This company was formed on 24 April 2007 in anticipation of the Legal Services Act 2007. It was set up for two purposes:
- to deliver practice management services to NIPC Law members that have traditionally been performed by barristers’ clerks; and
- to offer services to the public that are compatible with independent private practice that make use of members’ knowledge and experience but go beyond those usually offered by the Bar.
The services that the company offers now are as follows:
- marketing the services of NIPC Law and its members
- soliciting work, negotiating fees and collecting them
- providing facilities for members
- running CPD training sessions in intellectual property and technology law for solicitors
- operating NIPC clinics in Yorkshire and the Wirral, and
- managing the NIPC blogs and websites including this one.
NIPC Ltd. intends to expand those services in the next few months by setting up arbitration and mediation panels for licensing and other small intellectual property and technology disputes, extending the range and number of training courses, setting up regional IP networks with other practitioners and publishing books and journals focusing on the needs of small businesses.
The company intends to apply for a licence to deliver services as an alternative legal structure just as soon as Part V of the 2007 Act is implemented. Its plan is to procure a range of complementary legal and non-legal services from existing suppliers including NIPC Law members and re-sell them to small businesses in tailored packages under the NIPC brands.
Further information about the company can be obtained from its website at http:www.nipco.co.uk.
NIPC Law 