Intellectual property simplified with the help of new British Library e-courses

10 April 2008

• A new interactive, online information resource from the British Library Business & IP Centre to help individuals and small companies teach themselves the essentials of intellectual property, wherever they are

The British Library is today launching an innovative and comprehensive distance learning website that will allow anyone interested in learning about intellectual property to do so without a headache. “Intellectual Property – How to Protect and Develop Your Idea”, http://bipc-ecourses.bl.uk, is designed to give users the confidence to learn the IP fundamentals that no-one setting up a business or launching an innovation can afford to ignore. The website incorporates much of the invaluable information provided by the courses available at the British Library's Business & IP Centre and brings it to the fingertips of budding entrepreneurs and innovators based anywhere in the UK or the world.

Much more than a virtual IP handbook, the website has been developed to help the user to grasp the complex subject of intellectual property with a simple step-by-step approach that takes them from the basic facts through to interactive exercises and sections such as “What Would You Do?” and “Ask the Expert”. One of the website's key objectives is to encourage innovation and support the government's overall aim of improving the UK's knowledge base.

Rob Lucas, Manager of e-Learning Development at the British Library, said: “Developing your idea, protecting and commercialising it is considered to be a minefield by many, often incurring costly mistakes along the way. The Business & IP Centre's website is intended to remove those obstacles in a structured, progressive way, hence allowing the user to see whether their idea has the potential to be developed successfully.”

Funded by the London Development Agency, the website is designed around course modules that introduce users to various aspects of intellectual property protection and development. The first course, “The Basics of Intellectual Property”, deals with various topics such as patents, trade marks, registered designs and copyright, as well as the development and commercial implications of an idea. It will be followed by two further courses on how to search intellectual property databases and analyse markets.

Jill Durdin, Business Development Manager at the UK Intellectual Property Office, said: "This is an innovative and excellent way to find the answers to many of the questions that anyone would have about protecting, developing and commercialising their idea or invention."

Russell Copley, Chief Executive of the East Midlands Incubation Network, said: “We very much welcome this additional service, and the tools within it, from the British Library. As an organisation with over 2,500 new businesses as members we frequently come across fledgling companies that have little, or no, appreciation of their intellectual property – how to protect it, how to exploit it or what it's worth. This site will become an invaluable tool in helping us help our young business community.”

For further information and interviews, please contact: Suvi Kankainen at the British Library Press Office, +44 (0)20 7412 7105, suvi.kankainen@bl.uk or Lawrence Christensen, +44 (0)20 7412 7114, lawrence.christensen@bl.uk

Notes for Editors

1. The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. It provides world-class information services to the academic, business, research and scientific communities and offers unparalleled access to the world's largest and most comprehensive research collection. Further information is available on the Library's website at www.bl.uk, which currently receives almost 2 million 'hits' or visits per month.

The British Library Business & IP Centre is supported by the London Development Agency to provide a single access point to support entrepreneurs and SMEs in London to gain access to and exploit existing and new business and IP information, and other relevant content and data, guided by impartial Library information experts and associated partners. The Business & IP Centre has been used by over 30,000 people since it opened in March 2006. An independent survey of 230 users in 2007 showed that it helped create 47 new companies, took a further 48 to start-up and helped create 115 new jobs. Access to the Centre is free, but users need a Reader Pass ; for more information visit: www.bl.uk/bipc.

2. The London Development Agency works to improve quality of life for all Londoners and drive sustainable economic growth www.lda.gov.uk.