FAQs

What is the Business & IP Centre's e-courses website?
It is a new site launched by the British Library containing learning courses in intellectual property protection and development.

Who is this site for?
For anyone with or without an idea; for individuals, employees and members of institutions.

What can the site do for me?
If you have an idea that you are looking to develop or commercialise, the courses will help you in understanding what you have, how to protect your idea and how it might be developed.

Do I have to have an idea to study the courses?
No, but it helps if you have one; it helps to focus your thought processes. If at this stage, you do not have an idea that you wish to develop, the courses will be a useful tool in shaping the way in which any future ideas that you might have may develop.

What is “protection” for my idea?
Protection is an important part of taking any idea forward. By protecting your idea, you will have a legal record of when that idea was protected giving you a form of legal standing should someone try to copy your idea. Protection will help in giving your idea “asset value”.

What sort of protection is available for my idea?
That is dependent on the type of idea that you have. The protection may take various forms and your idea may only require one form of protection or may be eligible for several. Course One “The Basics of Intellectual Property” explains this in detail.

How do I know that my idea has not already been thought of by someone else?
Unless you spend some time searching, you cannot be sure that someone else has not already filed for protection for an idea which is similar to yours. Course Two “How to Search the Databases” will show you how to search extensively using various databases to find out if that may possibly be the case or not.

Can all ideas be protected?
The simple answer is no and there are various reasons for this. The courses will explain what can and what cannot be protected. If your idea cannot be protected, it may mean that it is not worth pursuing, so saving you time and money. This however is not always the case as some form of partial protection may be possible.

Do I need to use professional help in protecting and developing my idea?
In nearly all cases, the answer is yes. The courses will discuss this and help you in making your decision as to whether to use professional help or not.

I think that my idea is a good one, but will anyone be interested in it?
Having the idea is often the easiest part of the process. Often the most difficult part is finding out if there is a market for your idea, where that market is and who might buy your idea or who may be suitable to take on your idea. Course Three “Analysing the Markets” will help you make these decisions as to where your idea is headed.

Can I go through the courses in any order?
To gain the maximum from the courses, they are designed to be undertaken in the order that they are shown, starting with Course One.

What can I do with my idea once I have done the three courses?
That is dependent on what you wish to do with your idea. The courses will help you in deciding what you may wish to do next and whether the idea is worth pursuing further.

If you have any other questions you can email research@bl.uk.