CIPA is committed to helping people understand and protect their intellectual property rights and is pleased to provide free advice and support to inventors, individuals and small businesses via the following initiatives.
The institute holds regular clinics to provide free advice to unrepresented innovators who are at the early stages of developing an idea. Each 45-minute online consultation is given by a Chartered Patent Attorney who is a Fellow of the institute.
Clinics are held most weeks and should usually be booked a month in advance.
Listed below are other locations with contact details for arranging an appointment for an IP clinic.
Many firms of patent attorneys may offer an initial consultation free of charge, so if there is not a clinic listed locally or the times so not work, you could contact a local firm of patent attorneys. Search our directory of patent attorneys.
Online IP clinics are held on Monday evening between 5:00 – 6:50 pm. Please note, booking is essential via email only.
Email: [email protected]
You can also contact a patent attorney directly for advice. Visit our Find a patent attorney service where you can search for a patent attorney. See below for clinics held in other UK locations.
Virtual IP advice consultations are available for booking generally on the third Wednesday of each month. Advice consultations may take place by telephone, on Zoom & Teams,
Bookings can be made online @ Protect Your Ideas – Virtual 1:1 Advice Clinic Appointments | Aberdeen City Council
or by contacting Aberdeen PatLib Centre:
Tel: 01224 070707
Email: [email protected]
IP advice consultations are available for booking every Monday evening, from 5-6.30pm. Please note an appointment is necessary. Each appointment will consist of a one-hour confidential consultation with a specialist patent and IP information officer/librarian. During the coronavirus pandemic, virtual sessions are being held in place of face-to-face meetings. These appointments may include:
For more information or to make a booking please contact Business and Learning:
Tel: 0121 242 4242
Email: [email protected]
Address: Library of Birmingham, Cenetenary Square, Broad Street, Birmingham, B1 2ND
Our IP Clinics are scheduled for the last Thursday of each month, in the afternoon. Each session is free to attend and takes place via Zoom. If you require advice from a UK Chartered Patent Attorney regarding your patents, trade marks, or designs, please consider booking an appointment to take advantage of this opportunity.
Ask Us Business & Patent Library Centre (PatLib) is run by Gloucestershire Libraries and in collaboration with PatLib UK, a network of Patent Library Centres across the UK run by the Intellectual Property Office (IPO).
Gloucester PatLib Centre provides free information and support for individuals, start ups, entrepreneurs, SME’s and established businesses on many aspects of Intellectual Property and can help you discover what IP you might own as well as how you can protect your IP assets.
To book: gloslibraries.uk/IP-Session-Enquiry
Address: Gloucester Library on Brunswick Road, Gloucester.
Website: gloslibraries.uk/ask-us
Telephone: 01452 426 977
More details can be found here: www.linkedin.com/embed/feed/update/urn:li:share:7283136636580728834
The IP advice consultations are available for booking. Please note an appointment is necessary. Please contact the team for more information.
Tel: (0113) 378 6010
Email: [email protected]
Address: Business & IP Centre Leeds, Central Library, Calverley Street, Leeds, LS1 3AB
IP advice consultations are available for booking on the first Tuesday of the month from 5-7.30pm. An appointment is necessary. During the coronavirus pandemic, virtual sessions are being held in place of face-to-face meetings.
To make an appointment contact The Business & IP Centre:
Tel: 0151 233 5835
Email: [email protected]
Address: Liverpool Business & IP Centre, Liverpool Central Library, William Brown Street, Liverpool, L3 8EW
Patent advice consultations are available for booking every third Tuesday of the month from 2-6pm. A general IP phone clinic covering trade mark, copyright and design is held every second Tuesday of the month, 2-5pm. An appointment is necessary. Please email for more information.
Contact: Manchester PATLIB
Email: [email protected]
Address: Business and Intellectual Property Centre, Manchester Central Library, St.Peter’s Square, Manchester M2 5PD
The Business & IP Centre North East team and partners will give you information to help you start and run your business.
IP information and advice is delivered by trained Library staff within BIPC North East, via online IP Surgeries bookable through the BIPC North East website, and also supported by our IP Experts in Residence.
BIPC Experts in Residence offer businesses the opportunity to meet online to discuss a wide range of other business topics, ranging from finance and funding, marketing and communication, law and many more. Experts are, in the main, small businesses themselves and are not paid to provide this service so meetings are limited to one only per Expert.
Email: [email protected]
Website: https://www.bipcnortheast.co.uk/
Address: Newcastle City Library, Charles Avison Building, 33 New Bridge Street West, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 8AX
With the assistance of CIPA, the Intellectual Property Office in Newport is now running regular clinics. An Examiner from the Intellectual Property Office will also take part in the clinic. For details of the venue, dates and to book an appointment online click here.
Address: Intellectual Property Office, Concept House, Cardiff Road, Newport NP10 8QQ
Intellectual Property Advice Support Service (iPass) is available for IP advice to students and alumni of University of Portsmouth only. During the coronavirus pandemic, virtual sessions are being held in place of face-to-face meetings.
Contact: Joe Sekhon (Director of iPass & Senior Lecturer in Intellectual Property Law)
Tel: 02392 84102
Email: [email protected]
Address: Intellectual Property Advice Support Service (iPass), School of Law, University of Portsmouth, Richmond Building, Portland Street, Portsmouth PO1 3DE
IP advice consultations are available for booking every month. All appointments are conducted by telephone. Contact the Business & IP Centre Sheffield.
Tel: 0114 2734712
Email: [email protected]
Address: Business & IP Centre Sheffield, Central Library, Surrey Street, Sheffield S1 1XZ
IP advice consultations on patents are available for booking on Thursdays, mid-month, between 5-7 pm. Please note that an appointment is necessary. Face-to-face sessions are held in the Business & IP Centre on the first floor of Southampton Central Library.
Please note that there are no sessions available in July, August, and December.
Please contact BIPC Southampton to book a session.
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 023 8083 3007
Address:BIPC Southampton, Central Library, Civic Centre, Southampton, SO14 7LW
Date published: July 23 2024