Welcome to our Summer Series for Creative Businesses! Taking place every Friday in July, this series is delivered in partnership with the Create Growth Programme, led by the Leicester and Leicestershire Business and Skills Partnership. Each session offers expert-led workshops and masterclasses designed to ignite new ideas and support the growth of your creative business.
Intellectual property
Intellectual Property (IP) is one of the most valuable—and often overlooked—assets a business can own. In this half-day seminar, we’ll make sense of IP and show you how to identify, protect, and monetise your ideas. Whether you're a start-up or a growing SME, understanding your IP rights is key to protecting your brand, staying competitive, and opening up new revenue streams.
Led by Chartered Trade Mark Attorney and IP specialist Gemma Ryan, this session will break down the essentials of trade marks, copyright, designs and patents in a clear, practical way—focusing on real-world business applications in the UK and internationally. We’ll also explore how you can turn your IP into a commercial advantage, from licensing and franchising to partnerships and investment.
Come away with a stronger grasp of how IP fits into your business strategy—now and for the future.
Trainer Bio: Gemma Ryan – CEO and Chartered Trade Mark Attorny
Gemma Ryan is a Chartered Trade Mark Attorney with over 15 years’ experience helping businesses protect, manage and make the most of their intellectual property. She founded The Little IP Company to offer clear, practical IP advice tailored specifically to SMEs, start-ups, and creative entrepreneurs. After qualifying as a solicitor in 2010, Gemma went on to specialise in intellectual property, gaining a second professional qualification as a Chartered Trade Mark Attorney in 2015. She has supported hundreds of businesses—from solo founders to growing brands—with trade mark strategy, brand protection, and IP dispute resolution. As a small business owner herself, Gemma understands the pressures and priorities of running a business—and focuses on giving advice that’s genuinely useful, commercially relevant, and easy to action. She’s known for her down-to-earth style and her ability to explain complex IP issues in a way that makes sense to business owners. When she's not advising clients, you'll find her sharing tips on brand protection and behind-the-scenes insights into running a boutique IP firm on Instagram and Facebook.
Agenda
1. Welcome & Introduction
2. Understanding IP: The Core Four
3. IP in Action: What SMEs Need to Know
4. Coffee Break & Networking
5. Protecting Your IP in the UK and Beyond
6. Making IP Work for You: Monetising Your Assets
7. Q&A and Action Planning
