Our guest speaker was a very animated Philip Hannay IP guru, Founder and Director of Cloch Solicitors.

Philip posed the question “Why bother invest in IP?” and went on to explain, in layman’s terms what IP actually is. This intangible, yet highly valued, asset sees more investment by UK business than in tangible assets. Global trade in IP licences alone are worth more than £600 billion a year, that’s 5% of world trade and rising!

IP is all around us and can be somewhat confusing so Philip outlined the differences between a patent, trademark and copyright and sighted examples of how and when to use them.  He also advised us that sometimes it is better to see what others are doing with creative ideas and innovation before leaping into licensing and trade marking ideas and concepts. “We can learn from others” even if you think their idea is a copy or rip-off of your own ideas.

Philip then gave us a run down on the five areas of Intellectual Property, in a way showing us how to get a grasp on them:

• Identification
• Protection
• Exploitation
• Management
• Valuation

IP is a bit of a minefield yet Philip left us all feeling a little wiser and far more aware of how we can protect our brands and ideas, and questions were quickly fired at him from the audience, many seeking advice about their IP needs.

It was a great opportunity to hear from such a knowledgeable chap as Philip and we would like to express our thanks to him along with the Corinthian Club, 29studios and Great Scot Photography for making it another excellent breakfast event.

On Twitter:

very informative talk by @Philip_Hannay on intellectual property this morning… even The Apprentice final got a mention!
KWCtraining

Thanks to @commsbreakfast @dunningdesign & and @philip_hannay for a great #commsbreakfast
PurityITSupport

Philip Hannay says: Where technology is mission critical is the place to invest – that’s everywhere #commsbreakfast
Percepta