London Business Hub's Investment Ready Programme

Central London from Primrose Hill

Author Duncan from Nottingham Licence CC BY SA 2.0  Wikimedia Commons

  

Jane Lambert

The London Business Hub is the business support network for Greater London.  It is one of 38 local growth hubs that have been established across England.  It is delivered by the London Enterprise Action Programme which is the capital's local enterprise partnership.

The Hub offers a wide range of services including assistiance with drawing up business plans, accessing funding, intellectual property and growth and scaling up.  Its latest initiative and the reason for this article is the Hub's Investment Ready Programme which starts on 22 Sept 2022.  This is a programme delivered by Funding London which is sponsored by the British Business Bank.

According to the London Business Hub, attendees will be offered a range of group and one-to-one sessions on developing their business and seeking investment lasting up to 4 hours a week over 6 weeks. To qualify, businesses must have a minimum viable product and a strong business proposition as well as a number of other criteria. There have already been two of these programmes and testimonials from the previous cohorts appear on the programme's website. Applications for the third cohort should be lodged by 31 Aug 2022.  

Any business that is seeking investment whether through this programme or not should have regard to the legal protection of its corporate name and logo and those of its products and services.  If it has developed a new product or process it should consider how to prevent its competitors from making that product or using that service.   If the business is a joint venture there should be an agreement in writing to govern their relationship.   That is particularly important when they receive funding.  Terms for the supply of their goods or services to customers should be drawn up as well as terms for the procurement of goods and services from their suppliers.

Advice on those matters is available through the Hub and I can help too.   For well over 20 years I have been running a pro bono IP and tech law clinic in the North of England but it can be accessed by businesses in the rest of the country including London.    Anyone requiring up to 30 minutes of my time on any of those matters is welcome to  contact me through my "Initial Advice and Signposting Form".

Branding - Catching Them Young

Court Room at the Bangkok KidZania

Author ProjectManhattan
Licence Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International

Source Wikipedia KidZania 

On Friday, the son of my former ward celebrated his 8th birthday. For a birthday treat his parents and I took him to the London KidZania which describes itself as "An Indoor City Run by Kids." Located in the Westfield shopping centre in Shepherds Bush it consists of 75,000 square feet of replica child size shops and offices on two floors where children aged between 4 and 14 can try their hands at all sorts of occupations.

Children and their accompanying adults pass through immigration where they are issued with wristbands. Activities are paid for with kidZos which is KidZania's private currency though food and drink have to be purchased in sterling.  Activities for adults are limited to queueing with children, watching their role play, consuming refreshments and riding a bus.

Like a lot of children's attractions, KidZania is a transatlantic concept, but from Mexico rather than the United  States.  The first KidZania opened as  La Ciudad de los Niños (Kids' City) in Mexico City in 1999.  La Ciudad was rebranded as Kidzania in 2006 when a second children's city was opened in Monterey. The Mexican company KidZania S.A.P.I. de C.V. has registered the word KIDZANIA as an EU trade mark for a wide range of goods and services in classes 6, 16, 20, 21, 25, 41, 42 and 43 with effect from 3 Jan 2003. It also holds many other trade marks and trade mark applications relating to KidZania around the world.

The company has franchised KidZania theme parks in 20 countries, mainly in Latin America (Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica and Mexico) and Asia (India, Indonesia, Japan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates).  So far, there are none in the United States and only three in Europe (Lisbon, London and Moscow) bit that is about to change with planned openings in Chicago, Dallas, New York and Paris.

Activities offered at the London KidZania are branded by Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust, Aljazeera Media Network, the Bank of England, British Airways, Cadbury, Costa, Dorsett International, Eat Natural, Gourmet Burger Kitchen, Global, H & M, Hamptons, Innocent, K-Market, Metro, Middlesex County Cricket Club, Mission Deli, Nintendo, People's Dispensary for Sick Animals, Roland, Snazaroo, The Original Tour and other organizations.  Alder Hey hospital, for example, allows children to role play as baby care nurses, paramedics and even surgeons.  Cadbury instructs them in chocolate making. 

About the only role plays for which no provision was made in London was the law which I would have found strange as a child for I knew that I wanted to be a barrister from a very early age. However, Wikipedia reports that there is a court at the Bangkok KidZania and there are others in other cities. 

The investment of some of those brand owners is impressive.  British Airways, for example, has contributed part of an aircraft fuselage and flight simulation equipment and many members of the KidZania staff wear British Airways uniforms.  Clearly, those brand holders see marketing or other opportunities in KidZania.

Our 8 year old tried his hand at print and TV journalism with Metro and Aljazeera, chocolate making with Cadbury and flight training with British Airways among other activities.  There was quite a lot of queueing for one or other of his parents during which time I relaxed in Costa's coffee shops. I also watched him perform in Aljazeera's TV studio and I have a new keyring with a photo of the little boy in an airline pilot's uniform.

Anyone wishing to discuss this article or the legal protection of branding generally by trade mark registration, the law of passing off, geographical indications or otherwise should call me on 020  7404 5252 during usual office hours or send me a message through my contact page.  I should also like to wish all my readers a very happy New Year.

IP and Fashion: the Consequences of Brexit

UK and the remaining Member States

SourceWikipedia

Jane Lambert

Last month I conducted a seminar on IP and fashion for MBL Seminars in London.  As the fashion industry relies on EU trade marks and registered Community designs more than most I have published on article on the effect of Brexit on the IP rights used in that industry.

In that article, IP and Fashion: the Effect of Brexit 10 July 2016 4-5 IP, I have referred to art 50 of the Treaty of European Union which provides that the EU Treaties and all legislation derived from them will cease to apply from the coming into force of the withdrawal agreement or two years after our giving notice to withdraw whichever occurs soonest. It follows that all EU legislation will fall away upon our leaving the EU but there will be a difference between legislation enacted by Parliament to give effect to EU directives and regulations made by the EU institutions.

Legislation made to give effect to EU directives such as out Trade Marks Act 1994 and the Registered Designs Act 1949 will remain in force because they are Acts of Parliament but regulations such as the EU Trade Mark Regulation and the Community Design Regulation will fall away immediately. As a result EU trade marks and registered Community designs will cease to apply to the UK, unregistered Community designs will dissolve and the courts of the UK will no longer have jurisdiction in EU trade mark and Community design disputes.

That will require a thorough review of all agreements relating to those rights and in some cases renegotiation and re-drafting. Inevitably legal costs will rise appreciably though these may be offset by costs savings here and there.  I shall be discussing these and other changes resulting from Brexit in a seminar in September. If in the meantime you wish to discuss any of these developments call me on 020 7404 5252 or contact me through this form.