Free-to-Join
Staffordshire businesses to profit from their ideas
New and small businesses in Staffordshire will get advice from the Patent Office on how to maximise profits from their new ideas at the Business Advice Open Day taking place at the Britannia Stadium in Stoke-on-Trent on Wednesday 20 October 2004.
Experts will be explaining how managing intellectual property can be key to business success. The team will be covering all aspects of patents, copyright, trade marks and designs.
SMEs will have the opportunity to sign up to the Patent Office’s ‘What is the key?’ campaign to receive a free information pack on how to benefit from their IP and the chance to win a free consultation with a legal expert. The campaign reinforces the increasing worth of intellectual assets in the knowledge economy as highlighted in Department of Trade & Industry Innovation Report.
The Patent Office is also inviting visitors to attend a free seminar, entitled ‘Intellectual Property – what’s that got to do with my business?’ where guests can gain an insight into the very real intellectual property issues that impact on the success of their business.
The event is part of a series of HM Customs & Excise Open Days programmed for 2004 where experts from over 30 organisations will offer free help and advice on practical issues and regulations affecting businesses.
Lawrence Smith-Higgins from the Patent Office says: "Business Advice Open Days present a unique opportunity for small and medium sized companies to obtain the quality advice and information they need to run their business successfully."
"Every business has a name, but too few traders pause to consider if their new brand needs protection with a registered trade mark. Worse still, some new businesses pick a name already registered to someone else, which can be a costly mistake to make! Other firms invest heavily in research for a new product when they could have saved time and money looking at all the similar inventions already in the patent databases which are available for free from our web site. Intellectual property is crucial in this mix. It is vital that companies are aware of how important managing their intellectual property can be to their competitiveness and commercial success."
