NIPC News Roundup - 30 Sept 2017

IP Valuation

Article Hidden Value - A Study of the UK Valuation Market  30 Sep 2017

The announcement of the appointment of Metis Partners to market Barratts' intellectual property occurred a few days after the publication of Martin Brassell and Jackie Maguire's study of the British IP valuation industry. The study was commissioned by the IPO to help it understand why businesses do not value their IP rights more often. The authors do not address that question directly but rather preliminary questions on the size of the market and the scope for its expansion. It is an interesting and useful enquiry accompanied by an even more useful and interesting appendix on methodology. The report prompted my own thoughts on valuation and whether it is useful. While agreeing that it can be useful I point out that it is not fully developed and that there is a lot of muddled thinking as to how IP works, I can understand businesses' reluctance to use it. However, that should change as the firms providing valuation services gain more experience and develop new and better valuation techniques.

News Item:  Bradford Footwear Distributor's Intellectual Property Sale 29 Sep 2017 IP Yorks

Following its sale of Brantano's IP rights in June which I discussed in http://4-5ipem.blogspot.co.uk/2017/06/brantano-ip-and-insolvency.html. Metis Partners have now been appointed to market those of Bradford based footwear distributor Barratts. Assets offered for sale include the goodwill in the Barratts brand, its trade mark registrations, customer database and domain names. Bids have to be in by 19 Oct which does not leave a lot of time for due diligence for which specialist legal and other advice would be needed


Brexit

Article  Fourth Round of Brexit Talks: Still a Logjam 29 Sep 2017 NIPC Brexit

The fourth round of talks between Monsieur Barnier and Mr Davis ended on a more positive note than in previous rounds but Monsieur Barnier warned that we had made nowhere near sufficient progress for talks on a future trading relationship to begin. The stumbling block is that we are unable to guarantee performance of our obligations under the withdrawal agreement in the way that the remaining member states can guarantee their performance to us as we will not accept the jurisdiction of the Court of Justice of the European Union after we leave the EU. Mrs May and Mr Davis seem to understand the problem and have offered to incorporate any withdrawal agreement into English law. But what if a future government changes that law? In practice, that might be unlikely because it could become a constitutional convention that no government would ever do that. But will that satisfy the remaining 27 states? My guess is that it will probably not but we shall have to wait and see.

Innovation

Article: Innovate 2017 Conference  30 Sep 2017  NIPC West Midlands

Innovate UK, the UK's innovation agency, will hold its Innovate 2017 conference at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham on the 7 and 8 Nov 2017. This is billed as "an event creators, investors and entrepreneurs from all over the world", a "place to be inspired and network with future-focused thought leaders" and a "chance to hear captivating speakers and see game-changing innovations for the first time."

Further Information

Jane Lambert  Call +44 (0)20 7404 5252  Contact