NIPC News

England v India, 2025 First Test, Headingly, Leeds © 2025 Jane Elizabeth Lambert, all rights reserved   Jane Lambert World Intellectual Property Day  is an interntational celebration of the laws that protect investment in branding , design , technology and creativity .  It takes place on or around 26 April which is the anniversary of the WIPO Convention's entry into force.  Each year the celebrations focus on a theme.  The theme for 2026 will be IP and Sports - Ready, Set, Innovate . The Menai Science Park ("M-SParc")  on Anglesey has contributed significantly to  Wales's celebrations of World Intellectual Property Day  every year since 2019.  Sports related businesses based at the science park include Pelly  which offers information systems and services to football club managers and Haia Communications Ltd , which provides a platform for e-sports.  The organizers of this year's celebrations will be Lois Bevan Shaw and Steff Thoma...

John Napier   Jane Lambert As I said in St Andrews Innovation Week , there has been   innovation in St Andrews since the 16th century at least.  John Napier, one of our alumni, invented a precursor of the slide rule and compiled the first logarithms.   Innovation continues at the Eden Campus  which I visited on 15 April 2025 and described in St Andrews Innovation   the very next day. Some of St Andrews Innovation's activities take place online and are available to the public.   Among the most useful are the Lunch & Learn Masterclasses  on YouTube.  These are a series of presentations that have been recorded and posted to YouTube.  The topics are as follows: Lunch and Learn: Pitching Masterclass   Lunch & Learn Entrepreneurship in the Creative Arts   Lunch and Learn: Turn Expertise Into Income Through Consultancy   Lunch & Learn: What is Bootstrap Financing?    Lunch & Learn: Demyst...

(c) 2025 Menai Science Park  Standard YouTube Licence Jane Lambert I discovered M-SParc  (the Menai Science Park) while on holiday in Beaumaris in 2018.  I wrote about it in  M-SParc - Anglesey's Science Park   on 29 Aug 2018.  I got to know it better when I attended the Anglesey Business Festival  later in the year.  I helped the park contribute to World Intellectual Property Day on 26 April 2019 (see Jane Lambert  Celebrating World IP Day at M-SParc: Basic Tips for Startups and other Small Businesse s 29 April 2019,  NIPC Cymru ).  The event was so successful that Emily Roberts , who was then in charge of Operations and Customer Experience at M-SParc, decided to hold a similar event on 11 November to be known as " Wales Enterprise Day." This year's Wales Enterprise Day coincided with the World Intellectual Property Organization's worldwide celebration of examiners .  M-SParc decided to combine both celebrations with a lu...

UK Supreme Court Author Kelsey Farish   Licence CC BY 4.0   Source Wikimedia Commons   Jane Lambert Last week's Winter Intellectual Property Conference  by CTC Legal Events was different from almost every  IP conference or seminar that I had previously attended.  For a start, there were very few slides.  I had prepared some for my talk on FRAND, as had  Maria-Christina Peyman of Birketts for her review of leading IP cases, but most of the topics were moderated discussions.  Secondly, the conference took place in  the magnificently equipped London campus of the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business .  Thirdly, the organizers attracted some of the biggest names in IP, such as Professor Sir Robin Jacob, a former Lord Justice of the Court of Appeal and Sam Williams, Head of Intellectual Property at Siemens.  A lot of information was squeezed into the 5th and 6th of November.  The organizers covered that grou...

Napier's Bones Author Kim Traynor   Licence CC BY-SA 3.0   Source Wikimedia Commons Jane Lambert I introduced St Andrews Innovation  in my article on Connect-Ed Network Meet Up on "Engaging and Supporting Female Founders" in the Cathedral Room at Walter Bower House on St Andrews's new Eden Campus , which I attended on 15 April 2025. The object in the photo is a calculation aid called "Napier's bones."   The name Napier refers to its inventor, John Napier , who studied at St Andrews around 1563. Napier's bones show that St Andrews's academics, graduates and students have been innovating for a very long time.  At the beginning of the academic year, they celebrate their creativity, collaboration and forward-thinking entrepreneurship with an Innovation Week consisting of talks, workshops and networking opportunities. This year's Innobation Week takes place between 6 and 10 Oct 2025.   Here are some of the events: 6 Oct 13:00 - 15:00...

Design Museum, London Author Anthony O'Neill   Licence CC BY-SA 2.0   Source Wikimedia Commons   Jane Lambert Every so often, the government of the day has a bash at changing design law.  The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 abolished copyright as a means of protecting product designs, introduced a new intellectual property right known as unregistered design right and modified the Registered Designs Act 1949.  That statute was further modified by the Registered Design Regulations, which implemented Directive 98/71/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 October 1998 on the legal protection of designs.  Council Regulation (EC) No 6/2002 of 12 December 2001 on Community designs introduced two more IP rights known respectively as registered and unregistered Community designs.  The Intellectual Property Act 2014 brought further modifications to both registered designs and unregistered design rights.  Brexit abolished regist...

Author World Intellectual Property Organization  Licence Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Internat Jane Lambert The Global Innovation Index ("GII") analyses innovation ecosystems across 139 economies, tracking global innovation trends through investment patterns, technological progress, adoption rates, and socioeconomic impact.  The United Kingdom ranked 4th in that index, behind Switzerland, Sweden, and the United States, in 2021, 2022, and 2023. In 2024, it dropped to 5th, overtaken by Singapore.  In 2025, it was also leapfrogged by South Korea, which rose from 6th in 2024. The UK is ahead of Germany, Japan and France which are now outside the top 10 altogether.  Germany was 9th last year, but has slipped to 11th.  Its position in the top 10 has been taken by Germany. Japan has risen from 13th to 12th.  France has dropped from 12th to 13th (see Figure 1, "The GII Dynamo: The Top 15 Innovators, 2021–2025 "). The performance of each participating count...

By Muhammad Karns - Judicial Office Twitter feed., CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=78284579 Jane Lambert Earlier today I uploaded to Slideshare a presentation that I gave in February 2023 to members of the University of St Andrews Law Society  entitled A Career at the Bar of England and Wales .  I did so because I get a lot of enquiries on how to make a career in IP, as well as requests for work experience.  I had just come across a website called IP Careers   which lists careers advice , courses ,  jobs  and news .  Its only drawback is that it focuses on opportunities for patent and trade mark attorneys and openings at the Intellectual Property Office and European Patent Office but does not seem to have much for barristers or solicitors specializing in intellectual property. A website that does cover all the intellectual property professions is Careers in Ideas  which is managed by IP Inclusive , a great organizati...

World Intellectual Property Organization, Geneva Author Emmanuel Berrod  Licence CC BY-SA 4.0   S ource     Wikimedia Commons   Jane Lambert I mentioned the government's consultation on standard essential patents in  Latest Consultation on Standard Essential Patent Licensing   on 18 July 2025.  One of the topics is "Tell us how alternative dispute resolution services work for standard essential patent disputes."   According to its "WIPO ADR for FRAND Disputes" page , the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Centre has administered some 80 WIPO mediation cases relating to FRAND licensing negotiations. Here are examples of some of the disputes that the Centre has handled: "Mediations between large SEP holders and implementers in Asia and Europe to facilitate the agreement of FRAND licensing terms. Requests for WIPO Mediation relating to licensing negotiations between patent pool administrators and implementers in relation to ongoing unsuccessful...

Manchester Civil Justice Centre, Home of  the Small Claims Track Author Skip88   Public Domain   Source  Wikimedia Commons   Jane Lambert Yesterday, HM Courts and Tribunal Service published a Guide to the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court Small Claims Track  and a glossary of  Common legal terms used in the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court .   It aims to help users and potential users of the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court ("IPEC") small claims track by giving practical tips.  Although it is primarily intended for litigants in person, intellectual property practitioners will also find it useful.  The guide is divided into the following sections: Introduction About the IPEC and the Small Claims Track How to decide if a claim is suitable for the IPEC Small Claims Trac k What to expect in your dealings with the court     What to do before issuing a claim     The procedure for claims in the IPEC Sma...

By Kai Hendry from London, UK - Televised Star Craft, - Stork vs JJU 1, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2531978   Jane Lambert According to the European Union Intellectual Property Office, the worldwide e-sports industry is worth over US$200 billion and has about 3 billion players (see James Nurton Game on: Navigating intellectual property in esports ,  10 June 2024 EU IPO website).  The appeal of e-sports is likely to increase with the establishment of the Olympic Esports Games .  A lot of money is invested in branding, technology and content creation, which will be protected by trade marks, patents, copyrights and other intellectual property rights. Infringement and licensing of those rights are likely to give rise to disputes between parties in different countries that cannot conveniently be resolved by litigation.  The Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC ) and the World Intellectual Property Organization have recently launched...

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology Author bryan...   Licence CC BY-SA 2.0   Source Wikimedia Commons Jane Lambert   In Patents: a New Resource Hub on Standard Essential Patents in May and HMG's other Proposals on FRAND Licensing ,  I wrote on 5 March 2025: "A standard essential patent ("SEP") is a patent that has to be worked in order to comply with a technical standard. Organizations that set such standards (known as standards-setting organizations or SSOs) require SEP proprietors to promise to license the use of their patents to businesses that want to make or distribute products that comply with those standards ("implementers") on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory ("FRAND") terms as a condition for including their patents within the standards." I added that in theory such a condition looks very fair and ought to work very well but in many cases it doesn't.  That is because implementers delay paying fees until a c...

Author Muhammad Karns Licence CC BY-SA 4.0   Source Wikimedia Commons Rolls Building, Business and Property Courts Jane Lambert There has been a recent flurry of judicial appointments that will affect intellectual property dispute resolution in both London and the North of England. On 26 June 2025, the Prime Minister announced the appointment of Lord Justice Birss as Chancellor of the High Court with effect from 1 Nov 2025 (see the press release  Appointment of the Chancellor of the High Court: June 2025 ,  25 Jun 2025).  As the press release states, the Chancellor of the High Court is one of the most senior judges in England and Wales.  The Chancellor presides over the Civil Division of the Court of Appeal and sits as a judge of first instance in the Chancery Division.   He will have full responsibility for the Business and Property Courts in London and other centres, including the Patents Court , the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court  and t...

Eden Estuary and Former Paper Mill Author Jim Bain   Licence  CC BY-SA 2. 0  Source Wikimedia Commons   Jane Lambert It has been years since I graduated from St Andrews, but the University is still capable of teaching me something new and useful.  Yesterday, I learned a lot about enterprise, innovation and inclusion at a Connect-Ed Network Meet Up on Engaging and Supporting Female Founder s in the Cathedral Room at Walter Bower House on St Andrews's new Eden Campus . The meet-up began with a buffet lunch at 13:00.  I got to meet the Chair, Bonnie Hacking . Programme Manager, Entrepreneurship Centre, two of the speakers, Niki McKenzie , Joint Managing Director at Archangel Investors Limited , and product designer,  Kat Pohorecka , who is also an associate at Edinburgh Innovations , and many of the attendees, before the formal proceedings.  The third speaker was a remarkable recent graduate called  Simone Korsgaard Jensen ,...

Author Stephen Sweene y Licence CC NY-SA 2.0   Source Wikimedia Commons   Jane Lambert Yesterday I attended a talk by Andrew Cla y, a partner of Sonder & Clay and founder of TIPSY , entitled  ‘IP Rights – a good thing or a capitalist attack on the intellectual commons?’  in the new seminar room of the Department of Medieval History at St Andrews.  I was there for two reasons.  The first was to support Andrew (having badgered him for some time to give this talk) and the Institute of Legal and Constitutional Research  and the University of St Andrews Law Society , which hosted it.  The second reason was that I could combine attendance at Andrew's talk with a visit to the U niversity of St Andrews's Eden Campus , which will host an Engaging and Supporting Female Founders: Connect-Ed Network Meet Up .  this afternoon. Andrew began his talk by explaining how and why he became a solicitor. He then projected a picture of Jam...