Finding a Trade Mark (or even a Patent) Adviser

IPO IP Events

The UK IPO does an excellent job in promoting the benefits of intellectual rights to business. Its programme of events offers workshops round the country and also promotes some third party events for business, but professionals should keep an eye on it too. The consequence is that an increasing number of trade mark applicants are unrepresented. Some of these applicants are developing portfolios of significant size.

These go it alone business men sometimes save themselves some money on external advice but on other occasions, the exercise incurs expensive fees, takes up valuable management time that could be better spent and delivers inadequate protection. Recently I spotted a series of three separate trademark applications filed by a new business based in Bath. The first was plainly a pure description and has been withdrawn. The second, a simple logo, also withdrawn. The third an elaborate logo, now published. All marks included the geographical name so its clearly intended for a local business so a national monopoly might not be that helpful.  The other time a lack of representation may be a handicap is when an opposition comes in. The natural response of an unrepresented applicant can be to waste a lot of energy producing irrelevant evidence. A short session with an adviser is worthwhile when you need to assess an opposition threat.

How would this applicant have found a cost effective adviser? The first instinct would be to search the web and we know there are good trademark advisers in Bath and nearby Bristol as well as excellent solo members. Google delivers a reasonable result but does not distinguish between the unqualified advertisers and the regulated adviser.

Our business owner could have gone to the IPREG Find An Attorney site and found a very reliable result. He would not have discovered that opportunity in his Google results, but it is by far the best way to look for a local adviser.

You might expect the Chartered Institute of Trade Mark Agents to help you find a member. Not all registered trademark agents from the IPREG site are Chartered but all of those on the IPREG site are qualified and regulated.  There is a nice orange button marked Find an Expert on the site and that will lead you to a public search tool that delivers very unhelpful results on a map, so if that's what you get go search on IPREG.

Maybe its time CITMA went on a membership drive in order to help the unrepresented find helpful advice.

York: Legal Research and Market Research

The Station from the Great Wall of York

As our generous host, Eileen Morrow has already reported, there was an all too infrequent gathering of SOLO IP lawyers yesterday in York. The excuse was an excellent training session on WESTLAW IP given by Paul Mullally. He showed us how to find the content we needed to argue our cases before the EPO or in the UK, how to get to use their highly efficient Current Awareness that finds stuff behind the Times pay wall and from all those sources we don't have time to check. This is all accessible and affordable due to our special subscription but you need to join at this time of year (before December) so get in touch quickly to be as smart as biglaw.

There were lots of goodies from The Yorkshire Food Company to keep the conversation flowing. A few highlights:

• Will we be able to get more disputes settled in the Patents County Court with its new procedure exciting new judge and costs cap. Does that cap apply to existing cases. We could not see why it should not or at least for steps undertaken after 1 October 2010. Discovery before that could be arguable. What do you think?
• Open Innovation and Innovation by Brainstorming. How can maverick IP lawyers solve the problems.
• The miserable number of European Patent Applications emerging from Yorkshire companies (200 pa was mooted). 
• Why do German entrepreneurs see greater value in patents than UK business
• Getting messages across to clients in blogs and press releases
• Using Software as a Service - I need a link here for the time recording and billing iPhone app
• Charging and the need to record time even if the bills are all fixed fees agreed in advance
• CPD collecting - did a plug here for Ipso Jure which has excellent patent coverage and will give you quality points and notes for a modest annual subscription. Contact Peter to sign up

Homeward bound

and the sun shone outside and we were all impressed with the Yorsolicitor office and hope that lots of bio science entrepreneurs will realise what an excellent resource is there to guide them economically and efficiently and with the wisdom, initiative and experience which is the hallmark of the SOLO IP lawyer.

York and Westlaw 20th September 2010 with some SOLO networking

York Station from Tim Green's Flickr stream

YorSolicitor has kindly agreed to host a training session in the Boardroom of her offices at 105 The Mount, York on Monday 20 September.

Your WESTLAW IP training will start at 2pm but for those who fancy a gossip and a bite to eat we will be convening at 12:30 to set the IP world to rights. For details of our subscription scheme see my earlier post. If you would like to join in please email to check there is room.

I will be coming up from London, which explains why I have included this picture of York Railway Station. Apparently it has free wifi throughout. How many businesses are running in the station I wonder. 

Come along and let us off some steam, share some ideas on everything from IT support to Regulation, the new IP Practice Direction to the foibles and delights available at OHIM and maybe a small digression on shape trademarks after the Lego judgement expected on the 14th.

See you there!