What will the talk cover?

In this talk we will discuss some of the everyday practicalities of Intellectual Property (IP) and how it can affect business operations, opportunities for future investment and value of a company. This will include examples of where IP has had positive effects on a business, where it has had a negative effect and learning points from the examples.

IP is a business asset and should be treated as such. In view of this we will also explore matters like IP ownership along with why a business may wish to invest in IP, how to tie this to a business strategy and why this is beneficial.

If you missed the first session hosted on 23 February, you can catch up on its content on our Vimeo channel.

The session link will be shared 2 hours as well as 10 minutes prior to the session. Please check your spam folder.

Who will be speaking?

Alistair Holzhauer-Barrie is a UK and European Patent Attorney and Senior Associate at GJE with almost a decade of experience in the industry.

Alistair works with a wide range of technologies in the physics, engineering, electronics and software fields, drafting and prosecuting patents for medical devices, camera equipment, musical instrument interfaces and many others innovative products and processes. In addition to this, Alistair focuses on advising start-ups and SMEs on intellectual property strategy and how to tailor their IP, including patents, to a business plan making sure the IP complements the strengths of a business and can be used to enhance the growth of a business.

The experience Alistair has gained from his focus on IP strategy, patent drafting and prosecution has led to him successfully obtaining grant of patents that protect products with multimillion sales values and playing a key role in the IP due diligence on a company acquisition worth tens of millions of pounds.

Who are GJE?

Gill Jennings & Every (GJE) are a firm of European Patent, Trade Mark & Design Attorneys. We act throughout the UK and EU – through both our London and Munich offices.

We are recognised as a leading European IP firm by the Financial Times. In addition, we have received five Gold Awards for our work in the following industry sectors: Chemistry & Pharmaceuticals, Electrical Engineering, IT & Software, Materials & Nanotechnology, and Mechanical Engineering; as well as a Silver Award for our work in the Biotechnology and Food industries.

We work with an extensive and varied list of clients - from early-stage start-ups all the way through to global brands, and everyone in-between.

Clients include Proctor and Gamble, producer of many of the UK's most well-known household brands from Pantene to Gillette. GJE prosecutes and defends a very active, high-value IP portfolio of currently over 1200 patents and patent applications across 70+ countries for the world’s leading banknote supplier, De La Rue. GJE work closely with the in-house IP at JT International, who produce 9 of the world’s most popular cigarette brands such as Camel, Winston and Silk Cut.

Filing a well-prepared patent, trade mark or design registration may be critical to the future of your business. How it is written defines not just your innovation or identity but also the competitive landscape you wish to operate in. But there is more to intellectual property than filing a document. Other things to consider will include the amount of potential or unidentified IP in your business; the level of competition in your industry; licensing the technology to others; and key target markets. GJE’s attorneys consider all these issues and provide solutions to both grow and protect your business.