Showing posts with label design. Show all posts
Showing posts with label design. Show all posts

Thursday, 31 July 2025

How to Apply for a UK Patent, Trade Mark or Registered Design


 








Jane Lambert

On 24 July 2025, the World Intellectual Property Organization ("WIPO") announced a global celebration of intellectual property examiners on 11 November 2025 and invited everybody to join in.   As that global celebration coincides with Wales Enterprise Day, the Menai Science Park ("M-SParc") will combine the two celebrations with an in-person and online lunchtime seminar on how to apply for a UK patent, trade mark, registered design or plant breeder's right.

The seminar will begin with an introduction to intellectual property and an outline of rights that come into being automatically, such as copyrights and unregistered design rights and rights that have to be registered, such as patents, trade marks and registered designs.   

Applications for patents have to be examined for compliance with the Patents Act 1977 and secondary legislation under that Act.  The officials who carry out such examinations are called "patent examiners".   We plan to introduce the audience to a serving or recently retired patent examiner who will explain his or her role and what he or she looks for in a patent application.

Applications to register trade marks also have to be examined for compliance with the Trade Marks Act 1994 and secondary legislation.   The officials who carry out such examinations are known as "trade mark examiners", not surprisingly.  We shall also introduce a serving or recently retired trade mark examiner who will explain his or her role and what he or she looks for in a trade mark application.  

The procedure for registering designs is different because there is no substantive examination of design applications.  There is therefore no such official as a "design examiner."  However, we will explain the registration process and the steps that need to be taken to avoid expensive proceedings in the Intellectual Property Office's tribunals or the courts should someone challenge the registration.

Applications for plant breeders' rights are very different because they are handled not by the UK Intellectual Property Office but by the Plant Variety Rights Office in Cambridge.  Plant breeders' rights used to be a minority interest among intellectual property practitioners, but climate change and the need to develop new drought or flood-resistant species, as well as the development of viticulture, have increased its importance.   Aberystwyth University Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences is a leading research centre in this area.  We shall invite a representative of the Plant Variety Rights Office to outline the procedure for obtaining plant breeders' rights in this country.

Although it is possible for a business owner or manager to apply successfully for a registered design, trade mark or even a patent, there is a lot that can go wrong with such applications.  It is therefore advisable to instruct a patent attorney to prepare and prosecute a patent application, or a trade mark attorney to prepare and prosecute a trade mark application.   Both patent and trade mark attorneys apply to register designs.  We shall present both a patent attorney and a trade mark attorney to talk about their work and how they resolve examiners' queries and objections.

Sometimes an examiner's objections cannot be overcome, and the matter has to be resolved by an official appointed by the Chief Executive of the Intellectual Property Office known as a "hearing officer."  This is where I come in because barristers often represent parties to disputes with examiners.   Proceedings before hearing officers are less formal than court procedures, but the same rules of evidence and similar rules of procedure apply.   I have written about such hearings in If the examiner says 'no' - ex parte hearings in the Trade Marks Registry on 10 August 2015 in NIPC London.   I shall talk about proceedings before hearing officers and appeals to the courts or the Appointed Person at the seminar.

Although the emphasis will be on applications for patents, trade marks and designs in the United Kingdom, we will also discuss applications for European patents (including unitary patents), European Union trade marks and Community designs and plant breeders' rights and applications for patents, trade marks and designs outside Europe under the Patent Cooperation Treaty, the Madrid Protocol and the Hague Agreement.

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

Monday, 19 December 2022

New Year, New Beginnings

Fireworks at Midnight on New Year's Day
Author Clarence Ji Licence CC BY 2.0  Source Wikimedia Commons

 

















The New Year is an opportunity for the formation of new businesses, the launch of new products and services, the opening of new business premises and all sorts of other new business initiatives.   There will be a business plan for most of those initiatives but many of those business plans will lack an important component.

That missing component will be intellectual property and the reason why it is important is that it protects your investment in branding, design, technology and creativity.  Without such protection, it will be so much easier for competitors who have not spent time and money on research, development or marketing to filch your business.

The way to prevent that from happening is to identify the advantages that attract customers to your business. It may be your reputation in the marketplace, the look of your products or the way they work or are made.  You may need an IP audit to identify those advantages (see How to use an IP Audit 19 Jan 2022 NIPC News).  Once you have identified what attracts customers to your business you must choose the optimum protection.   That is not necessarily the most expensive.  A patent will give you extensive protection for up to 20 years but if the invention is likely to become obsolete in a year or two you may prefer to rely on trade secrecy or unregistered design right.

Whatever intellectual property right you choose to protect your asset you must be prepared to pursue infringers and defend challenges to your rights. Infringement, invalidity and revocation proceedings take place in the High Court.   Unless the claim is for £10,000 or less and does not involve patents, registered designs, semiconductor topographies or plant varieties it must be brought in the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court where recoverable costs are limited to £80,000 or the Patents Court or Intellectual Property list where such costs are unlimited.   The only way that most small businesses can afford such costs is by taking our specialist IP insurance (see the IPO's Guidance on IP Insurance on the government website).

Unless you are confident that you can raise several hundred thousand pounds at short notice, IP insurance is not a nice-to-have extra but as much a necessity as your staff, plant and premises.   Just as you make provision for recruitment, rent and equipment leases or acquisition in your business plan you must do the same for your IP rights and their legal protection and enforcement.   In an extreme case, failure to do so could threaten the existence of your company.

If you are about to undertake a new venture in the New Year I wish you every success.  If you have questions or concerns feel free to contact me at 020 7404 5252 during normal business hours.  Alternatively, you can send me a message through my contact form at any time. 

Wednesday, 16 November 2022

Wales Enterprise Day 2022: Intellectual Property Rights outside the UK


 







Jane Lambert

Wales Enterprise Day celebrates business expansion.  Last year's theme was start-ups becoming scale-ups.  This year's is about obtaining and enforcing intellectual property rights abroad.  Businesses that export, license, manufacture or market their goods and services abroad need to make sure that their brands, designs, technology and creativity are protected outside the United Kingdom and that they have the means to enforce such protection in foreign courts and tribunals.

I discussed those topics in Protecting Intellectual Assets Abroad on 6 Oct 2022 in IP after Brexit and in Protecting your Brands, Designs and Technology Abroad on 21 Oct 2022 in this publication. Essentially a business should seek legal protection for those assets in its markets and in the jurisdictions in which its actual or potential competitors are to be found.  That is where a lot of mistakes are made and money is wasted.   For instance, many SMEs arrange for their product to be manufactured in China or some other country for distribution in the UK without first obtaining industrial design, patent or trade mark protection in that country, They then wonder why lookalikes flood their export and sometimes even their home markets.

To help businesses to avoid those mistakes I shall chair a hybrid in-person and online seminar on Protecting your Brands, Designs, Technology and Creativity at the Menai Science Park (M-SParc) on 18 November 2022 between 12:15 and 14:00.   To protect those assets businesses need to put the following arrangements into place:

  • Legal protection in the form of patents, copyrights, trade marks, registered designs and other intellectual property rights in each of their foreign markets and the countries where their competitors are to be found;
  • Local teams of lawyers and patent and trade mark attorneys to enforce such protection; and
  • Adequate funding for enforcing such protection.
M-SParc has gathered experts in each of those fields to speak on those topics.

The most important markets are the European Union, the United States and China.  Sean Thomas of Thomas Harrison IP will explain how to apply for patents whether directly or through the European Patent Convention or the Patent Cooperation Treaty.   He will discuss trade mark registration through the Madrid Protocol and design registrations through the Hague Agreement.  He will address such issues as how much a typical application will cost and how long it will take.  He has a lot of experience in registering and enforcing IP rights in China and the United States and will pass on some valuable tips.

When the UK was in the EU, the judgments of its courts could be enforced throughout the Union, EU trade marks and registered Community designs applied to the UK and they did to the other member states and London was to host one of the Central Divisions of the Unified Patent Court.  All that ended at 23:00 on 31 Dec 2020 when the implementation period provided by the EU withdrawal agreement expired.  Businesses in the UK that hold EU trade marks, registered Community designs or unitary patents have to bring proceedings in an EU member state.

Happily, a short ferry trip from Hollyhead lies an English-speaking common-law country that remains within the European Union,  Its courts can try EU trade mark, registered Community design and plant variety disputes.  Its counsel and solicitors can appear before the Unified Patent Court.  The Brussels Regulation continues to apply to the Irish Republic.

I have asked my friend and colleague James Bridgeman SC to speak on how the Irish legal profession can help UK businesses enforce their intellectual property rights.  James holds an appointment that is equivalent to King's Counsel in the United Kingdom.  He appeared in one of the leading cases on rights in performances before the Court of Justice of the European Union.  Before he was called to the Bar he practised as a trade mark attorney.   As a Past-President of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, he can suggest strategies in which the rights of British businesses can be enforced through international arbitration.

International IP litigation does not come cheap but, fortunately, it is possible to obtain insurance against such expenses.   M-SParc will welcome back Ian Wishart a director of Sybaris Special Risks whose company specializes in IP insurance. He has already spoken at M-SParc on litigation insurance for the UK.   On Friday he will discuss policies for the EU, USA, China and elsewhere,  In countries such as the USA where contingency fees are possible litigation funding is an alternative to IP insurance.   Sybaris talks to investors in litigation funding.  If there is time, Ian will say a few words about that market,

This will be a fascinating session.   Readers can register through this link.  Anyone wishing to discuss this topic can call me on 020 7404 5252 during office hours or send me a message through my contact page.

Thursday, 7 January 2021

What Every Startup and Small Business in Wales should know about IP

Wales from the International Space Station
Author Chris Hadfield NASA  Public Domain



Jane Lambert

I should first like to wish my readers in Wales and the rest of the world a Happy New Year. With continued lockdowns in Wales and many other parts of the world, there could not be a more depressing start. But the world will recover.  New businesses offering new products and services will continue to be launched creating new highly paid jobs in Wales.

The success of those products and services will depend on their branding, design, technology and creativity. It is those attributes that I call "intellectual assets" that gives one business a competitive advantage over all others.  A good idea by one competitor is likely to be adopted by others. To some extent that is a good thing and is to be encouraged because that is how science and society advance.  But not if the effect is to deprive the person who dreamt up the idea and invested in developing it from benefiting from it.  That would eventually stifle innovation and creativity.

It is obviously fair that an author designer. inventor or other intellectual asset creator who invests his or her time and money on developing a new product or service should recoup his or her investment and maybe earn a little extra on the side but consumers should not have to pay through the nose for the product or service forever.  The laws that strike a balance between the interests of the author, designer, inventor or other creator and the public are known collectively as "intellectual property". Examplers of intellectual property rights are the 20-year monopoly of the manufacturer, sale and use of a new invention known as a "patent" or the lifetime plus 70 years protection against unauthorized copying of a work of art or literature called a "copyright".

Earlier this week I was discussing possible topics for webinars for the Enterprise Hub with Emily Roberts of M-SParc (the Menai Science Park near Gaerwen on Anglesey).  I proposed two topics:

  • One was on IP and funding similar to one that the Intellectual Property Office had run on 8 Dec 2020 entitled 'How to use your IP to unlock financial opportunities' to be presented on World Intellectual Property Day on 26 April 2021; and
  • The other was the changes to intellectual property law following the expiry on 31 Dec 2020 of the transition period provided by the agreement for the UK's withdrawal from the EU.
Emily replied that both topics seemed engaging to her but she asked: " Is there any you’d think more appropriate for a smaller or start-up business?"

I replied with the synopsis of a 40-minute talk that I had given many times before and which I shall give again on 9 Feb to the Bradford Network:
  • "What are your business's assets? Is it its good name, the experience of staff, quality of service, design or technology?
  • Are you making full use of those assets? Licensing revenue, collateral for borrowing and means of attracting investment
  • How can you secure those revenues? Trade marks for brands, patents for tech and design registration for the appearance of goods plus the free IP rights like copyright
  • How do you set about getting those rights? How long does it take and how much does it cost?
  • How do you face down challenges to your rights? Litigation and insurance
  • How do you budget?
  • What licensing and other revenues can you expect."
Obviously, a talk to entrepreneurs and other business owners in  Northwest Wales will have to be different from the one I would give to a similar audience in Yorkshire because the economies and cultures of the two regions are quite different even though some issues and solutions are universal.

Emily liked the proposal and drafted an Eventbrite card for the talk which she will publish when she has chosen a date and time for the event.  I for my part will draw up slides and a PDF handout designed specifically for businesses in Wales with such information as local advice and information services and useful websites that can be downloaded from Slideshare.

Anybody who wants to discuss this article or IP, in general, may call me during office hours on 020 7404 5252/  Like many other people I am working from home for the duration but our new phone system can forward your call to me wherever I happen to be at no extra cost.  Alternatively, you can send me a message through my contact form.  Incidentally, if you do call I would welcome a chance to practise my Welsh conversation.   I am halfway through an internet training course in Welsh, there are not too many Welsh speakers nearby and I can't visit Wales until it is safe and lawful to do so.

Tuesday, 29 September 2020

Online Pitch Perfect

Photographer Harvey Milligan Licence CC BY-SA 4.0

 














Jane Lambert

The buccaneering spirit of the ingenious and resourceful young men and women who presented their businesses at Pitch Perfect last night was symbolized by a magnificent sailing boat moored in the Menai Strait.  This was a friendly competition for funding along the lines of the terrestrial Pitch Perfect that I described in A Good Way to spend St David's Day 2 March 2019 and Pitch Perfect Number 2 7 June 2020. Each of the competitors presented his or her pitch in a short video showing the contestant on the deck of the vessel.

As in previous Pitch Perfect events, the contestants were questioned by three judges from the business support sector.  Members of the audience were also invited to ask supplementary questions.  There seemed to be a lot more contributions from the audience than on previous occasions.  That was probably because it was a lot easier to use the Zoom chat channel than slido   The event was chaired very efficiently by Emily Roberts who held each and every one of the contestants to his or her allotted time with grace and humour and still allowed for time for a tea break and one-to-one networking. 

Sadly, I missed a lot of the content, particularly at the beginning of the show.  That was because my internet connection went down several times.  Even when the connection was restored, the sound quality was far from perfect.  The English channel was barely audible and the sound quality of the Welsh channel was only slightly better.  Also, although I have started to learn Welsh there is a limit to how much of a conversation in a new language can be followed after just a few weeks of study.

Consequently, I can't tell you much about the individual entries or winners except that the winner of the cash prize was a very enterprising young woman and the winner of the non-cash prize which included Chamber membership and some professional services was a gentleman called Stephen.  I can name only one judge, Geraint, who (I think) works for the Development Bank of Wales.  There was a wide range of business ideas ranging from therapies to telecoms.  My own favourite was a scheme to market sheep's milk - possibly because I live in the Pennines (formerly part of the Old North) which like the current North of Wales is sheep rearing country.  Someone in the chat channel wrote "I like your logo" in Welsh in the chat channel.  Indeed, several of the contestants received similar comments.

A good logo or brand name can become the most valuable asset of a business and the best way of preserving that asset is to register it as a trade mark.  Although it is probably quicker, safer and more convenient to instruct a trade mark attorney to act for you, it is quite possible for a reasonably intelligent and educated business owner to register a mark without professional intervention.  If you want to instruct a trade mark attorney the best place to start is the website of the Chartered Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys ("CITMA"). A good attorney will make a search, advise you on registrability, draft and file an application that is likely to be accepted and shepherd you pay any objections from the examiner or third parties for just a few hundred pounds.  That fee will usually include searches and the Intellectual Property Office's fees.

The saving if you attempt to apply by yourself is only a few hundred pounds,  If you receive an objection from the examiner or a third party you would lose that cost-saving in a few rounds of correspondence and considerably more still if there were to be a hearing.  The key to a successful application is a thorough search and I gave a presentation on searches last November (see IP Database Searches and Understanding Specifications  30 Nov 2020 NIPC Wales).  You will find a lot of information on the IPO, CTTMA and my NIPC Branding and you can always contact me for a pro bono chat if you get stuck.

I can be contacted on 020 7404 5252 during normal business hours or through my contact form at all other times.

Saturday, 30 November 2019

IP Database Searches and Understanding Specifications



I should like to thank Emily Roberts and her colleagues at M-SParc (the Menai Science Park) for organizing an excellent seminar yesterday. We had so many attendees that we had to move to a bigger conference room.  It was particularly good to see graduate students and undergraduates from Bangor Law School in the audience. After the talk, I held a pro bono clinic with representatives of 5 local companies.  We have laid the foundations for a very successful support network for the new knowledge-based enterprises located in the science park and elsewhere in Northwest Wales.

In yesterday's presentation, I discussed the reasons for searching IP databases. Obviously, if you want to register a patent or design you need to know the prior art.  Similarly, if you want to register a trade mark, you need to be aware of the same or similar signs for the same or similar goods or services. However, that is not the only or possibly even the main reason for searching patent, design or trade mark databases. There is an enormous volume of technical and commercial information in those records and it is available to anyone with access to the internet absolutely free.

I introduced my audience to three patent databases that I use frequently:
  • The IPO's Ipsum service if you want lots of information about the prosecution of a patent application which is not available anywhere else;
  • Espacenet which is very easy to search; and
  • Google Patents which has records from many patent offices all in one place.
After regaling the attendees with stories of Arthur Pedrick and his wacky inventions (something they really ought to teach in law school) we looked up Ginger's cat flap (GB1426698) and its wider embodiments and the cart before the horse (GB1128974A). For trade marks, we explored the IPO's service looking up the UK's first registration, namely the Bass triangle for pale ale. For designs, I recommended DesignView.

I pointed out that searches that business people and students can make are nothing like as extensive as searches carried out by attorneys and specialist search services and anybody seeking patent, design or trade mark registration should not dispense with their professional services.

We then discussed the elements of a patent specification, namely the abstract, description, drawings and claims and I stressed the importance of claims.  I introduced the audience to the Protocol on art 69 EPC and we considered the consequences of the new art 2.  I mentioned the Supreme Court's judgment in Eli Lilly v Actavis and we considered the three reformulated Improver questions by reference to whether the substitution of a carrot hanging from a string in front of the horse's nose was an equivalent to the food tray would fall within claim 1 in the cart before the horse invention.

After I finished my clinic I drove across the Britannia Bridge to Bangor to attend a splendid triple bill by Ballet Cymru at the Pontio Centre.  Members of the company had introduced ballet to the students of a local primary school who presented an impressive curtain-raiser in the theatre's foyer.  Alex Hallas, who tutored the children, told me that many including several boys had been inspired to take up ballet seriously.  Throughout my life, I have found ballet to be an excellent mental as well as physical exercise. Probably I could not do my job well without it.

Anyone wishing to discuss this article or any of the topics mentioned in it should call me on 020 7404 5252 or send me a message through my contact form.

Saturday, 2 November 2019

How to use Patent, Trade Mark and Registered Design Databases


Standard youtube Licence 

Jane Lambert

On Friday 29 Nov 2019 I shall give a free class on how to search for patents, trade marks and registered designs and how to use the information that may be uncovered.  It will take place at the Menai Science Park (M-SParc) at Gaerwen on Anglesey between 13:30 and 14:30. Possibly this will be one of the most useful talks that you ever attend.

The patent, trade mark and design databases kept by the world's intellectual property offices contain a massive volume of technical, scientific and commercial information which is free to use for just about anyone, anywhere in the world.  All you need to know is where to look and how to use the information that you find.

As you know, patents are granted for inventions that are new and involve an inventive step.  Similarly, designs can be registered if they are new and have individual character.  Finally, signs can be registered as trade marks if they can distinguish one business's goods or services from those of all others.  Patent, trade mark and registered design prosecution is not cheap.  You can save yourself lots of money, time and grief by checking what has already been registered before you apply to register an intellectual property right that is either refused or taken away after it has been granted.

But that is not the only reason why folk search patent and other IP databases.  Because an applicant for a patent has to disclose his or her invention in a manner which is clear enough and complete enough for the invention to be performed by a person skilled in the art every specification is in effect an instruction manual. Every patent database is in a massive library of scientific and technical literature.  Of course,, patent specifications have to follow certain formalities.  I shall show you how to read the specifications so that you can unlock and use the information.

Even if you have no plans for patenting an invention knowing how to search a patent or other IP rights database can still be useful.  The registers can tell you a lot about the business of a competitor, supplier or customer.  The classes for which a company has registered a trade mark will indicate the business that it hopes to develop in the next few years.  The designs register may even indicate what its new products will look like so you can take steps to take advantage of any opportunities that may be created or counter challenges that be laid.

While I cannot make you experts within an hour I can at least tell you where you can get further assistance either free of charge of for a  modest additional fee. These include the Business and IP Centres that partner the British Library in London and the Intellectual Property Office in Newport and the Patent Information Units around the country.

As I shall be making online searches you may want to bring your own laptop, tablet, smartphone or other devices to the event.  Free wifi is available at the science park so you will be able to follow what I do online.

If you want to attend, you need only click this Eventbrite link to register.  Should you want to find out more you can call me on 020 7404 5252 during office hours or send me a message through my contact form.

Tuesday, 20 August 2019

"How much does IP Protection cost? and "Is it worth it?" Get some Answers at M-SParc on 20 Sept

Excalibur
Author Arthur Pyle
Source Wikipedia Excalibur






















Jane Lambert

It usually costs a lot of time and money to develop and market a new product or service and the last thing you want is for an interloper to nab your customers by trading in a way that leads them to believe that he is you or by supplying a product that looks a lot like yours. Intellectual property is the magic sword that can stop them from doing so.

However, just like the Excalibur of Arthurian legend, not everybody can wield it.  You usually have to put some steps in place such as registering a trade mark, patent or registered design or taking out intellectual property insurance so that you can go to court to enforce or protect your intellectual property right (see It is never enough to get a patent, trade mark or registered design 5 Aug 2019 NIPC Inventors' Club).  Patent, trade mark and design registration cost money as do insurance premiums.  Of course, not having adequate IP protection in place or being able to defend it can cost you very much more.

Entrepreneurs and small business owners have a lot of demands on their cash which is why it is essential to plan for such expenditure.  That is what a business plan is for.   It is "Why every business plan should take account of intellectual property" (see my article of 3 April 2016 NIPC News).

But in order to include intellectual property in your business plan, you will need some figures and other information.  Costs will vary widely from business to business and, for that reason, the Enterprise Hub at M-SParc has assembled the best possible lineup of expertise that is available in Wales.  They will be setting out their services and answering your questions in "Your ideas, your work, your rights. What do you really own?" at the Menai Science Park near Gaerwen on Anglesey between 12:00 and 14:00 on 20 Sept 2019.

I shall be chairing the meeting and I shall explain briefly what is meant by intellectual property and how it works.  I shall remind the audience of some simple steps that they can take to identify the right kind of legal protection for their businesses and where and how it can be protected.

I shall be followed immediately afterwards by Sean Thomas.  Originally from Anglesey, Sean practises as a patent attorney in Leeds for Thomas Harrison IP.  He will explain the advantages of patenting a new invention, what can happen if you don't patent it, where you can patent it and how much it could cost to get a British, European and international patent application.

Sean will be followed by Jonty Gordon of Amgen Law, an IP specialist practising in Bangor who will discuss trade mark and design registration. He will explain the advantages of registration of each of those two intellectual property rights, where they can be registered and how much it will cost in each case.

Andrea Knox, a commercial solicitor practising in Colwyn Bay who specializes in insolvency, will mention the need to consider IP in due diligence, employment, distribution and other commercial transactions.

Ian Wishart, a patent attorney who now works with his son, Paul, in Sybaris  Legal and IP a specialist IP insurance broker, will review the various types of cover that are available, the costs, and alternatives such as after-the-event insurance and other forms of litigation insurance.

Finally, Steve Livingston, a chartered accountant specializing in IP taxation who practises from the Menai Science Park will advise how to obtain the optimum tax treatment for your investment in obtaining, maintaining and enforcing your rights.

Anyone wishing to discuss this article, the seminar or any related matter should call me on 020 7404 5252 or send me a message through my contact form.

Tuesday, 26 March 2019

Intellectual Property for Startups and other Small Businesses


IP for Start-ups and other Small Businesses from Jane Lambert

Last Friday I was invited by Business Wales to lead a seminar on Intellectual Property for Startups and other Small Businesses at the Beacon Enterprise Centre.  I had a very mixed audience that included an academic operating a social network, a branding consultant, a components' supplier, information technology consultants, a software developer and a solicitor.

As it was a Friday afternoon and my audience was quite a small group I decided not to subject it to a Powerpoint lecture but to ascertain the sort of issues that had arisen in their business, analyse those issues and finally resolve them. It became clear that most of those issues related to branding, trade secrets and confidentiality and copyright.  Nobody was interested in a patent though some were not aware of the fact that they had developed protectable technology

To assist my audience and similar businesses elsewhere, I have uploaded my slides and handouts to Slideshare.   The slides are available above.   The handouts are accessible through the following links:
I also showed the audience this website and its relation to my main website at NIPC Law.

Anyone wishing to discuss this presentation or any of the handouts should call me on 020 7404 5252 or send me a message through my contact page.