nodus

NODUS - 7 May 2008

Details have been released of the next meeting of NODUS, the organisation for IP & IT legal professionals in the East Midlands. The meeting is being hosted by Browne Jacobson at their Nottingham office.

Nick McDonald of Browne Jacobson has issued the following email to NODUS members:

"I can now confirm the speakers at the event, who are as follows:

- Jeremy Reed (Hogarth Chambers) - speaking on "Software Patents and the Recent Developments in the Law"
- A patent examiner from the UK-IPO - speaking on "The Role of the Patent Examiner"
Should be very interesting.

I look forward to seeing you on 7 May 2008 at 5pm. Drinks and nibbles will be provided!"

If you are an IP or IT legal advisor, patent or trade mark attorney based in the East Midlands and you'd like to attend NODUS, please contact Nick at: nmcdonald@brownejacobson.com

NODUS meeting - 22 November 2007

The next NODUS meeting will be on Thursday 22 November 2007 at 4pm. It will be held at the offices of Eric Potter Clarkson LLP, Park View House, 58 The Ropewalk, Nottingham NG 1 5DD.

At the meeting, Helen Johnstone will give a presentation on the processes and costs involved in obtaining patent protection, and the factors that can usefully be taken into account in deciding where and when to apply for patents. Although most patents are filed by patent attorneys, IP lawyers take a lot of initial queries about patents. Understanding the patent processes, the costs involved, and the key issues means that the IP lawyer is better able to advise his/her clients in these matters.

If you are an IP & IT professional based in the East Midlands and would like to attend, please confirm attendance by emailing Marion Daw or Nicola Bamford in the Business Development Department at Eric Potter Clarkson LLP (mdaw@eric-potter.com)

Please confirm your attendance by Thursday 15 November 2007

Any queries to:-

Marion Daw or Nicola Bamford
Eric Potter Clarkson LLP
Park View House
58 The Ropewalk
Nottingham NG1 5DD
Tel: 0115 955 2211

Meeting of 12 July: brief report

NODUS' second meeting, held on 12 July, was a good event, with over 20 IP practitioners attending.

At the meeting:

• The folks at Nottingham Science City gave a talk on the science business going on in Nottingham, future plans, and the role of local IP practitioners in all this;
• Attendees discussed NODUS generally.

It was agreed that a wiki would be set up on which NODUS, including future meetings and events, could be discussed. Freeth Cartwright are in the process of setting this up and attendees will get access shortly.

NODUS event of 12 July 2007 - "where do we go from here?"

The next NODUS meeting will be on Thursday, 12 July 2007 at 4pm. It will be held at Freeth Cartwright's head office:  Cumberland Court, 80 Mount Street, Nottingham NG1 6HH.

The main purpose of the event is to talk about where we take NODUS. We have also secured a speaker from the team promoting Nottingham as a science city - there's a lot of stuff going on with technology in this region that we all ought to know more about and is a good reason for us as a collective of professionals to work together.

If you are an IP &IT professional based in the East Midlands and would like to attend, please confirm attendance by emailing Dawn Anderson (dawn.anderson@freethcartwright.co.uk), who is doing the admin for the event. We are again asking for a £5 contribution from attendees.

Any queries to Dawn but please check this website first - this is how will communicate info primarily to keep the administrative burden to a minimum.

Report on the NODUS event

Over 30 people attended the inaugural NODUS event on 26 April 2007 and the event seemed to be a resounding success.

People attended from the following organisations:

• Adamson Jones (patent agents)
• Eric Potter Clarkson (patent agents)
• Franks & Co (patent agents)
• Sarjeants (patent agents)
• Swindell & Pearson (patent agents)
• Withers & Rogers (patent agents)
• IP Solutions (strategic IP advice)
• Andersons (solicitors)
• Browne Jacobson (solicitors)
• Freeth Cartwright (solicitors)
• Howes Percival (solicitors)
• Geldards (solicitors)
• Nelsons (solicitors)
• Shoosmiths (solicitors)
• Hogarth Chambers (barristers)
• University of Nottingham
• Nottingham Law School

It was encouraging that so many busy people made time to come along, when most will no doubt have had urgent things on their agenda. All of the attendees that I spoke to thought the event worthwhile. 

The event followed the following format:

• Andrew Mills: Introduction

Andrew Mills welcomed everyone to the forum and introduced the guest speakers.

• Andrew Mainz: Damages Enquiries in UK IP Cases

Andrew Mainz of Forensic Accounting is one of the UK's most experienced advisors on valuing IP, and has been an expert witness on several high-value IP disputes. Damages enquiries are held in commercial disputes when the Court has the claimant has succeeded, and there is dispute over the value of the damage (compensation) that should be awarded. Andrew gave an entertaining and useful talk about how to perform a damages enquiry.

• Michael Edenborough: "Lite" Relief

Michael Edenborough of Hogarth Chambers is a well-respected IP barrister. He gave a talk on recent IP law developments, including the awarding of damages for "moral prejudice" under the Intellectual Property (Enforcement, etc.) Regulations 2006 (http://www.opsi.gov.uk/SI/si2006/20061028.htm).

• Andrew Mills: NODUS

Andrew Mills spoke for a short time about the reasons for launching NODUS. He outlined Freeth Cartwright's thoughts about where the organisation could grow and what they hoped it would achieve:

• As a forum for East Midlands IP & IT professionals to talk. The region has strength in terms of IP & IT professionals. However, this strength needs to be more visible so that organisations from both within and outside the region use its advisors.

• To bring into play the collaborative spirit present in industry today. There is no reason why the region's IP & IT professionals cannot combine their strengths using collaboration to  further their interests. For example, NODUS could:

• Make combined responses to government consultations on IP/IT legal issues.
• Deal with training needs, by having its own members deliver training to each other, or by using its strength in numbers to get trainers from elsewhere to come to the region to deliver training.

There was then a group discussion about NODUS. The ideas for NODUS really seemed to stimulate the audience and a large number of the attendees expressed their support for the initiative.

The group has agreed to meet again in 6 to 8 weeks to discuss taking NODUS forwards. Further details will appear on this blog in due course.

Details of the 26 April event

Hello all!

Thanks to all those who have confirmed that they will be attending the inaugural NODUS event on 26 April.  So far, over 30 people are attending. Those who haven't paid their £5 so far can pay at the event.

To confirm:

• The event is being held in the seminar suite at Freeth Cartwright LLP's Cumberland Court office in Nottingham
• The address is 80 Mount Street, Nottingham NG1 6HH. Directions here
• The event starts at 3.15pm. The end time is fairly flexible, although we're pretty sure that it will be over by 7pm. Of course, a local pub can provide a follow-on venue if necessary!
• There will be drinks and nibbles.
• Andrew Mills of Freeth Cartwright will be giving a brief talk about our ideas for NODUS
• Andrew Mainz of Forensic Accounting LLP will give a talk about damages from a forensic accountant's perspective
• Michael Edenborough of Hogarth Chambers will be speaking about topical IP issues.
  

We're really looking forward to meeting everyone.

Nodus

	26th April. World Intellectual Property Day. What better day to launch the inaugural IP&T event, known as NODUS?                    NODUS, meaning 'to bond', is a wonderfully simple concept. Every firm with an interest in IP can help to strengthen this region’s enviable reputation and make this a regular forum for our sector. For that to happen we need everyone connected to IP to 'bond'.                    High calibre speakers presenting highly topical IP issues will make these events must attend dates.                    If you’d like to join NODUS, simply REPLY by clicking here. As you’ll appreciate, places are limited to a strictly first come, first served, basis.