The Patent Office welcomes the British Library intellectual property centre aimed at businesses

The United Kingdom (UK) Patent Office attended the launch of the British Library Intellectual Property (IP) Centre on Wednesday 8 March 2006. The centre which opened to the public on Thursday 9 March is designed to support entrepreneurs who wish to launch and develop new businesses. Its aim is to assist in the development of 25,000 new UK businesses in the first five years.

Mark Pacey, Director of Information and Communication at the UK Patent Office said:

"We welcome the opening of the Business and IP Centre at the British Library. This centre creates a strong presence for entrepreneurs who need access to the IP knowledge and advice available in the library. The provision of Patent Office information systems to search the registers of patents, trade marks and designs is a key resource and we are delighted with our new partnership"

For more details of this event and what the centre has to offer please visit: The British Library Website

Editor notes:

• The Patent Office is part of the Innovation Group within the Department of Trade and Industry. Its task is to help stimulate innovation and raise the international competitiveness of British industry through intellectual property rights (IPR). The registered intellectual property rights are patents, trade marks and design registrations. The unregistered rights are copyright and related rights (including unregistered design rights). Visit our website or call 08459 500 505 for more information.
• The British Library - is the national library of the UK. It provides world class information services to the academic, business, research and scientific communities and offers unparalleled access to the world’s largest and most comprehensive research collection. Further information is available on the Library's website which currently records almost 2 million 'hits' or visits per month.

Date of release: 14 March 2006