Free Innovation Clinics

Tuesday, 19th August - Appointments are between 10.00 am - 6.00 pm

These free 40 minute advice sessions are to support today’s inventors to help them turn their ideas into a business.

One-to-one appointments are held at the Business & IP Centre, The British Library, London and can be booked for expert advice on:

Design & Prototyping - All successful products  have been  developed  via  a  systematic  product  design and development process. This process ensures that the product  solves  the right problems, appeals to a proven market, sells for the right price and performs as expected every time. This session will explain the process and  highlight what elements of the process are relevant to your project.

Intellectual Property - It is important that individuals and small businesses developing innovative products can protect themselves from copyists and imitators.   Intellectual property rights, such as patents, trade marks and registered designs, can provide this protection.  This session provides advice on the intellectual property rights that will best protect your idea or business and how to obtain them.

Licensing - Intellectual Property can be successfully exploited through licensing.  A licence is a contractual agreement to specify what the licensee is permitted to do and the terms and conditions applying.  This will usually include any royalties and/or an amount of any payment to be paid to the licensor (the IP owner).  There are numerous pitfalls for the unwary to be found in the detailed operational rules that form part of many  licence contracts. This session provides a basic understanding of what licensing entails.

Manufacturing Your Invention - Finding the correct manufacturer for your invention is not an easy one. The manufacturing process has many steps. It could be that you only want a ‘short run´ production to see how the market takes to your invention. What are the commercial differences between having your invention manufactured in the UK compared to overseas? This session will advise you on how to approach a manufacturer.

New Product Development Grants - Where significant technical risk is involved it might be possible to secure one of the range of grants currently available. Grant schemes have undergone many changes over the recent past and it is important to choose the most appropriate one for your project and organisation. This session will go through those national and local grants that are available and outline how to apply and what to avoid.

Steps to Success - You are your idea’s biggest asset. How  you handle your idea‘s development will determine whether you succeed or fail, no matter how good your idea is. There are simple things you can do to increase your idea’s likelihood of success - like daring to be a visionary, outlining an action plan and thinking like an entrepreneur. This session will help clarify your vision and goals, turn them into inspirational tools and improve the chances of making your idea a success.

To book an appointment call 020 8780 9017.