Intellectual property simplified with the help of new British Library e-courses

Are you an entrepreneur or inventor looking to commercialise your idea? Are you confused about how you can protect your intellectual property?

Protecting and developing an idea can be complicated, confusing and can lead to expensive mistakes. However it doesn’t have to be this way! There are simple steps that can be taken to help your idea develop along a progressive route, minimising the risks.

To help you along the way, the British Library has just launched a series of innovative, free distance learning courses on intellectual property, specifically designed for entrepreneurs, small businesses and inventors. If you have an idea that you are looking to develop or commercialise, the courses will help you understand what you have, how to protect your idea and how it might be developed. The courses incorporate much of the invaluable information provided at the British Library's Business & IP Centre and brings it to the fingertips of budding entrepreneurs and innovators based anywhere in the UK or the world.

Anyone can access the Business & IP Centre courses for free. Each course can be completed from start to finish in one sitting, or if you prefer, you can stop at any point and come back to it at a later stage to suit you.

The first course in the series, "The Basics of Intellectual Property" will help you get to grips with patents, trade marks, registered designs and copyright, as well as dealing with the development and commercial implications of an idea. It uses a step-by-step approach which includes interactive exercises and sections such as "What Would You Do?" and "Ask the Expert".

Later in the year the Library will launch two more courses in the series; Searching the Databases” which will enable entrepreneurs to find out if someone has already had their idea and “Analysing the Markets”. This third course will show you how to search for the markets and the types of customers that may be interested in your idea.

Jill Durdin, Business Development Manager at the UK Intellectual Property Office, said: "This is an innovative and excellent way to find the answers to many of the questions that anyone would have about protecting, developing and commercialising their idea or invention."

Rob Lucas, Manager of e-Learning Development at the British Library, said: "Developing your idea, protecting and commercialising it is considered to be a minefield by many, often incurring costly mistakes along the way. The Business & IP Centre's website is intended to remove those obstacles in a structured, progressive way, hence allowing the user to see whether their idea has the potential to be developed successfully."

The new courses have been funded by the London Development Agency.

Find out more on the British Library, Business & IP Centre website.