JD IP is my Intellectual Property consultancy and day job. The business has been based in North Somerset near Bristol since 2015 and works with clients here in the UK as well as abroad.
As a European patent attorney, I had to have a science/engineering background to qualify in the profession - in my case it is in microbiology. This makes me strongly support the GWCT’s science-based approach to game and conservation issues. In my view, this reliance on scientific evidence, is especially important in facing the challenges to our country sports in today’s world. Becoming a GWCT Trade Partner seemed a natural progression.
Looking after a pheasant pen in the last few years on a small syndicate shoot has been a very rewarding experience for me. Before I took the pen on, I knew nothing about the behind-the-scenes activity of the shoot despite being a gun for several years. A distinct lack of birds by the start of the first season stimulated me to read everything I could on keeping pheasants and to get help from professional keepers especially Mike Appleby at Honeycombe in Dorset, and Andy Francis in Somerset.
Attending the GWCT’s Part-Time Gamekeepers’ Course at Loddington was also a really great help to understanding what was going wrong. It was a very informative three days, and I learnt a lot about looking after and keeping pheasants. We soon got much better returns on my beat. One key learning was that a long thin wood on the shoot had the capacity to hold many more pheasants than we were seeing due to its high proportion of pheasant-friendly edge environment. Another was the importance of clean water – and Quill drinkers quickly replaced some old open drinkers.
The day job for me involves preparing and prosecuting patent applications to protect inventions, mostly in the mechanical field, searching and filing trade marks, and related work in various forms of intellectual property such as copyright, and designs. I also work for investors looking at the IP portfolio of companies for investment, and help companies get their IP ready for investment/sale.
Country sports and gamekeeping products are rich in intellectual property from patentable inventions (just look at the old patents on shotgun actions mentioned in The Field or Shooting Times) and registerable designs for new products, as well as new brands needing clearance and protection.
I am lucky enough to work with companies in the country sports sector such as Spartan Precision Equipment with their innovative range of rifle and optics supports where my practical stalking experience comes in handy. It is, however, a fairly desk-bound life and so country sports and looking after a few pheasants provides a very welcome diversion before and after work.
I am always happy to chat without obligation to people in the country sports sector about intellectual property. To find out more about JD IP’s services for innovative companies and to arrange a chat please visit: www.jdip.co