Tag Archives: intellectual property

BU welcomes delegation from Beijing Intellectual Property Office, China

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On the 16th September BU welcomed Mr Yang Jiuming, Associate Counsellor of Beijing Intellectual Property Office (BJIPO), Ms Li Chunling, Consultant of Industry Promotion Division, BJIPO and Ms Wei Xinya, Deputy Director of Fengtai District Commission of Science and Technology of Beijing Municipality.

The visit, hosted by the Centre for Intellectual Property Policy & Management (CIPPM), marked the beginning of long term collaboration in Intellectual Property between the two parties with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). Specific areas of future collaboration include staff exchange, educational training, joint seminars, work placement opportunities for BU students and information sharing.

Dr Sonal Minocha, Pro-Vice Chancellor for Global Engagement officially welcomed the delegation and presided over the signing of the MoU.

During the visit delegates from BJIPO took part in an Intellectual Property Symposium, led by Professor Maurizio Borghi, Director of CIPPM. They also visited LUSH, the handmade cosmetics company at its headquarters in Poole and met with the Group Intellectual Property Manager, Alex Leonini and Patents Advisor, Stephen Solomon, both BU Law graduates.

Beijing Intellectual Property Office is directly affiliated to the People’s Government of Beijing Municipality and is responsible for the city’s patent affairs and the organisation and coordination of the city’s IPR protection.

The collaboration with BJIPO is timely as the UK and China are collaborating closely in the area of Intellectual Property.  The UK-China Intellectual Property Symposium held in Beijing earlier this month provided an opportunity for businesses from both countries to engage directly with government officials in order to better understand the Chinese and UK intellectual property systems.

For further information about CIPPM, visit the website.

BU Law lecturer talks about 3D printing on BBC Radio 5 Live

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Dr Dinusha Mendis, Senior lecturer in law and co-director of the Centre for Intellectual Property Policy and Management (CIPPM) at BU, was on BBC Radio 5 Live, talking about the challenges which will be faced by intellectual property (IP) laws in the wake of 3D printing.

Dinusha, who has recently published a paper on the issue, was featured on the Outriders programme – which is dedicated to exploring the frontiers of the web.

She told presenter Jamillah Knowles: “In a nutshell, my paper looks at the intellectual property implications of 3D printing, and whether we can learn lessons from the past.

“When I refer to the past, I am referring to the lessons we have learned from file-sharing services, such as Napster and Pirate Bay, and the challenges to intellectual property law – in particular copyright law – and the response to those challenges by the entertainment industry.

She added: “This paper suggests that, rather than focus on stringent IP laws, the future lies in adopting new business models to adapt to this new technology.”

Dinusha said that, while printers capable of printing 3D shapes and models are currently quite expensive, prices are constantly coming down.

“Past experience has shown us that law is constantly playing a catch up game with technology,” she said.

“This has been evident in the manner that intellectual property law, and in particular, copyright law, has struggled to keep up with internet and online activities.

“The present IP law that we have in the UK was not designed to keep up with such technologies, and regulating 3D printing will be no different.”

“So, while 3D printing is set to open doors to new businesses, new jobs and new experiences for consumers, it is also going to create a lot of challenges for IP right-holders and manufacturers of industrial products.”

She added that while work has started on looking at laws in this area, “there is still a long way to go.”

You can listen to a podcast of the Outriders programme that Dr Dinusha Mendis appears on here.

Intellectual property law brought to life in student collaboration

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Students from the Business School and School of Design, Engineering and Computing (DEC) will work together on a project that aims to bring intellectual property to life.

Final year Law students, from the Business School will advise final year DEC students from across product design and creative technology-based courses, while they create a product or innovation to bring to market.

Intellectual property law – such as copyright, trademarks, designs and patents – is particularly important for design students as it provides a means of protecting the products they create.

Dr Dinusha Mendis, Senior Lecturer in Law and Co-Director of the Centre for Intellectual Property Policy and Management (CIPPM) at BU said: “This project provides for real-life scenarios and brings intellectual property to life.  It is a very practical project which allows the law students to act as lawyers for the DEC students who are their clients.”

The project will last until March, and kicked off with an Intellectual Property Masterclass, where students from across the two schools learned more about the law and how it can be used.

Donal O’Connell, from Chawton Innovation Services spoke to the students about what Intellectual Property is, and how it can benefit businesses.

He welcomed the idea of the student project.

“It seems to be quite unique – I haven’t come across it before,” he said.

“Having this sort of collaboration helps breaks down barriers – the engineers understand that there is more to life than just creating a product.

“The fact that they are doing it at university, before they even get into industry, is absolutely great.”

Matthew Schrader, Head of Intellectual Property Law, at Kiteleys Solicitors in Bournemouth, also spoke to the students.

He agreed that the collaboration would be great experience for the students.

“From a law point of view, it is a good opportunity to find out what it is like to work with real clients,” he said. “It’s a very good idea.”

The students will work in teams to put the theory they have learnt into practice.

There will also be prizes for the best Law student, best DEC student and the best group, sponsored by Paul Turner, a retired Patent Attorney.