Innovation and enterprise blog

The British Library Business & IP Centre can help you start, run and grow your business

72 posts categorized "Information"

01 August 2018

IP Corner: Patent databases, which one is right for you?

Here at the British Library's Business & IP Centre we meet many inventors who are starting out on their journey through to patenting their inventions. The majority understand that their first action should be to search to see if their proposed invention is truly ‘new and innovative’ as it must be in order to obtain patent protection. What inventors will be searching for is known as ‘Prior art’ which is basically anything that shows the proposed invention is already known and is therefore not new. Prior art doesn’t have to be a patent, it could be a newspaper advertisement, a magazine or journal article or even a product on sale in another country. 

Most inventors will have heard of, and some may even have used, the Espacenet database. Espacenet is a patent search database containing data on over 100 million patent documents worldwide. Searching the database is fairly intuitive, but if needed there is a very informative Help section to aid the novice searcher. Espacenet is a great starting point for any would be inventor and is freely available via https://worldwide.espacenet.com.

What is generally less known by inventors is that here at the Business & IP Centre we subscribe to another search database that our registered readers can use for free. This database is the Derwent Innovations Index or DII as it is also known. 

DII is a search database that provides access to more than 30 million inventions as detailed in 65+ million patent documents. Once a search has been run, clicking through from the results list, users are able to view details of the relevant patent including any patents and/or articles cited as ‘Prior art’ against it. For most patents there are also links through to Espacenet to view the full published specification.

Espacenet also does this, so what are the advantages of visiting the Business & IP Centre and using DII

Well, it should be remembered that patents are technical documents which are written in such a way as to meet all the relevant criteria for obtaining a patent but, by providing only the most important information, give nothing away. 

With Espacenet you are searching the patents as published; the title or abstract, bibliographic data, description and claims all exactly as written in the original documents. This can make keyword searching problematic, not everyone will necessarily use the same keywords to describe the same subject, and often searchers will need to resort to classification searching to ensure they are searching in the correct technical area. Add to this the fact that patent titles can be slightly ambiguous and patent searching can become slightly more difficult.

With the Derwent Innovations Index (DII) what happens is that when a patent is published a member of the DII team who is experienced in the particular technical area covered by the patent takes the patent specification and does the following:

  • Writes a more concise title that describes the invention and its claimed novelty
  • Then writes an abstract giving a 250–500 word description in English of the claimed novelty of the invention
  • Finally, DII also add their own ‘Class codes’ and ‘Manual codes’ to the records: Derwent Class Codes allow the searcher to quickly retrieve a particular category of inventions whilst Derwent Manual Codes indicate the novel technical aspects of the invention.

To give you a quick example of this, the title of patent WO2018064763 on Espacenet is ‘Compactable bicycle’ as shown below:

Espacenet example
Espacenet Patent search

Whereas on DII the title is written as:

Derwent Innovations Index
Derwent Innovations Index

The Espacenet bibliography and abstract looks like this:

Espacenet bibliography
Espacenet bibliography

Whilst the DII bibliography and abstract looks like this:

DII bibliography
DII bibliography

Note: DII highlights, Novelty, Use and Advantage within the abstract.

Another advantage DII has is that using the Advanced search option searchers have the ability to ‘build’ a search by searching keywords, classifications, inventor/applicant details etc. and then adding search sets together as desired.

DII advanced search
DII advanced search

Searchers then click on the live link in the Results box to view the results list from where they can select relevant patent records to save to a Marked list. Searchers can then email the results from the Marked list to themselves to view later if they wish.

With the Espacenet database searchers can download and print out copies of the front pages of relevant specifications (known as covers) or they can select titles from their search results list to export to either CVS or XLS. Copies of full patent specification can also be downloaded and printed out if desired.

Both Espacenet and DII are extremely useful for searchers. Each database has their own strengths and weaknesses, but if you visit the Business & IP Centre we will be happy to discuss your needs and show you how to get the best from both databases.

Maria Lampert, Intellectual Property Expert at the Business & IP Centre London

Maria has worked in the field of intellectual property since she joined the British Library in January 1993. She is currently the British Library Business & IP Centre’s Intellectual Property Expert, where she delivers 1-2-1 business and IP advice clinics, as well as intellectual property workshops and webinars on regular basis.

21 August 2015

Spotlight on … The Decorators

The Decorators is an exciting young business made up of four friends who met at uni. They turned their passion for working with space into an experiential design business. Here founding partner Carolina Caicedo shares advice for starting and growing a successful company after completing the Business & IP Centre’s Innovating for Growth programme. 

0. The Decorators
Portrait of The Decorators, photo credit: Dosfotos

How did you come up with the concept or idea for your business?

The four partners met doing an MA in Narrative Environments at Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design. The course was all about multidisciplinary teams working collaboratively on projects. An opportunity to do an interactive installation at the trade show 100% Design in London came up just at the end of our final year in 2010 and we decided to take it on together. The project was a success and showed us that we worked well together and that we could produce more interesting things by working together rather than individually.

You started your own business at a young age – what advice would you give to other young people hoping to do the same?

I would say look to learn about how to run a sustainable business as soon as you start. Train yourself in all the different hats you’ll have to put on. We set ourselves up as a collective to begin with, we were much more interested in the delivery of creative ideas, than in understanding what it takes to run a business. We learnt the hard way that simply focusing on producing a good service or offer is not enough to sustain a business. I would also recommend finding a business mentor, be it someone with his or her own business or a business coach. All four of us set up The Decorators straight after finishing our MA, with little time spent in industry at times we felt we were reinventing the wheel unnecessarily. Others have done this before you so learn from them.

1.Ridley's at night
Ridley’s at night, photo credit: Dosfotos
2.Daytime at Ridley's
Daytime at Ridley’s, photo credit: The Decorators

How did you finance your business at the early stages?

We financed the early stages of the business by taking out a small start-up loan through the University of the Arts London. It helped us take on a studio.

What main obstacle have you had to overcome?

Our main obstacle has been mindset. We have had to shift our mind-set to see ourselves as business owners rather than just designers or creators. With that shift we have experienced a loss of resistance towards the less sexy and fun aspects of running a business.

11. The Decorators' Radio at V&A Museum
The Decorators’ Radio at the V&A Museum, photo credit: The Decorators

 

10. Italian Mobile Garden at Alexandra Palace
Italian Mobile Garden at Alexandra Palace, photo credit: Dosfotos

What do you like the most about running your own business?

For me it is how empowering it feels to be running your own business. It is empowering to be shaping and creating the kind of work you want to do, who you do it with and the culture in which you do it. The self development required to take a business forward is also empowering.  It sets you in good stead for whatever may come next.

Which entrepreneurs inspire you?

We are inspired by the recent surge in start-ups that are putting wellbeing and social values at the heart of their business. I have found the watching the rise of Headspace very interesting and it is particularly inspiring when you know how hard it is to get a business going. I am also much more interested in hearing the behind the scenes stories. I listen to the podcast Start-Up, which follows the journey of businesses that are starting up. We usually only get the final success story but it is much more valuable for me to hear about the journey and the struggle to get something to work.

6. Screening at Adult Architecure Cinema
Screening at Adult Architecture Cinema, photo credit: Dosfotos

 

9. Chrisp Street on Air - Boxing at the Market
Chrisp Street on Air - Boxing at the Market, photo credit: Dosfotos

If you had one piece of advice to someone just starting out, what would it be?

Self development is the most important thing in starting up your own business. Developing a can-do and positive mindset is what will get you through the inevitable hard times.

 

We are now taking applications for the next Innovating for Growth programme find out how you can apply today.

ERDF Logo Portrait Colour Web

11 August 2015

6 Tips for Pitching to Investors

Listening to the “Dragons” on the BBC2 TV show Dragons’ Den is a good insight into the way your investors may be thinking when you present your ideas, plans and proposals to them. As all good scouts know, you must Be Prepared, i.e. be fully prepared for some intense questioning before investors will entrust you with their money. Here are our 6 tips for getting your pitch right.

IMG_4060_F01

1.      Know every aspect of your finances – and your research data

Numbers must add up but, more than that, every figure that you use must be validated. You can’t simply base your first year growth rate on a competitor’s established business or make assumptions based on ‘gut-feel’.  That is a certain way to get rejected at the very first stage.

How much money do you need and how will every penny of it be invested? What are your start-up/capital expenditure and initial running costs? Are these based on firm quotations from relevant suppliers? Know the best and worst case scenarios for your projected costs.

Who are your customers, what is the size of your potential market and how long is a typical purchase decision process? Why would your product be selected? What steps have you taken or are you planning to maximise the reach of your marketing and sales campaigns?

Importantly, when will investors begin to see a return and how much? What exit options have you considered? You will need to substantiate your claims with independent data.

 2.      Rehearse your pitch – and practice thinking on your feet

Enthusiasm and confidence are by-products of knowing that you are thoroughly prepared for any question – even if it’s one you hadn’t previously considered.

“He who hesitates is lost” has never been so true therefore you need to keep a clear head and be able to deliver a well-rehearsed pitch that briefly covers all important points. Practicing your delivery with a mentor or business associate, rather than in a mirror or with a close family member, may be helpful in a number of ways. Get them to ask questions, too.  The tougher the questions the better prepared you will be.

 3.      Understand your investors and be open with them

Before you set the level of your pitch, find out about your investors, particularly what business areas they have interests in. If they offer advice, you need to listen because they are the ones with huge amounts of money and, presumably, some proven business acumen. As with all advice, you should take it on board, mull it over and act on it as appropriate.

Don’t try to hide pertinent facts and if you are not sure of the facts, don’t make them up!

 4.      Be honest with yourself about the value of your business

Excluding assets, the value of your business is calculated on its worth and profit potential to someone else and nothing to do with the amount of time and money you have invested getting to the current point. An entrepreneur will have devoted considerable resources to bring the venture to this point, and that is often considered as personal sweat equity.  Investors appreciate this, but they will take it for granted and tend to focus instead on future cash-flow requirements rather than legacy costs.

 5.      Keep calm and be yourself.

It is easy to put yourself under pressure when big opportunities arise but keeping calm and not panicking will enable your mind to work clearly and your mouth to deliver a clear response!

Knowing that you are well prepared is a major calming factor but, if you are prone to nervousness, practice some calming techniques that will help you through the pitch – perhaps deep breathing or subtle rhythmic tapping of your thumb against your finger.

Let investors see the real you – the person who is driving the business. Believe in yourself and just be you. Investors are real business people, and they want to work with ambitious, driven and practical entrepreneurs.

 6.      Don’t forget to close!

When you’re finished presenting make sure that ask for the investment – that’s the real purpose of the meeting isn’t it? At this stage the investor may have some additional questions for you. Some may be business-related, others more personal in nature. They’re essentially trying to get a feel if they can work with you as a business partner. So don’t take this approach personally and answer their questions to the best of your ability. And then ask for the investment again.

 

The London Business Support Service is a valued Partner of the British Library in London. We conduct 1-2-1 confidential business clinics on the first Wednesday of every month at the Business & IP Centre at the British Library. Our business clinics are suitable for any type of business in any type of situation, and our experienced business advisors are here to provide you with cost effective business support services that result in tangible and measurable benefits to your business.

 

04 August 2015

How to research your local area

In the Business & IP Centre we often get enquiries about how to research a particular geographical area. With an increasing interest in ‘keeping trade local’ and in the provenance of products, many start-ups are choosing to establish and market themselves as ‘local’ businesses - for instance working with the community, or sourcing suppliers from the nearby area. Others are simply interested in finding out more about their area in terms of customers, competitors and marketing opportunities.

Street of businesses in the London Bridge area, Central London

Luckily there is a wealth of information available on specific localities and entrepreneurs can use this information to pinpoint their target market and tailor their promotional activity. For instance, a retailer of high-end luxury goods might want to focus their business in an affluent area, in order to attract high-earning local customers. A new restaurant might think twice about opening on a street with lots of established competition – but it may benefit them to know about nearby markets and food-sellers who could act as suppliers. A fashion designer could research local events and networks where there’s potential to sell or promote their products. Below are a few of the resources you can use to research your area.

At the British Library Business & IP Centre

Local Data Online (access via terminals in the Business & IP Centre)

Local Data Online gives data and insights for locations, business types and companies. Its searchable map tool lets you select a specific area and examine the overall retail make-up, identify local businesses, or check the geographical spread of an industry or company. It also gives addresses and contact details for individual shops, lists available vacant units, and gives a demographic profile of the area.

You can search for a specific location, company and/or retail category, and information is displayed on easy-to-read maps and diagrams. Extra information for locations includes vacancy rates, the mix of independent shops vs. chains, crime statistics, average earnings and house prices. 

Researching your neighbourhood  image 2

COBRA (access via terminals in the Business & IP Centre)

COBRA is an encyclopaedia of practical information for starting, running and managing a small business. Included in the database are a number of ‘Local Area profiles’, covering towns and regions throughout the country. A Local Area Profile will typically include information on sources of business support and advice, financial support, workspaces, business networks, business directories, libraries, local authority trading licences, business rates and HM Revenue & Customs.

Company databases: FAME, MarketIQ, Kompass, ORBIS, OneSource (access via terminals in the Business & IP Centre)

Our company databases are searchable by location, meaning that you can create lists of companies operating in a specific geographical area.

Grantfinder (access via terminals in the Business & IP Centre)

Gives details of 4,000 grants, loans and awards, searchable by geographical area.

Street of businesses in Harrogate

Other Sources

Business & IP Centre National Network

The Business & IP Centre National Network provides entrepreneurs and SMEs across the country with free access to a wealth of databases, market research, journals, directories and reports. There is a programme of free and low-cost one-to-one advice and workshops delivered by trained staff and business experts on a range of topics including starting up, business planning, marketing and intellectual property. Find a Business & IP Centre near you.

Your local library

Many libraries will hold local information, newspapers, directories and data.

Social media

Social media can be a powerful research tool. Lots of local groups, associations and businesses will have a presence on social media websites such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter - or try searching Twitter for the name of the area you’re interested in to get rolling updates of what’s going on in the area. 

Council websites

Your local council can provide helpful information about doing business in your area. Some councils also run business support programmes. 

ONS Neighbourhood Statistics

ONS Neighbourhood Statistics allows you to find detailed statistics or a summary report for specific geographic areas. Covers areas such as crime, economics, education, health, housing, income, lifestyle, population, migration, physical environment.

Official Labour Market Statistics (NOMIS)

NOMIS allows you to find detailed labour market (population, employment, economic activity, qualifications, jobseeker’s allowance claimants) statistics for specific geographic areas.

Netmums

As highlighted in an earlier blog, the website Netmums has comprehensive listings of small businesses in a local area, from garden services to website design.

Google Street View

Google Street View is invaluable for seeing what a neighbourhood actually looks like, street by street.

Vegetables in crates at a Market stand
Image: Freeimages.com/Sille Opstrup

London-specific

  • London Datastore: Greater London Authority (GLA) one-stop shop for statistics and reports on London, spanning topics from culture to crime. The Community page provides visualisations based on the data.
  • Whereabouts London: Website using open data to profile London areas.  Clicking on a locality on the map will give you information on local demographics.

 

Sally Jennings on behalf of the Business & IP Centre 

29 July 2015

Top tips on online accounting for small business

Books are migrating to e-readers, music is being streamed and accounting is now happening in the cloud. This is the quiet revolution that accountants whisper but dare not speak aloud. Accounting software is dead; it’s online and upwards to the clouds. Online accounting has arrived.

Cloud computing

It may sound a touch over the top but it’s true. As a business, how you manage your books pretty much manages everything else. Your accounting is an important engine in your business. A well-oiled efficient system will reap rewards; a slow burner with too many miles will underperform and slow you down.

This is where online accounting in the cloud is so significant. Consigned to software history is the accounting package sold ‘out of a box’ installed onto your desktop, run on a local drive and perhaps backed up onto a different drive. It was fun while it lasted but now SMEs have multiple choices when it comes to doing their books.

And here lies the problem. Business owners are generally uncertain about how to choose an online accounting package that works for them. But help is at hand, outlined below are some helpful tips to help you decide on how to choose the best package.

Why choose online accounting?

It’s easy to say the future is online but what are the actual advantages?

  • Firstly, you can access it anytime, anywhere and aren’t bound to the PC in your office and you don’t need to keep installing updates
  • Being on the cloud means information can be easier to share as well
  • It can save considerable time and keeps your records up to date

The question then is which online accounting package to choose? There are numerous packages you can subscribe to out there. Xero and Quickbooks are making inroads but there are lots of others too. There are well over thirty providers of online accounting, so choosing the right one for you can feel overwhelming. The best thing to do is to narrow your focus by asking yourself a few of the following questions:

  • How long has the software been around? In other words, is it market tested?
  • Is the software UK compatible? Can it deal with VAT? You will need a system that works effectively for VAT returns.
  • Can it work with multi-currencies (if you need to trade overseas)?
  • Can it integrate with other software easily (known as API) such as CRM or invoicing programmes?
  • Will it securely connect into your bank account? This can be very helpful when it comes to bank reconciliation and looking at a live picture of the financial state of your business.
  • What is the level of customer support? Are you able to call or use chat while online?

Having confidence in the provider you choose is important as they will be presenting all the data and running all the reports for you. Reports are your window into what’s happening with the numbers in your business, so it’s vital you can see what’s going on clearly. It’s best to see if your accounting software can run any of these types of reports clearly and effectively:

  • Profit and Loss reports
  • Balance Sheets (divided monthly)
  • Company snapshots
  • Debtors and Creditors
  • Product and Inventory reports (if needed)
  • Employee and payroll

Test, test, test

Most of the major online accounting platforms will give you a free trial. Riz Wasti from 2E Accountants and participant on the Innovating for Growth programme recommends you test the software first to see how it works for you. He suggests doing the following:

“Most online software offer 30 days trial period. That’s your opportunity to test the software before relying on it. Use your real transactions, bank payments & receipts, sales invoices, bills and expenses, etc. Softwares will also have a Demo Company setup with data already entered. That’s your opportunity to play with the software”.

Migration to your online platform

Once you’ve selected the best online accounting package for you, do allow for time and some cost to migrate across from an existing platform. As ever, the devil is in the detail (and the numbers). Riz advises that:

Migrating data from an existing system can be complicated. It’s best to do it in stages, for example starting with sales invoices and bills in batches of months and reconcile bank statements for each month entered. The payment allocation process can be time consuming. Bank data can be uploaded in one go separately to sales and bills, but then bank payments need to match or be allocated.”

All the more reason to do all the research you can on finding the right online accounting package for you. The effort is sure to be well worthwhile in the medium to long term for your business.

If, like most business owners, you sometimes feel confused about your finances in the business, the Business & IP Centre has help available: from how-to guides on running your business, to workshops including “Get Cashflow Confident” with our ‘numbers coach’, Johnny Martin.  

 

Jeremy O’Hare is a Relationship Manager for the British Library’s Innovating for Growth programme, which provides £10,000 of fully-funded and tailored advice for businesses looking to grow. Since joining the British Library in 2005 he has worked with countless businesses, facilitating advice and research as well as providing workshops and information advice for start-ups and established businesses. 

ERDF Logo Portrait Colour Web

28 July 2015

How to Get Press Coverage for Your Small Business

Jessica Huie MBE, an entrepreneur with 15 years media experience, founder of JH Public Relations and Color blind cards and partner to the Business & IP Centre, gives her advice on how start-ups and SMEs can generate PR for their business without spending a fortune.

JHPR
Jessica Huie Public Relations

 

However brilliant or progressive your product or service, if nobody knows about it then your business will struggle to make sales, and a business without sales is doomed to fail. This is where PR can have a massive impact. Not so much a luxury as imperative for any business owner who wants to make their idea get off the ground, PR helps businesses to connect with their target audience, to mould a brand, establish differentiation from competitors, attract buyers and investors and can position business owners as experts in their field. If you truly mean business with your start-up venture, then you need to think seriously about public relations.

PR, which is in part marketing through third-party endorsement, is an extremely successful way to generate business and it complements the other, more ‘obvious’ forms of marketing. Today’s consumer is savvy. They see through blatant (and expensive) advertising campaigns. PR subtly increases awareness of a company and its products and services by positioning them in the public’s consciousness, not by waving it in front of their faces.

Believe in your brand

In order for your start-up business to get valuable press coverage, you first need to make sure you are confident about your brand and its ethos. The public is never going to fully comprehend your business if you, yourself, are not clear as to what your business brand is, its values and what it has to give. Your brand needs to be a clear and definite concept. Therefore, when introducing your brand, whether in a press release or when pitching to a journalist, lead with any vital information and impressive assets, this positions your business instantly.

Be authentic

Once you are confident in your business values, it is crucial to communicate that personally – nothing is more powerful than authenticity in PR and if you are sincere and passionate about your brand, both the media and the public will be receptive to this. Humans are social creatures; they buy into people not products. Having a visible figurehead rather than relying on nameless branding helps customers to understand the ethos and culture behind your business. Ask yourself what the motivation behind your company was, and your business vision for the future. Give your customers an understanding of the entrepreneur behind the brand and make sure your personal and business principles align; audiences can see through branding messages that do not correspond to behaviour. PR, through mediums such as case studies, media coverage, advice columns and blogs, is your tool for demonstrating your commitment to your brand values.

 

 

Authenticity
JHPR

 

Position yourself as a thought leader

So, how do you behave like a figurehead? A simple way is through positioning yourself as thought leader and by marketing your expertise. You, as an individual, can share your valuable perspective, insight and experience. This is not just advantageous in terms of commercial success, but also in terms of investment. By building a strong visible profile, you make you and your brand unique, differentiating your business from other commercially viable investment opportunities. Profit and turnover speak for themselves, but business commitment and vision do not. A business with a strong figurehead and management team who represent the fundamental business values are powerful assets and are most effectively communicated through a PR campaign.

 

 

Thought leader
JHPR

 

Absorb the media

To secure media coverage, it is also of upmost importance that you immerse yourself in the media. This means both being aware of the media sectors your business fits into and staying on top of current affairs and their relevance to your business.Every story reported in the media represents a PR opportunity depending on your business. Staying abreast of current news means you can be reactive, relevant and forward thinking in your PR strategy, creating press releases that participate in debates or that offer opposing opinions or solutions to contemporary problems.

Plan your PR strategy

Yet, at the same time, PR should be a calculated strategy, taking into account any important dates that may impact customers’ activity. Create a 12-month plan including dates such as Christmas, Valentine’s Day and Halloween and think about how your brand and commercial activities can ‘latch on’ to these events, increasing your chances of securing media interest. The importance of forward planning cannot be overstated – be aware of media lead times so you don’t let a PR opportunity pass you by.

Look for possible partnerships

Collaborating with like-minded brands, which share your business values and target market, is another way reach a broader audience and create interesting PR angles. The first step in brand partnerships is to truly understand your customer. Spend some time researching your customer in depth: where do they live, how old are they, what are their hobbies, their occupations and incomes? Once you have a clear image, you can then seek out ideal partners for cross-promotion. Partnerships are crucial when it comes to business growth and, for small businesses, this involves collaborating with larger or more established brands for common benefit. The story of the Big Friendly Giant is a popular one and does not fail to attract media attention.

 

 

Partnerships
JHPR

 

Perfect your press release

Yet indisputably the most successful tool at your disposal to get press coverage and media interest in your business is a well-written press release, one that grabs attention and leaves a lasting impression. Ensure it is professional, includes all the essential (but relevant) information and use the first paragraph to sum up your news angle and tell the journalist why it’s worth the page space. Statistics that support your angle, any awards or accolades your business has won, celebrity fans or endorsers should all be in those first few lines. Demonstrate your confidence in your brand and your story and substantiate the fact that you are great!

If you are committed to raising your personal or business profile, then you should commit to PR. However, it is an investment and in most cases there is no instant, tangible return on your investment. Persevere and view it as part of your strategic business journey. You have to foster this relationship as you would any other; getting your business in the media of your target audience is just the start. A customer’s buying journey begins with awareness, followed by familiarity, then to purchase consideration and finally loyalty. If you are consistent in your PR efforts, awareness of your start-up business will increase with each new media platform that endorses you. Your business will become visible, it will enter your customer’s mind and, most importantly, it will stay there.

 

Jessica Huie, MBE is the Founder of JH Public Relations and runs regular workshops in the British Library’s Business & IP Centre.

20 July 2015

Top 5 Intellectual Property Mistakes Made by Small Businesses

Intellectual Property (IP) law can be a minefield, particularly for start-ups and SMEs that either don’t have the necessary experience or resources. As a partner to the Business & IP Centre and at our firm of patent and trademark attorneys, London IP, we work with small businesses to sort out IP problems that could have been avoided if the right steps had been taken at the right time. So, to help you avoid any problems with IP we have put together a list of our top five IP mistakes (and how to avoid them).

1. Being scared of IP and ignoring it

 There is a myth that IP is an expensive business, and no doubt it can be. However, really you can spend as much as you want to. The UK official fees for registered designs are £60, for trademarks fees start at £170 and for patents £230. Indeed, the official fees to obtain a registered design that covers the whole of the EU are only EUR350!

If you use a patent or trademark attorney to help you then you will need to pay their fees as well, but compared to the cost of many other business expenses such as rents and business rates IP isn’t all that expensive. For example, the cost to get a UK patent granted could be anywhere in the region of £1500 to £4000 spread over five years or so. For a potential twenty year monopoly, and a halving of corporation tax (through the patent box tax scheme), that may be a very worthwhile investment.

Also, it’s worth knowing that IP law is actually quite generous in that it gives you free IP rights that you don’t have to do anything to obtain other than create something that is worthy of being deemed to be protected. The most well-known of these rights is copyright, but there are others.

For example, any designs you create may be automatically protected for three years by EU unregistered design right, and for up to 15 years by UK unregistered design right.

That said, unregistered design rights are not as strong as registered rights as unregistered rights (other than the ‘passing off’ right for unregistered trademarks) are only infringed by copying, whereas registered rights provide an exclusive right meaning that they can be infringed even if the original work has not been copied.

Thus, it must be recommended that you register your IP rights if possible.

2. Being fooled by scam invoices

The publishing of applicant and inventor names and addresses is essential to the transparency of the IP system as the public needs to know who owns a particular IP right.

Unfortunately, all this information can also be used by criminals, so if you do choose to register any IP rights then it is almost certain that you will receive one or more very official-looking letters from rogue companies that try to scam applicants for patents, trademarks and registered designs.

These scams can simply be an invoice that appears to be from a ‘patent office’ or a ‘register’. The amounts of money requested vary, but are sometimes quite significant.

The UK Government seems to be generally powerless to stop most these scams as they are often run from overseas

Beware.

3. Not registering IP at the right time

There is nothing more disheartening than a client describing what sounds to be a marvellous invention with a view to protecting it with a patent and the client commenting ‘it’s selling really well’.

To obtain valid patent protection in most of the world a patent application must be filed before any non-confidential disclosure of an invention.

So before you file a patent application for your invention you can’t sell it, put on a crowd-funding website, use it in public, etc., etc.

You can of course talk to third parties in confidence without jeopardizing your chances of obtaining valid patent protection. You may wish to use confidentiality agreements with third parties just so it is clear that everyone understood that the discussions were confidential.

As an aside it is worth noting that all correspondence with patent attorneys is inherently confidential both under common law and their code of professional conduct, so using confidentiality agreements with patent attorneys is quite unnecessary.

It’s not just patents though; many countries of the world require registered design applications to be filed before any non-confidential disclosure of a design in order to grant valid protection.

Furthermore the trademark system in many ways operates on a first-to-file basis so trademark applications should be filed as early as possible to safeguard future use of the mark and to minimize the chances of expensive and protracted disputes with owners of later-filed conflicting trademarks.

Many trademark disputes would never have occurred if a relevant trademark had been registered when use of the mark started.

In summary, IP should be considered at the very outset of any new venture to try to make sure that patent, trademark and design applications are filed at the appropriate time.

4. Ignoring infringement issues

It should be appreciated that IP is double-edged sword and along with protecting your own IP rights you need to careful not to infringe existing IP.

As mentioned above, registered IP rights provide the owner with the exclusive right to use the IP in the territories covered. This means that you may believe that what you are doing is original but you could be infringing an existing right.

This is the case even if what you are doing is in fact original as registered IP rights can be broader in scope than the thing that they were created to protect.

For example trademark registrations give the owner the right to stop use of identical and similar marks, and registered designs protect against designs with the same ‘overall impression’.

Often we see clients obsess about protecting ‘their’ idea with a patent, and ignoring the fact that someone else might have thought of it before (perish the thought!).

So before spending money on branding, prototyping and tooling, try to make sure that whatever it is that you are developing isn’t going to infringe.

If it does infringe and you can’t obtain a license, then unless the IP can somehow be worked around you may need to completely reconsider your project.

5. Not understanding IP ownership issues with commissioned works

If you pay someone to build you a house then you own the house once the work is complete.

IP doesn’t work like that unless the ‘builder’ is legally an employee, so problems regularly arise with commissioned works, where the person doing the work is paid money for a project, but is not an employee.

For example, if you commission someone to design a logo or a product, or to write something for your website then (unless there is an agreement in place to the contrary) the person that does the work will own all of the IP rights when the work is done.

Because this is so counterintuitive a lot of disputes about the ownership of intellectual property arise. Indeed, if the law on this were to be changed a lot of IP lawyers would be out of a job!

It is therefore very important to have a clear agreement at the outset of any commissioning process about who will own all the IP once the work is completed and to ensure that, if desired, any IP rights created are legally transferred to the commissioning party.

 

David Warrilow, Patent & Trademark Attorney London IP, on behalf of the Business & IP Centre

16 June 2015

Six tips for running a flagship store

Maria Grachvogel is a luxury women’s fashion brand with a unique point of view of empowering women through effortless, intelligent fashion. Founder and designer Maria is a current participant on the Library’s Innovating for Growth programme where she is working with brand strategists, among others, to take her business to the next level.

Maria opened her first flagship store in September 2001 to fulfil a growing demand for her designs. In 2011 she moved the shop to a three storey Victorian townhouse which also incorporates the Atelier which brings the whole team closer to the women who wear the clothes. Maria quickly saw the value of a retail store to reflect and reinforce the brand as well as provide valuable feedback directly from the customer. Here she gives her six top tips for successfully running a flagship store. 

Paul raeside - 5154
Source: Maria Grachvogel

 

1. Retail is detail

When a client buys into a brand they are buying not only the product but also the story behind the brand. It is therefore important that the environment of your flagship store tells your story- says something about who you are and the personality of the brand.

Our brand is effortless, empowering glamour. Women always comment on how amazing they feel in our collections and how many compliments they receive. This is because we focus on how something feels and functions as well as how it looks; therefore it was important to me that my store has a sense of intimacy where a woman can feel totally comfortable. The limestone floor and simple, open space work well with the inherent allure of my collection.

We have specially angled mirrors in the changing rooms, which our clients love as they show how you look from the back as well as the front and this demonstrates the thoughtfulness that goes into every aspect of the experience. I have used my signature artwork print technique to paint furniture, curtains and wall panels and use original Art Deco furniture to display accessories - all of which reflect the intimacy of our brand. It is important that your team are also equally passionate and informed about the brand story and the unique selling point of the brand as well as each product within the store.

During the Innovating for Growth programme, I attended a branding workshop which helped me to see how the brand behaviours should be part of the detail in the store. One way of doing this is by incorporating brand awareness into training with your team. I have now started, to not only train on the values of the brand, but I ask the team to consider how the client might perceive our interaction at every touchpoint and look at ways we can improve from the way we contact clients, how the team present themselves, how we are with a client in store, to the way we package the clothes. 

Model modelling Maria Grachvogel garments
Source: Maria Grachvogel

2. Customer service is everything

Your customers are the most important asset of any business. For most luxury retail businesses 80% of your sales are from the top 20% of your customers. Many of our clients have shopped with us for 20 years and each year the client list grows, mainly by recommendation from within our client base. Therefore nurturing those relationships, listening to customer feedback, learning about their needs and timely follow up are all essential to customer satisfaction.

I train my team to listen and then ask questions to find out more and we record customer comments on our daily report. These, along with any comments/ feedback from emails or other client interaction are discussed and distilled within our team meetings. 

Maria Grachvogel store layout
Source: Maria Grachvogel

3. Marketing is key

In any retail business, marketing is very important to attract new customers. We have regular events both for our existing clients, but also in collaboration with like-minded brands to build brand awareness and attract new customers too.

We are a luxury brand so we tend to use personal phone calls and emails to invite people to our events or let our top clients know about products they would like. We also send regular marketing emails which often highlight key pieces from the season or inform about new collections and we use social media to let our clients know what is happening in the store on a regular basis. In addition to this, we look for opportunities to increase our sales outside of the UK with London Fashion Week playing an important part in our marketing mix as it builds brand awareness globally. 

Model modelling Maria Grachvogel Red dress
Source: Maria Grachvogel

4. Manage your inventory

Fashion is seasonal, so excellent stock management is very important. This involves checking sell-through data, analysing the products that are selling well, buying these back into the store if necessary and using sell-through data to inform future buys. Most Point of Sale (POS) systems have sell-through analysis within the system, but you can also easily create a spreadsheet for sell-through which is simply updated daily/ weekly. This should be checked back to actual stock to ensure the data is accurate and we look at ours constantly for reorder opportunities and monthly for analysing how we are doing relative to previous years and checking we are on target and have sufficient stock. 

Maria Grachvogel store interior design and layout
Source: Maria Grachvogel

5. Monitor and manage your data

We analyse footfall, conversion rates, sell-through and we also examine the reason the client came in and purchased. Was it because of customer follow up, because they loved the window display, they were recommended by an existing client or because of a marketing initiative? We have some simple spreadsheets I set up for doing this, where the team simply enter the data and the analysis is done. We discuss the reports weekly in our team meetings and in much more detail monthly, where we properly analyse all the data.

Analysing this kind of information is very helpful to know what is working and what is not and allows you to build on marketing initiatives that are driving sales and monitor client satisfaction (rate of recommendations and sales from follow up) for example.

6. Wow with your window display

Store windows are a very important marketing tool as they can entice people into the store. We always start with a seasonally relevant theme which will create interest from passers by and draws them in. It’s important to consider the composition of the whole window, as well as using colour and silhouette, to create something impactful. We change ours weekly and try and choose a new theme each week and we always go outside and stand back as it allows us to see it from a customer’s perspective.

Retail is a constantly changing environment, so you have to be always evolving, learning and changing to stay ahead. I have found over the years that I have learned so much from speaking with other retailers, both local retailers to understand trends in local clients and footfall and general retailers to exchange ideas and experience. I have found most retailers are very happy to share information, so go and chat with your neighbour, the shop across the way and ensure your network has some great retail mentors. 

 

Maria Grachvogel store interior design and layout
Source: Maria Grachvogel

 

 

We are now taking applications for the next Innovating for Growth programme, find out how you can apply today.

 

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Innovating for Growth is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund

26 May 2015

Welcome to Paul Lindley - our new Ambassador

Paul Lindley founder of Ellas Kitchen and products
Photo source: Ella’s Kitchen

Here at the British Library Business & IP Centre we are excited to announce Paul Lindley, Founder of Ella’s Kitchen, as our new Ambassador. Our Ambassadors come from a diverse range of business sectors and bring a variety of specialisms to their roles in helping to raise the profile of the Business & IP Centre services on a national and local basis. We are excited to have Paul speak at our next event, 'Inspiring Entrepreneurs: Going Global' in Liverpool on 22 June.

Prior to being a big business owner Paul started as Ella’s dad and like many parents had trouble getting his daughter to eat. To encourage Ella he used games at dinner time to make food fun and he also got to work in the kitchen creating food that was not only healthy but tasty too. And thus the idea for Ella’s Kitchen formed and started Paul on his journey from dad to entrepreneur to successful business owner.

Today Ella’s Kitchen is the biggest baby food business in the UK, turning over circa $100m last year, with products sold in over 30 countries around the world. Paul’s vision driving Ella’s Kitchen is to improve children’s lives by giving them a healthier relationship with food. Children are at the heart of everything they do - rather than aiming their products at parents, they make them appeal to the children themselves. Everything from the packaging and recipes to the names of products are directly influenced by children. 

Ellas Kitchen products image BigTastes
Photo source: Ella’s Kitchen

As a dedicated dad and business man Paul is now focusing on a new start-up, Paddy’s Bathroom, a range of fun natural and organic toiletries for toddlers named after his son. Similar to the idea behind Ella’s Kitchen, Paul’s new venture also has a social message at the core of the business model - for each drop of water a child uses to wash him/herself a village in Rwanda gets a drop of clean water too.

Here at the Business & IP Centre we were keen to connect Paul to other socially driven entrepreneurs. In February of this year we invited him to speak to over 350 small business owners at our Inspiring Entrepreneurs event. Paul gave invaluable tips and advice to other entrepreneurs looking to scale up. 

 

In fact, Paul had used the Library himself at the early stages of researching Ella’s Kitchen. Since then the Library has expanded its business and intellectual property resources and service to include a wide range of practical workshops, webinars, 1:1 advice sessions and networking events, delivered by Library staff and business experts. To date, over 400,000 people have used the Centre, with research showing that over a third of them are driven by making a social and environmental impact – just like Paul. 

Paul had this to say about his new role: “I’m honoured to become an ambassador for such a game changing organisation.  The British Library’s Business & IP Centre has the credibility, assets and potential to fundamentally improve the likelihood for any British entrepreneur to succeed.  It’s open, assessable and of such quality to aspiring entrepreneurs that I’ll be humbled if acting as an ambassador can help spread awareness and its use.”

Paul Lindley giving a talk at Inspiring Interns

Roly Keating, CEO of the British Library, is pleased to welcome Paul as an Ambassador; “We are proud and delighted to welcome Paul Lindley as a Business & IP Centre Ambassador. He’s a great advocate of entrepreneurship as a force for good. Paul’s expertise and experience will help us to continue to champion entrepreneurs and small business owners from all walks of life, helping them to launch and develop their businesses."

Join us in Liverpool, on 22 June 2016, to hear Paul tell his story of starting and growing a successful global business. 

15 May 2015

5 Tips for working with Illustrators by ChattyFeet

ChattyFeet is a quirky brand that makes people laugh with funny sock characters such as Kate Middle-Toe, Prof. Brian Sox, The Sockfather and others, and are currently participants on the British Library’s Innovating for Growth programme. Here are their top tips for working with illustrators based on their own experience with commissioning work for ChattyFeet sock characters.

Funny-Gift-For-Men-Don-Cottone
Photo source: ChattyFeet

1. Find references

We look online to find inspiration and discover creative work on sites like Behance and Dribbble, or just do a Google image search on a specific topic or theme. You can also search the British Library’s images online which gives you instant access to thousands of the greatest images from the British Library's collections. It is important to define what you are searching for. Are you looking for a realistic illustration, cartoon, 3D or vector graphic? Putting the style in your search query will help you to get more relevant results. Pinterest can also be useful for collecting references. Finding a reference is important for communicating with the illustrator and explaining what you are after. We had some help from the singer Louise Ashcroft to find the best references for opera singing. This helped the illustrator Dimitra Laskou to come up with the right style for La Diva sock character.

Opera-La-Diva-ChattyFeet
Photo source: Edgar Degas WikiArt, ChattyFeet

2. Review portfolios and styles

The simplest way to get a design you like is to find an illustrator that has already created work in the style you need. However if this is not possible make sure the illustrator you end up working with can diversify their work. If they only draw in one style it can be more difficult for them to adapt the illustration for your needs. When looking for illustrators we have found it useful to go to conferences and exhibitions to meet them in person and talk about your ideas. We met Captain Kris, a street artist, at an exhibition and as a result he created the characters Commander Awesome and Venus for our collection.

Captain-Kris-ChattyFeet
Photo source: Captain Kris, ChattyFeet

We discovered another talented illustrator, Muxxi, whose beautiful designs are featured on online portfolio platform Behance and we worked with her to produce a collection of four different colorful and fun socks.

Muxxi-ChattyFeet
Photo source: Muxxi, ChattyFeet

3. Write a brief

A brief will introduce yourself, explain why you need an illustration and how it will be used. Be clear about when you need it to be delivered, the format, size and budget. Is the illustration going to be printed, published online or in our case knitted on socks? Do you need it to be created in specific software so you can apply changes yourself? Be explicit about constraints to avoid future frustrations.

4. Develop a contract

Writing a contract is important for making sure everyone is on the same page. While the brief explains in detail what is required in terms of the work, the contract defines the terms of the project. For example, when will the client pay? We recommend an initial stage where the artist produces a sketch rather than producing everything in one go. This will allow you to review that it’s going in the right direction. You should also agree on the amount of iterations or drafts of the work that will be included in the budget. Asking for changes is common but there should be a clear limit to the scope of work covered.

Rock-Socks-Set-ChattyFeet_grande
Photo source: ChattyFeet

5. Give clear feedback

Sometimes your intuition knows if something is right or wrong, but when working with illustrators you will have to communicate this very clearly otherwise you won’t get the result you want. If you are struggling to write feedback, a phone or a skype call might work better. Try to refer to the brief and to what has been communicated before. If you give new directions that can be very frustrating for the illustrator and you might be asked to pay more for extra work.

We hope that these tips will be useful for you when commissioning new work. You can see the work of illustrators who created funny sock characters for ChattyFeet here. ChattyFeet are on the British Library’s current Innovating for Growth Programme which provides up to £10,000 worth of support for small companies with big ambitions – just like ChattyFeet.  If you want to follow in ChattyFeet's footsteps apply for Innovating for Growth by the deadline: 9.00am on Monday 15 June 2015.

Apply for Innovating for Growth here

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Innovating for Growth is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund

 

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