shop and his Christmas show with the ghost of Christmas past, the Welsh whisperer and Sion Corn.  Gareth interviewed some of the guests in his inimitable style.

The evening was in full swing when I was horrified to see that I had just 35 minutes to dash to King's Cross to catch the last train back to Donny.   Since buses are as frequent as the Preston Guild and taxis are as rare as hens' teeth I had to run.  I did not have time to say goodbye to Gareth or the rest of the team from M-SParc.  I had been hoping to meet Hywel Pitts and Llinos Medi MP but that will have to be another occasion.   

I boarded my train with minutes to spare, picked up my car at the station car park and arrived him just after 02:00. It had been a very long day but a very pleasant one.