Something in the lair Inventors are a curious breed. Sure – we’re all capable of having ideas but how many of us do anything to develop them? That’s the key difference. A combination of [...]

Working From Home – an intellectual property hurdle? It’s not obvious at first. Lots of us fell for its siren-like allure. But a few months down the track and most folk working in the [...]

An interesting business failure tale is emerging in the States. It demonstrates only too well why the increasingly depressed Covid-19 economy is not the only headwind for emerging tech-based [...]

It’s been an interesting week for reports on Intellectual Property. We’ve had three. And in respect of all of them there are some basic messages for brokers. But, let’s keep it simple and focus [...]

There’s an inevitability, irony and some might say justice when an individual claims IP protection and, in particular, says “…copyright is for losers…” and, nevertheless, goes on to seek the [...]

American hypocrisy? All too often we see the US call China an IP thief, accusing them of stealing American intellectual property. Under the so-called “Section 301 investigation”, Trump appeared [...]

Think of an inventor. Hold that image. Is it the suave James Dyson or scholarly Tim Berners-Lee? Or, perhaps drawn from theatre and the movies, think Professor Caractacus Pottsfrom Chitty-Chitty [...]

Education dropout – IP upside? Farewell then, Chinese students. The string of this theory beingthus: Covid-19 epidemic in the UK frightens-off would be Chinese students, a position consolidated [...]

Racing may be back on the telly, although not as we knew it, and spotting a winner is distinctly an armchair pursuit, at least for now. Picking a start-up business winner continues seemingly [...]

Recent history As readers of this Newsfeed may recall in an article published on 6 March this year (doesn’t that seem a long time ago in a pandemic where time crawls) an IP dispute between the US [...]

E-learning I had some good lecturers at university, but none were Rock stars. Things might be about to change. Let’s think this through. Universities are going online from September this year. [...]

Click and…er…wait Ever thought it odd that however socially revolutionary and convenient on-line shopping undoubtedly is, the polluting, unwoke delivery by diesel van undermines this sci-fi [...]

Restricted movement but no less agile Strange times, stranger hours and patterns of work. Disjointed, disconnected and in a world of our own, quite literally, because we’re working from home. [...]

Did you know Sunday 26 April was World IP Day? We hope you didn’t miss it but in case you did; here are the highlights. Green Innovation… Relies on Intellectual property rights (IPR) as its [...]

Covid-19 lockdown go-to and Netflix smash-hit “Tiger King” is perhaps an unlikely subject for an intellectual property newsfeed. Or is it? For some time now we’ve been proclaiming that IP is [...]

Market forces… Intellectual property is all about the creation of a legal monopoly with lawful exploitation at its heart. There’s a problem; exploitation is equally central to counterfeiting. [...]

Coronavirus (COVID-19) is the top of people’s minds during these uncertain times. We know that protecting your business and team is your top priority as we all adjust our working arrangements to [...]

OPUS BIBA Webinar   Our first… OPUS is delighted to announce it has just delivered its first broker webinar with the help of our friends at BIBA. With contributions from Sam Bobo the OPUS MD with [...]

Rumour has it… Nothing whets the appetite for rumour quite like a good germ escape story. And what if that germ, or virus, was ‘owned’ or patented by a super-power? All the required ingredients [...]

Not an alien concept The march of intellectual property-rich UK companies from start-up to mature, continues at pace according to a report last month from Tech Nation, the tax-funded body that [...]

It’s all about the brand… The curious thing about intellectual property rights is you don’t think they apply to you until…er…they do. You might not believe you have, or are, a brand. Even if you [...]

Employer’s Intellectual Property Rights The employer owns designs, inventions, and copyright over abstract creative works developed by its employees – right? Surely this is the case, it even says [...]

Happy New Year to all BIBA Brokers! As the New Year dawns many of your clients will be addressing their marketing schedules for 2020 and the new decade. Refreshing their client offerings, [...]

Success in Scotland!   BIBA approved service provider Opus Underwriting Limited was delighted to attend and exhibit yesterday at the BIBA Scotland 2019 Conference in Falkirk. A busy day with [...]

Breaking the Ice (Having that IP conversation with your client) One of the many benefits of OPUS travelling up and down the country to meet BIBA brokers is to elicit feedback from you. No one is [...]

Attention Scottish BIBA Brokers! BIBA approved service provider Opus UnderwritingLimited is delighted to announce its attendance at the forthcoming BIBA Scotland 2019atThe McDonald Inchyra Hotel [...]

South Wales – OPUS attends Successful Knowledge Forum October 2019 BIBA approved service provider OPUS UnderwritingLimitedreports a successful day’s attendance at the first-of-its-kind BIBA event [...]

Wales – here we come!   BIBA approved service provider Opus Underwriting Limited is delighted to announce its attendance at the forthcoming BIBA South Wales Knowledge Forum in Cardiff on 9 [...]

International fashion brand theft of another’s ideas and designs is rife. The big brands are often the worst offenders. So how in the world do they get away with it in plain sight of the creator? [...]

Creative differences Remember the 1978 Blondie release of this name. It hit the UK charts and for its three writers, Debbie Harry included, it has churned out regular royalties for them ever [...]

We are, of course, talking about Katy Perry the pop star and not the subject of a 19th century children’s book. And, in the case of Perry, What Katy Did was rip-off a fellow artist’s song and [...]

Quick quiz… What have the radio, the telephone and, with no hint of irony, the board game Monopoly got in common? Answer: The inventors were not those who cashed in. The money was made by those [...]

Why – what’s in it for me? If you haven’t thought of registering your business designs, you should…simple as. Whilst it may sound like a dull paper exercise involving lawyers, cost and some [...]

OPUS Lucky Winner! Congratulations to James Ogilvie of RAC Business Roadside on winning the OPUS BIBA Conference business card raffle! Sam Bobo, OPUS MD, is seen here handing over the prize to [...]

Intellectual Property Insurance – what is it and why clients need it. You’ve heard about IPI, but how do you position it with your clients? How does it fit their business? Is it relevant? You [...]

Passing Off: an old law in a modern world Popstar Rihanna wasn’t flattered when Top Shop splashed her image over its T-Shirts and sold them to its customers. She sued Top Shop’s owner Arcadia [...]

Opus partners BIBA to provide specialist legal expenses cover backed by A-Rated capacity. The British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) has launched an intellectual property insurance scheme [...]

In a modern business it’s pretty much a certainty, whatever your niche, you’ll need a website. Being online makes you more competitive and opens-up new markets at home and abroad. What business [...]

Learning to share You’ve a great idea, product or unique service. You know it’s a winner and you’re the founder. You start your business development and planning. There will come a time when [...]

It’s a problem for all entrepreneurs. You find a gap in the market, whether a service or a product, and head-down you go for it!  The problem with a gap in the market is how do you know you are [...]

In a landmark judgement the Supreme Court has rewritten the rules on how patents are to be interpreted. The new world is great news for patent lawyers but not necessarily for their clients. The [...]

Prior to 1 July 1989, three dimensional designs of, for example, a kettle could potentially be protected as registered designs and/or as copyright works. If the design was registerable, copyright [...]