Protect your ideas - it’s good for business

Are you an inventor with a product or idea in need of a patent, or in search of the right licensing agreement? Our Inventor in Residence, Mark Sheahan, announces his first round of one-to-one advice sessions at the Business & IP Centre.

Intellectual property, or IP, lets people ‘own’ their ideas in the same way they can own, protect, sell or rent other kinds of property. While IP can be a complex subject, it touches on many parts of modern life – such as downloading music from the web – and it can be very important to small businesses and entrepreneurs. If you have an idea or an invention that you think could ‘sell’ or ‘hire out’, or if you are in the business of being creative, you need to understand IP. Someone might have ‘got there first’. If not, you need to take steps to protect and make the most of your property.

The Business & IP Centre houses the most comprehensive collection of patent specifications in the world – currently over 50 million specifications from 40 countries (and still growing). We have the most up-to-date literature on patents, trade marks, designs and copyright, along with access to extensive online search tools. And, along with our parters, we can advise you how best to use these resources to protect and exploit your IP.