FBC Education Session – Intellectual Property

What is IP – Intellectual Property?

“Intellectual property (IP) refers to creations of the mind, such as inventions; literary and artistic works; designs; and symbols, names and images used in commerce.

IP is protected in law by, for example, patents, copyright and trademarks, which enable people to earn recognition or financial benefit from what they invent or create. By striking the right balance between the interests of innovators and the wider public interest, the IP system aims to foster an environment in which creativity and innovation can flourish.” – wipo.int

A recent report from IP Australia shows that on average, businesses that register IP rights are more productive than other businesses – up to 30% higher productivity with a patent or design right. Each additional trade mark filed is linked to an 8% increase in revenue per employee, and small and medium Australian organisations holding a patent tend to pay an 11% premium to their employees, and have higher levels of employee retention.

Join us on Wednesday August 9th, from 9.30am to 11.30am at the Frankston City Library to learn from IP experts Mark Williams and Nick Mountford, Partners from James & Wells.

Cost: FREE for FBC Members **JOIN TODAY** // $25 for non-members

Key takeaways you can expect to walk away with from this session:

• Using real world case studies, our experts will explain how businesses can use IP to protect and enhance their business and also how business can be disrupted by IP issues.
• They will provide an explanation of the various types of IP and detail how different types of IP may be relevant to different types of businesses. For example, copyright is likely to be more relevant to an art gallery than a coffee shop.
• The case studies will also be designed to explain the value of registering IP, including asset creation, revenue generation and ease of enforcement.
• An understanding of some common misconceptions/mistakes and also provide some practical tips to help avoid the common pitfalls.

This session promises to be accessible and informative to attendees for whom the seminar is their first exposure to such issues whilst also providing some useful nuggets of information for those attendees who have used the IP system before.

MARK WILLIAMS – Partner at James & Wells 

Mark is a Registered Australian Trade Mark Attorney and leads the James & Wells trade mark team in Australia. Mark specialises in both contentious and non-contentious trade mark work including trade mark clearance searching, infringement advice, filing and prosecution of trade mark applications, foreign trade mark  filing and protection strategies and initiating and defending trade mark opposition and removal actions.

Mark has over 18-years’ experience in advising on complex branding and marking issues. Mark has experience in managing a number of high profile trade mark portfolios for brands such as Smiggle, Just Jeans, Jaguar, Land Rover, LG and Titleist. Mark also has experience in brand protection services, including working closely with the Australian Border Force to guard against the importation of infringing goods.

Prior to joining James & Wells, Mark has spent the last 30-years working for top-tier Australian intellectual property firms in various roles.

NICK MOUNTFORD – Partner at James & Wells 

With over 25-years’ experience as a patent attorney in the engineering/ICT sector, Nick has helped numerous clients achieve commercially beneficial ownership and control of their IP, while mitigating against risks posed by competitors.

His work centres on protecting clients’ innovations in order to create valuable IP rights that are difficult for their competitors to copy. This includes working with clients to develop intellectual property strategies aligned with their commercial goals and taking steps to implement those strategies such as drafting patent specifications, prosecuting patent applications, handling patent oppositions, and reviewing competitor positions.

Nick has represented Australia’s largest filer of patent application for 15 years. He also has considerable IP litigation experience and has worked on one of Australia’s largest pieces of IP litigation for which involved over 20 patents. He helps clients to improve their position in advance of enforcement proceedings or, when defending clients, he identifies weaknesses in competitors’ IP positions with a view to finding a safe space to operate in.

For several years running Nick has been recognised as a leading patents practitioner by industry publications including Managing Intellectual Property and IAM Patent 1000.

This event is also a great opportunity to mingle with other local business owners. Light refreshments will be on offer but numbers are strictly limited so register early for this really insightful session brought to you by the Frankston Business Collective.