BIPC

We offer support and help to start or grow your business in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

The Business & Intellectual Property Centre (BIPC) for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough provides free and low-cost business support and advice to start-up business owners, entrepreneurs, and inventors.

The initiative is part of the British Library’s National Network of BIPCs, leading the way to provide an inspiring and thriving business community for new and existing business owners from your local library hub.

The service provides

Workshops and Events
One-to-One Business Support
Protecting your business
Business resources.

People who seek advice and information at a very early stage can assess the viability of their business idea and protect their Intellectual Property (IP) assets.

BIPC Jumpstart

Grants, advice, and tools designed to help start-up businesses. We are no longer accepting applications for our 2023/2024 grants programme as the deadline has passed.

Find out more

BIPC users benefit from

free access to high-value business information and market intelligence
intellectual property guidance; These services are crucial in assessing the viability of their business idea and giving them the confidence to take it forward.

The UK is one of the best places in the world to start a business. With the BIPC Network growing around the county it’s a great time to connect with like-minded people so join us and be inspired.

Protecting your business

Protecting your business intellectual property

The UK is one of the best places in the world to start a business. It’s important when you have a business idea you take the right steps to make sure no one else copies your idea or uses it without your permission? That’s where protecting your intellectual property through things like patents, copyright and trademarks come in. It’s worth the time and effort and is easier than you think. The Intellectual Property Office states that having the right type of intellectual property protection helps you to stop people stealing or copying:

The names of your products or brands
Your inventions

The design or look of your products
Things you write, make or produce

Copyright, patents, designs and trademarks are all types of intellectual property protection. You get some types of protection automatically, others you have to apply for. Businesses of any size can be at risk of IP infringement. By knowing and understanding your IP rights you can ensure that you are safeguarding your creativity effectively.

Workshops and Events

The BIPC runs a range of workshops and events to help you gain useful skills in a range of areas to help you start and grow your business. The workshops will cover a range of business-related topics including finance, marketing, legislation and exporting. The benefit of attending workshops and events is that you will also have the opportunity to network with like-minded people who are starting up and developing their own business models like you. Keep an eye out for up and coming workshops here.

Business Resources

Investing in business resources can sometimes be an obstacle to growing your business and taking it to the next level of growth. BIPC can assist in sourcing resources through its network of contacts to help you access the items you need in an affordable way.Contact our BIPC centre at bipc@peterboroughlimited.co.uk to find out more about how we can help you.

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