Good IP strategy fundamental to good start for young businesses

Intellectual property is a very valuable asset, says Tim Hargreaves

The Scottish Enterprise supported Enterprise Fellowship programme celebrates its 20 th birthday in November.

Back in 1997, the Royal Society of Edinburgh’s creation of a focused initiative with the aim of enabling promising science and technology researchers to develop into successful entrepreneurs seemed boldly ambitious. Two decades later, and looking back on the 200 individuals that have benefitted hugely from it, the thought of being without the scheme is now unthinkable.

There can be no doubt the support provided to so many promising technology-based ideas has been significant and has produced positively tangible results. The statistics speak for themselves – 94 per cent of Enterprise fellows have started a company within two years of completing their fellowship, helping to realise everything from tidal energy generation and safety systems for the oil and gas industry to insect repellents and communication solutions for sufferers of Alzheimer’s disease.

Marking the 20th anniversary will be a gathering at The Hub on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile, including a oneday conference and networking dinner – a forum for discussing how best to promote and encourage innovation and entrepreneurship in Scotland.

Attending the event will be a host of investors, politicians and friends of the scheme, but taking centre stage will quite rightly be the current and former Enterprise Fellows who have worked so hard to turn their visions into reality – the true beating heart of

the programme and the real reason why all will be gathered.

The skills you require to become a successful entrepreneur are very different to those required to be a good academic, and there are many hurdles and challenges to overcome, plenty of which are unforeseen. One thing that all aspiring entrepreneurs need to understand at an early stage is how valuable an asset intellectual property (IP) can be – and that’s where specialists like ourselves come in. Marks & Clerk has worked with many university spinouts, offering advice on how to protect their innovation when they don’t have much more than an idea, while delivering valuable prosecution and strategy services at a hugely important time in a young company’s development.

Fundamentally, IP strategy should always be driven by business strategy. Our patent and trade mark attorneys know the business environment their clients work in and take time to understand their goals and needs.

For budding entrepreneurs, it can mean everything from basic advice on whether a new invention can be patented and the many different ways you can leverage your IP rights, to simple good practice – like ensuring that you file your patent application before you disclose – and reviewing competitor activity to help you plan your branding strategy.

There can be other, trickier barriers to realising your ambitions. When a university negotiates and signs over IP rights, it can be a complex process, so it’s best to get expert advice.

The more that we can support innovators’ transformation into successful entrepreneurs with viable commercial companies, the better for Scotland’s economy – but it has to start with encouraging academics to consider commercialisation, and that’s where the Fellowship remains vital. Here’s to the next 20 years of innovation in Scotland. Tim Hargreaves is a Chartered (UK) and European Patent Attorney for Marks & Clerk LLP