branding advice

T-Mobile

The proposed joint venture between Orange and T-Mobile looks like it will get clearance from the European Commission despite consumer champion Which, The OFT, Ofcom and our Competition Commission.
As the Sunday Telegraph put it ‘Based on the Lisbon Treaty, the European Commission has the ultimate power to decide on such issues.’

Side agreements have and will be done to sweeten smaller mobile competitor  3.

Knowledge of and engagement with the power bases can be an important part of your Intellectual Assets.
It is an international market out there ’so mind how you go’.

Batman or the Caped Crusader was named and created by Bob Kane for DC comics in 1939. Will your business name or nom-de-plume last over 70 years?

Avoid fashions that come and go if you want to establish longevity with your brand.

The Joker
‘Robin, I need to go to the bat-room for a couple of minutes’
‘Holy-loo-ya Batman’

Time to eat - Dinner Dinner Dinner Dinner Batman

Two American gurus of New Product Development Dr. Robert Cooper and Dr. Scott Edgett have badged their business as the Product Development Institute Inc.
Great for a consultancy business and the ‘world’s most widely implemented innovation system, Stage-Gate®’ must also benifit.

New product development is crucial to the health of business so keep up with the latest thoughts:

Winning at New Products: Accelerating the Process from Idea to Launch by Robert Cooper

Innovation Management and New Product Development by Dr Paul Trott

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Wampit.com claims to be a leading UK business search directory. The unique selling point is its capacity to include “rich” content such as video on free adverts; ‘you tube for business advertising?’

Time will tell if the intellectual offering meshes with both market demand for directory search and business promotion. In the meantime some businesses may wish to register.

Performers rights advice from the Rockgrass group Hayseed Dixie ‘…….. For investigators who have access to the technology, Hayseed Dixie encourages audio and video recording at live shows, and the trading and sharing of these recordings afterwards. The ONLY stipulation is that said recordings absolutely may not be used for commercial gain - just don’t sell them, folks. That ain’t cool and may result in an East Tennessee Ass-Whooping should the band find out about it (and they will)…..’

Whooping must be viral like the cough.

One

North East

New financial support for innovation may be found in the North East

* A £7.5 million Angel Match Fund that will offer early-stage investments ranging between £50,000 and £150,000.
* A £15 million Technology Proof of Concept Fund targeting very early-stage technology businesses with investments ranging between £20,000 and £100,000.
* A £20 million Growth Fund for mature companies at the development and growth stages offering investments between £50,000 and £400,000.
* A £20 million Seed Fund for pre-start and early-stage firms that can invest between £50,000 and £750,000.
* A £25 million Technology Fund providing investments worth between £50,000 and £1.25 million to technology-based companies at any stage of development.
* A £20 million Growth Fund 500 that will invest between £350,000 and £1.25 million into relatively mature companies that need growth capital.

This Government quango, part of the Technology Strategy Board ‘wants to make the UK a global leader in innovation. To do so we need ensure the UK is a place where:

* business is successfully competing at the forefront of technology and innovation developments globally;
* Government provides a supportive and coherent environment which allows innovation to thrive;
* society understands, embraces, values and is excited by innovation and technology.’

Fighting infection through detection, Crop Protection, Plastic electronics and other R&D projects are funded via competitions with up to £29m available to fund feasibility studies, fast-track projects and larger R&D projects. Read more

‘Business reputation is established by gaining and retaining the confidence and trust of the stakeholders in the business: customers, suppliers and employees, as well as shareholders’ according to Bob McDowall

Currently Toyota are under fire over Quality, BP is under pressure over ‘Environmental Risks’ from oil sand exploitation and poor old BAE Systems need an ‘Ethics Monitor’ after £280m in fines for bribes.

A businesses ability to foreshadow key events or risks and the ability to have management systems in place to cope is a part of a companies intellectual assets (IA).

Essentials of Licensing Intellectual Property by Alexander I. Poltorak and Paul J. Lerner “A license is, simply stated, permission to do something the licensor has the right to otherwise prohibit …”

If you need to know how the Internet has impacted modern licensing or wish to read an appendix of sample patent forms, licensing agreements, disclosure statements, and contact information then read one of these texts.

How to License Your Million Dollar Idea: Everything You Need to Know to Turn a Simple Idea into a Million Dollar Payday by Harvey Reese

Artists and designers may have a good understanding of Copyright and Design Rights but when it comes to exploiting the commercial applications then they need further advice. As a licensor you may worry that your customer will take the concept, as there is no copyright in an idea alone and run with it themselves. Before imparting information obtain a non-disclosure agreement or both sign a confidentiality letter.

Secrecy, confidentiality and non-disclosure are key elements of Intellectual Asset Protection

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