Aberdeen is a fertile ground for innovation and entrepreneurship, and this is showing no signs of slowing down in the near future.
At Murgitroyd we are fortunate to provide intellectual property advice to a wide variety of clients, many of whom are striking out on their own with start-up businesses. In some cases, these are long-standing clients who have decided to move on and realise their ambitions of running their own company, while others may be just out of school and exploring where to go next. Many come from our work with Elevator on their Grey Matters and Accelerator programmes in Aberdeen and Dundee, where we provide support to entrepreneurs navigating the complex world of IP.
Regardless of when entrepreneurial inspiration strikes, there are common concerns that come up time and again.
Branding is important to any new business as a way of grabbing attention and marking out your place in the market, and how to protect a new brand is a frequent query.
A business or product name may be protected by registration of a trade mark, provided the trade mark meets certain conditions. These include the same trade mark not having been registered for the same category of goods, and the trade mark not being merely descriptive of the product or the business itself.
For inventors seeking to patent a technical invention, confidentiality is key. Disclosure of the technical details of the invention before a patent application is filed may in some circumstances destroy the novelty and, therefore, the patentability of the invention.
How can an inventor keep their invention confidential while at the same time trying to obtain desperately-needed funding to allow their business to grow?
In our experience, the majority of funding bodies, and larger businesses, are well accustomed to requests to sign non-disclosure agreements before an inventor presents details of their new invention. Agreements such as these can be an effective way of locking potential partners into confidentiality in the vulnerable period prior to filing a patent application.
Marking any material such as presentation slides, or handouts, as being confidential makes it apparent that there is an expectation of confidentiality and details communicated in the presentation are to be treated as such. Keeping copies of the marked material as evidence that their confidential nature was clear to participants is useful in case of any future challenges.
Similarly, for designers who have created a product where the appearance of the product is new, for example, the shape, a registered design application may be filed. Preferably, again, the design should be kept confidential until the application is filed to reduce the risk of a third party independently designing something similar and registering it themselves. However, design applications may be filed up to 12 months after the first disclosure of the design by the designer, offering some breathing space to explore market interest before committing further.
As part of Murgitroyd’s ongoing commitment to supporting early-stage businesses, we are delighted to announce the launch of our 2018 Innovator Launchpad competition on October 10. The competition invites pre-profit and non-profit businesses based in the UK to submit a simple online entry form to compete for a £6,500 cash investment plus other support. Previous winners include Falkirk-based water treatment start-up UFraction8 (ufraction8.com) and Dundee-based innovative swim aid company Turtle Pack (turtlepack.com).
I know of a number of businesses in the north-east who would have a great chance of winning the award, and encourage early-stage enterprises in the region to give it a go – for the 30 minutes it takes to fill in the online entry form, they could win a substantial boost for their business.
Businesses can enter at
murgitroyd.com/launchpad
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