Intellectual Property Revolution will shape British Business
New book launch by IP Lawyer Shireen Smith
“In spite of the UK being recognised as the most advanced adopter of online retail and the digital economy, with creative industries exports worth £17.3bn, there is a general lack of awareness about the importance of Intellectual Property protection”, says one of the UK’s leading IP Lawyers, Shireen Smith, Founder of law firm Azrights.
“To date, IP has been one of the lowest profile sectors of the legal industry but that will change as the future UK economy becomes more reliant on digital products and services.”
Shireen adds, “The new currency in our digital economy is information, know-how, brands, systems and data. Whether people are building a brand identity, launching a new product or service worldwide, or even a start-up business, they’re also creating intellectual property.
“The value and safety of intellectual property has become more important than ever before. Do it right and the intangible assets you create could be worth more than the products or services themselves. Do it wrong and you could miss vital opportunities, have your true value stolen or find yourself on the wrong side of an intellectual property dispute.”
One way of raising the profile of the subject is to inform and educate business owners, in particular marketing directors and company secretaries who are often on the receiving end of tension when things go wrong.
On the evening of October 13 at the Institute of Directors, Shireen Smith launched a new book called ‘Intellectual Property Revolution’, which is all about how to successfully manage IP assets, protect brands and add value to your business in the digital economy. It is written in plain English and aimed at business owners and ‘brand guardians’.
Jeremy Phillips, Professorial Fellow, Queen Mary Intellectual Property Research Institute and Intellectual Property Consultant, Olswang LLP said, “I applaud Shireen Smith for her passion in educating business owners about the value of IP. The Government’s IP Office is doing well in spreading the message on the subject but many people in business simply don’t know where to start in terms of looking for information. Shireen Smith’s new book is designed to educate the reader thoroughly, so that they can make timely decisions that will ultimately add to the value of their business.
“Unless someone chooses to sell their business, they often have no idea about the value of their own materials or trade marks. Sometimes a bank might insist on pre-purchase due diligence, only to discover that the brand names are insufficiently protected. This can cause a great deal of distress.”
Shireen Smith added, “Once IP is on the business owners’ radar, it’s crucial for them to consult an IP lawyer in the early stages. So often, people in business commit to brand names, website URLs and costly designs before speaking to an IP specialist, only to find that their so-called assets lack value.”
Jeremy Phillips concluded, “Today there is one massive up-side and that is that thanks to the Internet and search engines, it is much easier to detect online breaches of IP. It is also far quicker for business owners to research what is already public. That’s just one of the many reasons why ‘Intellectual Property Revolution’ will be very well received by both business owners and ‘brand guardians’.”
A video explaining more about how the digital economy is changing IP can be found here:
