Tuesday 15 June 2021

IP and Tourism

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In 10 Opportunities, Towards a Local Industrial Strategy, the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership noted:
"Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly are one of the UK’s strongest tourism assets and provide significant opportunities for further export market development. As a leading domestic brand, we attract over four million UK staying trips every year. But the region’s huge potential to draw in holidaymakers from around the world has yet to be fully realised."

The meeting of the heads of government of the Group of Seven industrial nations at Carbis Bay between 11 and 13 June 2021 has provided a golden opportunity for the Cornish tourist industry to promote its services to that international market.

In their joint report Boosting Tourism Development through Intellectual Property, the World Intellectual Property Organization ("WIPO") and the UN World Tourism Organization ("UNWTO") have shown how intellectual property (IP) rights can be powerful tools to boost tourism development and competitiveness.  The study contains 18 case studies and considers how trade marks, geographical indications, copyrights and, in some cases, industrial designs and patents reinforce the competitive advantages of various popular tourist destinations.

Cornwall is famous for surfing, sailing and other water sports. Advances are often made in the design and construction of surfboards, boat hulls, navigation and communication technologies. Unlike many other tourist destinations, Cornwall has thriving aerospace and information technology industries. Businesses in those industries produce materials, electronic equipment and other inventions that can be used in the leisure industries and vice versa.  Patents are therefore more important to the Cornish tourist and leisure industries than they were to the regions in any of the case studies discussed by the WIPO and UNWTO.

Anyone seeking advice on patents for inventions will find patent attorneys in Redruth and Truro.  They may be located through the "Find A Patent Attorney" facility on the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys' website.  The nearest Business and IP Centres are in Exeter and Plymouth. Several law firms in Cornwall claims expertise in IP and there are rather more in Plymouth, Exeter and Bristol.  Bristol is a Business and Property Court centre with judges who hear IP cases. There does not appear to be a Cornish inventors club according to the Wessex Round Table of Inventors  That website contains a useful article by Graham Rawlinson on Starting an Inventors' Club.

Anyone wishing to discuss this article can call me on 020 7404 5252 during office hours or send me a message on my contact form.

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