Blog Articles
Are 4 legs better than 2 in the fight against piracy?
June 24, 2010
Here at the Centre, we have all been rather taken by the news story that Trading Standards have just recruited a new officer to join in the fight against DVD piracy ... Dixie, a springer spaniel!
According to The Telegraph report, Dixie will be able to 'sniff out' illegal DVDs and is due to commence operations in circumstances such as car boot sa...
The best wealth one can have is the Wealth of Knowledge
March 18, 2010
A friend of the IA Centre alerted me to a piece by Peter Ranscombe in last weekend’s ‘Scotland on Sunday’ (http://www.scotsman.com/business/Jim-McColl-warns-firms-are.6150046.jp) which headlined that Jim McColl, Chairman and Chief Executive of Clyde Blowers, warned that many firms were underva...
It's my dolly and I'll cry if I want to - Barbie vs Bratz
December 17, 2009
For fans of the TV series ‘Still Game’ you might remember an episode which centred on the issue of who owned (not ate) all the pies and whether they were created in the character’s own time. You may have thought this an issue for fiction only but here’s another example of whether an innovation created by an employee belongs to the employer or not. In this instance&...
Naming rights
November 23, 2009
As couples the world over will recognise the naming of a new arrival is not always the most straight forward affair.
As it happens I acquired the naming rights to my son due to guessing that my wife would have a little boy. However there have been a number of naming rights stories in the press recently. The first I saw was the calamitous renaming of Newcastle United...
Patent loss
November 23, 2009
Rather old news but still poignant from an intellectual asset management view point. It was brought to my attention that a large global hotel chain is facing litigation regarding the use of confidential information which it is alleged came to them from the ex-employees of a rival hotel chain. Possible criminal as well as civil action is threatened. The accusation relates to many ten...
EU Patent Reform
November 23, 2009
I have been recently updated on the position regarding EU Patent reform. The UK Government is committed to support the Swedish Presidency’s aim to reach agreement on a Community patent and single patent court later this year. The current position is that the European Patent Office is able to grant patents for 36 European states but these are separate national patents subject t...
Punk Drunk
October 27, 2009
It would appear that Punk iconoclasts the Sex Pistols are not so subversive that they eschew the use of intellectual property laws designed to protect their originality and creativity. Both The Guardian and the IPkat blog report that lawyers acting on behalf of the group are threatening a boutique ice-cream maker (I am having images of a shop in Chelsea which has a large chest freezer at t...
Having their cake and eating it.
October 13, 2009
I discovered recently that in a PR pitch to the website company confused.com six companies were involved in the pitch. The company which won is called Cake but confused.com offered to buy the ideas pitched by three of the others involved. It’s often alleged that good ideas get pinched at pitches and the companies often lose valuable IA by this means, so confused.com are to be congra...
New governance arrangements for ICANN?
October 6, 2009
We are apparently just hours away from an announcement on any new accountancy arrangements for internet regulator ICANN. The Joint Protocol Agreement (JPA) with the US Department of Commerce comes to an end today (30/09/09) so we are due to hear whether there are to be any changes to the current US-centric regulation. If EU Commissioner Viviane Reding (Information Society a...
I'm sorry I didn't realise I had infringed your trademark!
October 1, 2009
Oops, I've done it again!
Amazing but true, there is a town in Quebec called Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha! As Guardian contributor Stuart Jeffries implied in an article on the 29th April this year the Devonshire town of Westward Ho! appears to have missed an opportunity to add another Ho! to its name. Westward Ho! Ho! - what a jolly place to visit – ...
The ACID Test
August 27, 2009
I understand from my email box that the Chief Executive of ACID (Anti Copying in Design) Dids Macdonald is in campaign mood. On behalf of the British design sector she is lobbying the UK Government to introduce tough new legal deterrence’s to those trying to rip off our design community.
She is urging us to sign up to two new-style Downing Street petitions each of which tr...
Going through the hoops to get off the hook?
July 28, 2009
I notice from today’s blog posting from the popular IPKat blog site (who were alerted to an article in the Hertfordshire Mercury) that a firm in the East of England with the name Olympic Removals has been told to remove the Olympic symbol from their logo by legal advisers acting on behalf of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG) or face litigation. The O...
The future for ICANN?
May 13, 2009
The future of the body responsible for regulating the internet ICANN, is currently under discussion.
The EU Commissioner for the Information Society and the Media Viviane Reding is calling for ICANN to become a fully private and independent company once its agreement with the US Government expires on 30 September this year. She would like to see this alongside a G-12 for Intern...
Brand Owners need to be aware of new gTLD proposals
May 8, 2009
Many thanks to the Corporation Service Company for alerting us to these proosals.
I was made aware this week of the proposals from ICANN (The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) to push forward with its efforts to dramatically increase the quantity and velocity in which new domain name extensions are launched and a...
Scotland well positioned to take advantage of economic recovery
May 1, 2009
According to Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys President Dave Bradley, Patenting activity in Scotland continues to be high and Glasgow and Scotland will be well-positioned to turn innovations and intellectual property into business revenue when the economic recovery comes.
“Patented technology can generate wealth and benefit the whole community,” says CIPA President ...
Fusion - Highlands and Islands Entrepreneurs Group
March 11, 2009
I have been keeping my eye on the future for the Highlands and Islands entrepreneurs group Fusion - an organisation which has been a great friend to the Intellectual Assets Centre since our formation. It was going through a difficult time for the organisation in the early Autumn related to its future funding and role. By the time of its annual conference in the middle of November there wa...
Adjusting your China Strategy
March 9, 2009
I seem to be blogging a lot about China at the moment, however given the dire straits which most western economies are experiencing at the moment you will forgive me if my thoughts stray to economies which, while not immune to the downturn, are far less affected that our own. I attended a very good session run by Scottish Development International and the China Britain Business Council ho...
Sir Jackie's List
March 6, 2009
It was reported few days ago that Jackie Stewart has proposed sweating his intellectual assets. He does not wish to see his income from the Royal Bank of Scotland cut so he is proposing to the RBS that he gives them access to his contact list.
It would be fascinating (but intrusive) to know just what the difference in money terms it would be between what RBS is propos...
Second Knowledge Cities Summit 2009
March 4, 2009
I have received notification from Jenny Chan at the Knowledge Management Research Centre at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University of the Second Knowledge Cities (KC) Summit 2009 which is being hosted in Shenzhen China between the 5th and 7th November.
The hosting organisations are the Shenzhen Association for International Culture Exchanges, the World Capital Institute and...
Industrial and Power Association
March 2, 2009
Representative trade body for the energy industry in Scotland
I spoke at the Industrial and Power Association Power Scotland Conference few weeks ago about securing intellectual assets in the context of the commercialisation of technology. The energy sector is one of Scotland’s key sectors so a meeting of this organisation is one that we would ...
The Dilly-dallying over the Dali
February 19, 2009
I was intrigued by the stories in the press last week about the recent legal moves taken by Glasgow City Council to ensure that its rights earnings from its ownership of Dali’s painting of ‘Christ of St John of the Cross’. One of the pieces of the information which struck me in the piece (‘Surreal case of the Dali images and a battle over artistic licenseR...
Innovating out of the recession
February 16, 2009
I notice that Universities Scotland has issued an important new report called ‘What Was / What Next?’ which is calling for a significant shift in government policy. I agree with the general thrust of the report that Scotland must become an innovator if the economy is to survive the global crisis. I believe that this kind of research by Universities Scotland is very important an...
Digital Britain
February 13, 2009
How significant will this report seem in by 2020?
I have been working my way through the latest report from the UK Government issued last Thursday on Digital Britain and wondering how significant we will think this report to be when we look back in just over 10 years? There is no doubt in my mind that the Government should be thinking these thoughts and as...
IP Finance - Where money issues meet IP rights
February 11, 2009
I came across a weblog which looks at the financial issues for IPR, securitisation and collateral, IP valuation for acquisition and balance sheet purposes, tax and R&D breaks –anything basically where IP meets money. It’s a topic close to my heart as I have been exercised by the lending institutions reluctance to take this asset class seriously. However given that I ...
Adjusting your China Strategy
February 5, 2009
I seem to be blogging a lot about China at the moment, however given the dire straits which most western economies are experiencing at the moment you will forgive me if my thoughts stray to economies which, while not immune to the downturn, are far less affected that our own. I attended a very good session run by Scottish Development International and the China Britain Business Council ho...
A tale of winter Woolies
February 3, 2009
A ray of sunshine crept out of yesterday’s winter snow with the announcement that the Woolworths brand had been purchased for an undisclosed sum by Shop Direct, already owner of brands such as Littlewoods Catalogue. It plans to launch Woolworths online in the summer. However I heard an interview with a senior manager from the purchasing organisation being interviewed by Edward Stour...
Intellectual Capital Management in Hong Kong and Mainland China
January 30, 2009
I was in Beijing in December attending the first major Conference on the development of Intellectual Capital Management in the Asean Nations plus China run by the China National Committee on Pacific Economic Cooperation and sponsored by the Chinese Intellectual Property Office and the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation organisation. There were delegates there from most of the ASEAN n...
Congress is coming...
January 23, 2009
I am eagerly looking forward to the IA Centre’s international Congress this February on the 17th and 18th February. There have been so many developments in Intellectual Assets Management practice since our last Congress in September 2007 as well as obviously in the economic circumstances which face us all.
This is our third Congress and we are teaming up with IFKAD (the In...
Is China serious about IPR?
January 23, 2009
When I was in China last month I was present when the most senior Chinese official responsible for intellectual Property Commissioner Tian Lipu, who runs the Chinese Intellectual Property Office (SIPO), spoke at a meeting I was attending in Hong Kong. The topic of his presentation was a new Government strategy for Intellectual Property to 2020 which the Chinese government will pursue rigo...
Congress is coming...
January 23, 2009
I am eagerly looking forward to the IA Centre’s international Congress this February on the 17th and 18th February. There have been so many developments in Intellectual Assets Management practice since our last Congress in September 2007 as well as obviously in the economic circumstances which face us all.
This is our third Congress and we are teaming up with IFKAD (the In...
List Expectations!
August 18, 2008
Another example of the importance of protecting your key intellectual assets was contained in a short piece in today’s Daily Telegraph (15th August) in which it was reported that a midwife has lost her diary with the important contacts as well as appointment details for 395 expectant mothers in the Rochdale area of the North West of England. The Health Board for whom she works is ha...
Thanks mum and dad it's just what I always wanted!
August 4, 2008
I picked up last week the story about the Scottish couple who had registered the domain name Narnia.mobi as a birthday present for their son. The proprietors of the various copyright works of the late CS Lewis and the associated trade marks began proceedings at the WIPO domain resolution service. The upshot of the action was that having heard the arguments on both sides the panel wa...
China's changing attitude to intellectual property
July 8, 2008
The FT (Thursday 3rd July) reports that more companies are filing for patents in China and suing to enforce rights there than anywhere else in the world. The FT believes that this highlights a new Chinese attitude to Intellectual Property. SIPO the Chinese State Intellectual Property Office received nearly 700,000 patent applications last year which outs it way ahead of the US and J...
IP developments in China
July 8, 2008
I noticed that the FT reported last week (Thursday 3rd July) last week that China is proposing changes to its patent law which will require foreign companies making discoveries in the country to file for a patent in China first or risk losing legal protection of their IP. The legislation could be enacted this year. There is apparently another proposal to introduce an ‘absolute...
Mediate to Resolve
July 8, 2008
Through the good offices of IPKat I am made aware of the launch of a campaign by the Anti-Copying in Design (ACID) organisation called ‘Mediate to Resolve’. ACID has celebrated its 10th anniversary this year and is styled as the UK’s leading voice against design theft. The Mediate to Resolve campaign is a first for the UK’s creative industries – a national me...
Tartan Tat
July 8, 2008
The specialist IP blog site IPKat has cited The Scotsman as having reported in the last few days on an interim interdict handed down by the Court of Session with regard to an allegedly inauthentic Isle of Skye tartan. The action was initiated after a raid on a warehouse in Fife which was storing hundreds of metres of the suspect material.
The Scotsman reports that the inte...
Whistle while you work
June 19, 2008
I noticed on the ‘Today’ programme this morning (Tuesday 17th June) that the Federation of Small Business is concerned that due to many small businesses being unaware of the requirements of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 that they are breaching the legislation. Perhaps as many as 800,000 such businesses do not have Performing Rights Society licenses to play music at the...
Re-launch of the John Logie Baird Awards
June 17, 2008
I attended the relaunch event for the John Logie Baird Awards this week at the Scottish Parliament. I am declaring an interest as the IA Centre is an IP supporter of the awards. The event was very impressive and drew a distinguished audience and I congratulate GO and their sponsors on such a successful event. At first when we were approached about the awards I was a little skeptical...
British Brands Group Lecture
June 17, 2008
I attended the British Brands Group (BBG) annual lecture last week which attracted a capacity audience, as it has done in previous years. The speaker was Richard Reed one of the founders of Innocent Drinks whose lecture title was ‘Can brands save the world?. Reed has a very wide definition of what brands are and saw good brand management almost equating to good business management.<...
Dot.Sco ? the debate rumbles on
May 28, 2008
I noticed that the Scottish Government, namely Mr Swinney the Cabinet Finance Secretary, has been invited to get involved in bring about a new country code for Scotland in domain names. This proposal resulted in quite a lot of comment on the web concerning the practicalities of the proposal, the desirability as well as whether the Government should get involved. Whilst I don’t wish to get...
Make it so Number 1!
May 28, 2008
I once had the very distinct pleasure of an assignment assisting a new team led by an ex-Navy Commodore who had been in charge of nuclear submarines. He had moved to a very different environment when we met but his very clear command and control style was well received by his new team; they knew exactly what he wanted and he combined the military bearing with a considerable charm....
Goodnight Vienna to your midge!
May 28, 2008
The Sunday Herald caught the innovation bug over the weekend with an article concerning how the dreadful annual midge invasion is being tackled through technology. Advanced Pest Solutions, a spin-out of Edinburgh University’s Institute of Cell Biology, has helped a number of organisations to develop products and services to help visitors, workers and the man on the Clapham Omnibus (...
Who'd have thought it?
May 28, 2008
I noticed the other week that a Dr Who fan has fallen foul of alleged trademark and copyright infringement. Lawyers from, or on behalf of the BBC, have noticed that someone had placed knitting patterns for woollen replicas some of the Doctor’s most implacable enemies onto a website. In doing so the BBC claim they have infringed their trademark and copyright and have asked that the p...
Scottish Universities outstrip the Ivy League on R&D
May 12, 2008
I notice from The Sunday Herald (Sunday 11th May 08) in an article by Steven Vass that the figures on the research and development deriving from Scottish universities continues to impress. Scotland’s top universities outstrip the Ivy League (based on figures released by Edinburgh University). The top 8 Scottish universities produce more research disclosures, patents, licences and sp...
