Interceltic Business Forum

National Maritime Museum
By Vernon39 - Own work, Public Domain,

 

Jane Lambert

The Interceltic Business Forum met at the National Maritime Museum Cornwall in Falmouth on 25 April 2025.  The Forum describes itself as "a conference and community that fosters economic cooperation and collaboration among Celtic nations, creating a unique space for businesses, entrepreneurs, and policymakers to connect, share ideas, and explore opportunities."  I was unable to attend the conference because I learned about it in Cornwall to host ‘internationally significant’ business forum for first time in TheBusinessDesk the day before it was due to take place, but I shall follow the Forum and try to attend future conferences.

The programme for the event was ambitious.   There were to be keynote speeches from Lord John Hutton of the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Economic Forum and Kingsley Aikens of the Diaspora Institute.  Panel discussions were to follow on the Celtic Diaspora, artificial intelligence and low-resource languages, Wales, the West of Ireland and Brittany. There were to be presentations on floating wind turbines and Screen Cornwall, master classes on attracting investment and the impact of place on the economic ecosystem.  The sessions of most interest to me would have been  "The Power of the Diaspora" panel discussion and  Matt Hodson's "Spotlight on Celtic Sea Power."

The goodwill of millions around the world who regard one of the Celtic nations as their ancestral home is enormously valuable, particularly for tourism, hospitality and the creative industries.  Global Welsh has been particularly successful in promoting Wales to the rest of the United Kingdom and the wider world.  I first encountered that organization at the Menai Science Park on the first Wales Enterprise Day in 2021.   I have also attended several of its events in London (see my articles M-SParc is coming to London - Mae M-SParc yn dod i Lundain 22 July 2023 and M-SParc Returns to London 27 Sept 2024 in NIPC Cymru). Walter May. Co-founder of Global Welsh was listed as one of the speakers at the Power of the Diaspora panel discussion.  So, too, were Nicola Lloyd, Director of Cornwall Trade & Investment, Russell Dalgleish, Co-Founder of the Scottish Business Network, Allan Mulrooney, Chief Executive Officer of the Western Development Commission and Charles Kergaravat, Founder of Breizh Amerika. Mr Kergarava's attendance would have been a reminder that many of the early settlers of French Canada and Louisiana were Bretons.

Matt Hodson, Chief Operating Officer of Celtic Sea Power, a Cornwall County Council enterprise, was expected to discuss the potential of the Celtic Sea as a source of energy and how that power could be harnessed by using floating wind turbines.  Mr Kergavat explored the topic in more detail in Celtic Sea Rising: How Floating Wind Could Transform the Region’s Economy. His article touched on the potential for collaboration between Cornwall and Brittany, Wales and Ireland.   It is worth mentioning that Anglesey County Council also has a programme for developing renewable energy technologies known as "Energy Island".

One topic that does not appear to have been discussed is that Brittany and the Irish Republic remain within the European Union and could host manufacturing, distribution and administrative facilities for businesses in Cornwall, Wales and Scotland.   Future meetings of the Forum might wish to discuss incorporation, employment, tax, intellectual property, town and country planning and other legal issues of setting up branches or subsidiaries in Brittany or Ireland.

As there were to be sessions on Tech Cornwall, the West of Ireland as a launchpad for innovation growth, Wales as a tech village and the Welsh film industry, I was surprised that the programme did not include a session on intellectual property.  There were to be presentations by Carrie Jones of Capital Law and Laurent Drillet and Peter Moore of Fidal Avocats, but it is not clear what they discussed.  Representation before the Unified Patent Court, the Court of Justice of the European Union and the EU Intellectual Property Office by Breton or Irish firms could be of interest to businesses in Cornwall, Wales and Scotland.

As the Isle of Man is a major financial services centre, I was also surprised not to see a session on or even a representation from that island.   It should be remembered that not all Celts live in the British Isles or Brittany.   There are Celtic Communities in Galicia, Gaelic speakers in Canada and Welsh speakers in Argentina.  Business owners and managers from those countries may wish to take part in future conferences.

Anyone wishing to discuss this article should call me on +44 (0)20 7404 5252 during normal business hours or send me a message through my contact page at any time.

IP and Tourism

Standard YouTube Licence

Jane Lambert

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.

The G7 Communique and IP

Author Andy F Licence CC BY-SA 3.0 Source Wikimedia Commons
 

Jane Lambert

Although the meeting of the heads of government of the Group of Seven ("G7") industrial nations at Carbis Bay may be remembered for the wrong reasons such as the Foreign Secretary's outburst after the French President gently tried to point out that the customs arrangements that apply to Northern Ireland are different from those in Great Britain which is not the case in France it has drawn the world's press and broadcasters to Cornwall.  That ought to benefit the duchy's tourist industry once the public health emergency is over.

It appears that a lot of work was done in preparation for the meeting and agreement was recorded on a wide range of issues in the Carbis Bay G7 Summit Communiqué.  The document covers the following topics:

• Health (paras 6 to 18)
• Economic Recovery and Jobs (paras 19 to 26)
• Free and Fair Trade (paras 27 to 30)
• Future Frontiers (paras 31 to 36)
• Climate and Environment (paras 37 to 43)
• Gender Equality (paras 44 to 47)
• Global Responsibility and International Action (paras 48 to 69).

The leaders said that they had revitalized their G7 partnership in Cornwall. They looked forward to working with others and each other at the G20 Summit, COP26, and CBD15 and the UN General Assembly.

In view of the announcement by the US Trade Representative of the US government's intention to enter text-based negotiations on the possible relaxation of intellectual property protection for COVID-19 vaccines on 5 May 2021 which I mentioned in The Patent Waiver Debate in NIPC Law on 8 May 2021, it seemed likely that there would be a statement on the issue in the communiqué.  

The issue was considered in para 12.  The heads of government committed "to an end-to-end approach to boost supply of COVID-19 tools, including vaccines, raw materials, tests, therapeutics, and personal protective equipment (PPE), through more production in more places to sustain a global supply network for this pandemic and the next" based on the principles of open trade and transparency, including through terminating unnecessary trade-restrictive measures and supporting open, diversified, secure and resilient supply chains. It will be backed up by a practical and pragmatic approach to breaking down bottlenecks that are holding back the efficient use of current production capacity, as well as promoting partnerships to increase capacity further.

Rather than amendingTRIPS and national patent laws. the leaders seemed to prefer voluntary licensing and technical transfer:

"Emphasising the need for equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, we will support manufacturing in low income countries and, noting the importance of intellectual property in this regard, we will engage constructively with discussions at the WTO on the role of intellectual property, including by working consistently within the TRIPS agreement and the 2001 Doha Declaration on the TRIPS agreement and Public Health. We note the positive impact that voluntary licensing and technology transfer on mutually agreed terms have already made to increasing global supply. We note the positive impact that voluntary licensing and technology transfer on mutually agreed terms have already made to increasing global supply. We will explore all options to ensure affordable and accessible COVID-19 tools for the poorest countries, including non-profit production, tiered and transparent pricing, and sharing by manufacturers of a proportion of production with COVAX, noting the previous precedent of the 10 per cent target in relation to influenza."

In other areas such as free trade, the leaders appeared to support a strengthening of IP protection.  For example, in the context of reforming the World Trade Organization at para 30, they called for modernization of the global trade rulebook so that it,,,,, strengthens rules to protect against unfair practices, such as forced technology transfer" and "intellectual property theft......"

Commjuniqués from heads of government meetings are not biding but they are statements of intent. Anyone wishing to discuss this article or any of the topics mentioned in it may call me on +44 (0)20 7404 5252 during office hours or send me a message through my contact form.

Online IP Services for Cornish Businesses

Richard Trevithick

Painter John Linnell

Jane Lambert

Considering that its population has only recently exceeded half a million, Cornwall has contributed much to science and technology over the years.  Inventors like Richard Trevithick and Sir Humphry Davy are household names. Innovation continues in Cornwall in all sorts of fields and technologies from aerospace at the Aerohub to wellbeing at the Health and Wellbeing Innovation Centre.

While perhaps not quite as extensive as in other parts of the UK, Cornwall appears to have a reasonably good infrastructure to support innovation in normal times.  There are several university campuses in the Duchy one of which operates the Cornwall Innovation centres.  At least two firms of patent attorneys have offices in Cornwall.  There are maker spaces at Makernow Falmouth and the Plymouth FabLab.  Just outside Cornwall, there is a Patent Information Unit at Plymouth Central Library and Business and IP Centres at Barnstaple and Exeter. 

These are, of course, far from normal times but that does not mean that entrepreneurs, inventors, designers, makers and artists have to put their plans on hold.  There are plenty of good online courses offered by the Business and IP Centre at the British Library in London.  Recently I attended one given by Nigel Spencer entitled Research for New Business which I can thoroughly recommend. There are four today on Launching in Turbulent Times,  Tech startup taster: How to get started as a non-technical founder, Interim and emergency planning for you and your business and How to attract the right investors. There are also many useful articles and videos on-site as well as lively discussion in the Centre's Linkedin and Facebook groups and twitter stream.

For more specific information on intellectual property, the best site in this country is the Intellectual Property Office ("IPO"). They have guides to intellectual property generally and the different types of intellectual property rights, that is to say, patents, trade marks, registered designs, unregistered design rights and copyrights, rights in performances and similar rights.  All relevant Acts of Parliament informally updated and secondary legislation are there.  So, too, are the appropriate forms and databases of previous patent, trade mark or design applications.

Other good sources of information are the World Intellectual Property Organization ("WIPO"), the UN specialist agency for intellectual property, the European Patent Office ("EPO"), an intergovernmental body that grants patents on behalf of the governments of a number of European countries including the United Kingdon and the EU Intellectual Property Office which grants EU trade marks and registered Community designs.  I also like to think my own flagship blog, NIPC Law and its associated blogs some of which cover topics like invention, data protection and brexit and others such as this one that cover IP and tech issues in specific regions.

Of course, online resources will only get an enquirer so far. There will be times when he or she will need to confer with his or her peers through organizations like Software Cornwall. There will also be times when he or she will need to take professional advice.  Questions that arise in the course of business include "How do I stop competitors copying or imitating this product that I spent years and a fortune on developing?", "Someone claims that he can stop me from using my domain name because it is similar to a trade mark that he has registered,  Is he right?", " A businessman has offered to make and sell my invention but he will only pay me a pittance by way of royalty. What should I do?"

I have been answering questions like that in IP clinics in London, the North of England and more recently North Wales since 2004.  I have to make clear that I don't know all the answers. I am a barrister and not a patent attorney or solicitor, much less an accountant, banker, business angel, product designer or venture capitalist. However, I have worked with all those professionals in my time and know what they do.  If I can't answer a question I can direct the enquirer to someone who can.

For the duration of this lockdown and if necessary for longer, I am prepared to offer up to 30 minutes of my time free of charge to anyone from Cornwall who requires advice on intellectual property or technology law.  The consultation can be by Skype, Zoom, Google  Hangouts or phone   I am regulated by the Bar Standards Board, fully insured and am bound by the rules set out in my regulator's Handbook so confidentiality and privacy will be respected.

Anybody who wants to take advantage of that offer should fill in the form below.

Welcome to NIPC Cornwall

St Piran's Flag

Author Jon Harald Søby
Licence Reproduced with kind permission of the author

Source Wikipedia

Jane Lambert

In Commercial Exploitation of Space: Space Industry Act 2018 10 April 2018 NIPC Law, I discussed the government's aim as set out in its Industrial Strategy white paper for the rapid expansion of the British space industry. If the government succeeds, one of the regions that should benefit more than most will be Cornwall. That is because the Goonhilly earth station is already located in Cornwall and there are advanced plans to develop Cornwall Airport Newquay into a spaceport (see Spaceport Cornwall).

A spaceport is a facility for the launch and/or receiving of spacecraft (see What is a spaceport on the Spaceport Newquay website). S.10 and Schedule 1 to the Space Industry Act 2018 specify a number of requirements for the licensing of spaceports and these are likely to be supplemented by regulations made under the Act. It is therefore likely to be a number of years before a licence can be obtained for space vehicles to be launched from Newquay.  Nevertheless, there is already a cluster of aerospace businesses around the airport according to the Aerohub website and there is plenty of room for expansion after a licence to operate a spaceport is obtained.

Aerospace is not the only advanced technology in Cornwall.  According to Tech Nation a digital cluster has formed in the Redruth and Truro area which is described as "small" but "increasingly mighty".  In addition to such obvious advantages as a relatively mild climate and the outstanding beauty of the coast and countryside offering a high quality of life Cornwall benefits from improving broadband connections delivered by Superfast  Cornwall and a developing educational and research infrastructure provided by the Combined Universities in Cornwall.

Those universities in conjunction with the heritage and tourist industries have also facilitated the development of a strong creative sector in sector covering everything from software development to the performing arts and indeed their interface in the digital arts.  Arts Council England has invested in a number of projects in Cornwall as can be seen from the South West England pages of its website.

Finally, it should not be forgotten that although Cornwall's traditional agricultural, fishing, maritime, mining technology and tourism industries have been challenged over the years never disappeared. Business in those industries continue to innovate and flourish as a result.

All that activity leads to intellectual assets that require legal protection and effective management  and that is where I come in. For most of my career I have advised startups and other small businesses in the North of England how to protect and make money from their investment in branding, design, technology and creative works and represented then in negotiations and proceedings in the courts and Intellectual Property Office. In 2013 I moved to London from where I offer those services to small and medium enterprises everywhere including Cornwall. The purpose of this blog is to advise and assist businesses in Cornwall and their professional advisers on legal issues that may affect them.

Anyone wishing to explore those issues or intellectual property or technology law generally should call me on 020 7404 5252 during office hours or send me a message through my contact form.