Come and see my mouse mats, or the Bribery Act is here

To avoid accusations of bribery,
law firms are advised to give generic
unbranded mouse mats this Xmas

If other readers of this weblog have had the same experiences as I have, they will have been deluged with circulars, advertisements and warnings of all shapes and sizes, all reminding them that the UK's Bribery Act will be/is/was brought into force and that this will be an apocolyptic acopalytic apuplectic important event in the lives of us all.

In all my years as an intellectual property consultant to major firms, and also in my "own" guise as a person who has given advice and assistance to individuals and impoverished but worthy organisations on matters of IP, I have never come into contact with traditional bribery or the more subliminal sort, such as corporate wining and dining, tickets to prestigious sporting events and so on.  I can however boast an almost unparalleled collection of corporate and law firm ball-point pens, mouse mats, still-unrecycled diaries and calendars and stress balls. Am I in receipt of bribes, I wonder?

On  a more serious note, if any reader has thoughts on the impact of this new legislation on the small and sole practitioner community, please will that person or persons share them.  There is positively no inducement for doing so, or reward for having done so ...