Growing cooperation between universities and start-up companies has created a rising tide of innovation in the past two decades – a welcome sign that spin-outs are now more likely to survive and prosper. It has also stimulated more research at the universities themselves, allowed established businesses to have some of their staff co-located at academic institutions, and encouraged renewed activity in parts of the country that were once manufacturing powerhouses but had succumbed to economic decline.

Scotland has a tremendous global reputation for innovation. The problem has been translating these visionary concepts into viable businesses. Joanna Boag-Thomson, a partner at law firm Shepherd and Wedderburn and an accredited specialist in intellectual property (IP) law, believes the development and protection of IP is the vital link between innovation and commercialisation, something of which universities and young businesses are increasingly aware.

This has led to the burgeoning of exciting spin-outs in sectors ranging from finance and bioscience to digital technology and energy. Notable examples include Zonefox, the fintech data protection app, Insignia technologies with its smart food labelling, and Celtic Renewables, which is leading the way in converting whisky residues into fuel.

The potential value of such innovation to the Scottish economy is highlighted in Scotland in 2050: Realising Our Global Potential, a landmark study from the University of Strathclyde’s Fraser of Allander Institute, commissioned by Shepherd and Wedderburn to mark its 250th anniversary. A key finding of that research, informed by the opinions of more than 100 business leaders, many of them in the tech sector, was that Scotland needs an economy that harnesses and trades on knowledge and that fosters greater collaboration between academia and industry to commercialise innovation.

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In an economy that is ever more knowledge-based, IP has become the backbone of most businesses, which as never before need legal advice on copyright, patents, trade marks and design rights – whether in the UK or increasingly in overseas jurisdictions.

Ms Boag-Thomson says it’s important to source that advice at the earliest possible stage. “Lawyers who want to get involved with some of the new, exciting companies need to ensure that they make themselves available at the outset to advise on IP strategies rather than see young companies struggle to a point when they need legal advice to address mistakes, when it is often very expensive to do so.

“If companies are building products or services with their own IP – or IP that’s licensed from third parties – it’s important to establish that foundation before they start to market that product or service line. This requires them to invest time but it’s crucial to identify potential issues that may become difficult to resolve later.”

Ms Boag-Thomson is encouraged by the level of support made available to spin-outs at an early stage. “Much innovation in Scotland is pump primed by the universities and many people don’t realise that universities are economic development powerhouses in their own right,” she says.

“They are innovating and taking a more proactive view, in some cases actively marketing their spinoutable IP as being available for licence to third parties. I certainly see that the fact that universities are creating IP, then taking the time to protect it and, just as importantly, leverage and exploit it, as a positive thing,” she says.

“By allowing IP to be licensed more widely, many have relaxed what was a very robust position on their IP and, while they have always collaborated with business, they are now much more willing to acknowledge that a share of something successful is better than full ownership of unexploited IP.”

Shepherd and Wedderburn engages with Napier University’s Bright Red Triangle, which operates two business incubator spaces at its Merchiston and Craiglockhart campuses, and the Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Innovation, hosted by the University of Edinburgh.

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“We are involved in mentoring some of the young businesses coming out of incubators and believe we can add some real value because we understand the issues in growing a business, many of which are IP-focused.

“When students graduate, they can find they lose the support services that a university provides so these incubators come into their own. They provide collaborative workspaces and access to information and resources – and the ability just to ask questions,” she says. Ms Boag-Thomson is happy to see Scotland’s enterprise agencies focus on funding, as well as advice on intellectual assets (IA) and IP.

Scottish Enterprise, she explains, now has more flexible support available for companies that need IP-focused legal advice. In addition, there is also funding available for companies to undertake an IP audit.

This not only identifies the potentially valuable IP they own but also to maximise the value of their IP through the Intellectual Property Audit Plus Scheme and innovation project support grants. With the Scottish Government estimating that on average IP assets form around 80% of the value of a business, she welcomes the willingness of these agencies to invest in the firm’s early stage clients – and the fact that these clients are also alive to the importance of taking advantage of their support.

“Often the focus of a business will be on patents but in many businesses, copyright is also a key asset that protects important innovation – for example in the fintech sector,” she says. “It’s important that if IP is being licensed out by a business, the terms of any licence – and the whole IP landscape – are well understood.

This article appeared in The Herald on the 23rd May 2019. 

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