Money. money, money

The Intellectual Property Education Trust, a UK registered charity, has some money to spare if you've got some good ideas for spending it. The IPKat likes the notion of charities that give out money rather than demand it, so he hopes that his readers will exercise their imaginations in coming up with something worthy of the cash that's on offer. The story goes like this:

"The Intellectual Property Education Trust proposes to make a closing award in the region of £25,000 for the promotion of education in the field of intellectual property, and seeks applications from interested institutions.

The Trust was established in 1995 with the object to advance education and promote research in the law and practice of Intellectual Property. The Trust proposes to make a final substantive award with its remaining funds. Institutions interested in making an application for the award should first notify the Trust's secretary by phone (01458 270 882) or email by 28 February 2009 with an expression of interest, and should submit a formal application by 17 April 2009.

So long as the purpose of the application is within the above object of the Trust, there are no other limitations on the nature of the application. Thus the award may be given, purely by way of example, for the preparation of courses or course materials, the establishment of courses, the award of bursaries to assist students to attend courses, or the preparation of material to educate the public at large.

The application itself should not exceed 300 words, but may be supported by additional material about the Institution or other relevant materials.

The Trustees shall have absolute discretion as to the making of the award and may make no award. The precise amount of the award, which will be in the region of £25,000, will be determined after audit of the Trust’s accounts and will be dependent upon the valuation of the Trust’s investments".

If you have any money to spare and have fond memories of Sir Hugh Laddie, you may wish to donate it to the foundation of the Sir Hugh Laddie Chair in Intellectual Property, which University College London (UCL) is seeking to establish in Sir Hugh's memory.   UCL welcomes the participation of friends, alumni and others in the legal profession, each of whom should at first instance contact Lisa Penfold here.