South West Technology lawyer shares expertise with US businesses

A South West technology law specialist was invited by a specialist US technology law firm to visit the United States to share his expertise with early and fast growth American technology companies in the Boston technology hotspot interested in doing business in the UK and Europe.  

The Boston branch of UK Trade and Investment - a Government body that helps companies exporting from or investing in the UK - arranged the seminar in conjunction with Gesmer Updegrove LLP inviting Mark Lomas, a Partner at Ashfords LLP to present a seminar at the British Consulate.

The Consulate is located in the heart of the Boston science and technology hot spot close by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The seminar was attended by representatives from 25 technology firms - mostly Information Technology companies. Mark was joined by UK patent attorney Dr Matthew Greenwood of Bryers LLP, who helps companies patent their software in Europe.

Topics discussed at the seminar included the difference between the comparative ways of using intellectual property to build value to attract investment funds and protect these businesses' underlying investments; attendees also heard about the comparative higher tax burden of a US company compared to a UK company and the position on R&D, how to avoid and resolve cross border disputes and difficulties and the different approaches on workers' rights.

Working with Gesmer Updegrove, Mark also had meetings with technology transfer officers at Harvard University and MIT and attended a series of events with various entrepreneurs and members of the accounting and venture capital community in Boston.

Kirsten Chambers Head of UK Trade & Investment in New England said: “This invite came about off the back of a previous successful seminar that Ashford’s delivered in September 2010.  We enjoy working with Ashfords. UK Trade & Investment are well positioned to assist UK businesses, who want to trade with the USA, and US businesses interested in investing in the UK, and this fits very well with our objectives to do just that."

It was Mark's third trip to the Boston and New England area in the past two years and is part of an ongoing program.  He said: "We have a real international dimension to our practice and I am delighted to have been invited back to Boston. It is particularly encouraging to see the genuine interest from the US companies in the UK market. There is a real buzz about the place and UKTI have been magnificent in their support and professional approach and understand that in the current economic climate, helping UK exporters and encouraging inward investment to the UK is particularly important."  

"Ashfords has a very strong network of links with the USA and we can provide legal advice to US companies thinking of coming to the UK and UK companies dealing with the US.  It is true that we share a common language but it can be all too easy to assume a common understanding of meaning and approach. You need to be careful and you need to know how to navigate these waters from both a commercial and legal perspective."

He added: "I think every business in the South West that trades overseas should seriously consider looking to Boston and New England as a natural place to commence business in the US. The time difference is relatively close, travelling there is easy and there is a very well established technology field, with a number of professional service providers and venture capitalists that can offer their support. "

Plans are underway for a similar event in the UK for British businesses thinking of establishing themselves in the United States.

Ashfords LLP is regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. The information in this note is intended to be general information about English law only and not comprehensive. It is not to be relied on as legal advice or as an alternative to taking professional advice relating to specific circumstances.