I’m back on the bus to Bath. The frost has cleared up a bit since the first session, but the traffic jams give a sense of panic about arriving late.
If you read my last post, you know I’ve joined the business support programme at The Studio in Bath to help level up Octopus Immersive. The first session was all about ideation and breaking the ice. It was fun. It was creative.
This second workshop, however, had a topic that usually makes creative founders lose all optimism about being creative: Intellectual Property. I’ll be honest—I was expecting a dry lecture on copyright law that would have me daydreaming out the window. What I actually got was a mix of necessary reality checks, good discussion and reasoning.
Here’s how the day went down.
The 60-Second Gauntlet
We kicked off at 10:00 with the 60-second pitches. This is becoming a ritual.
In the first workshop, these felt like polite introductions. Now, the pressure is dialling up slightly. We’re supposed to be refining these into sharp, lead-generating hooks.
Im often torn between which level to pitch, the whole business or a particular project. I currently have a few projects in the business which I would love to push further and make something of, but they’re quite different from each other and its a lot to fit into 60 seconds. I was wresting with this last week, and chose to be very high level about the business. I want to get the most out of this program and really need to work out what the right pitch is for the right situation.
This week I thought I would try the detail heavy approach, rather than free & easy story. I specifically focussed on our mixed reality music experience which I really want to see grow into something. So what happened? I tried to get too many words in, forgot my place, and generally didnt authentically speak. It was a good pitch, but… it was a good lesson and has helped inform me what I should be talking about in those 60 seconds. If I do that well they can ask follow up questions for details.
The “Vegetables” of Business: IP & Legal
At 10:15, Judith Coghlan from Script IP took the floor for a session titled “Is there a patent for that?”
In the creative tech world, IP is a murky beast. We build experiences, often using code, hardware, and narrative. Can you patent a vibe? Can you trademark a mechanic?
Judith was excellent at demystifying this. We went through the differences between patents, trademarks, copyright, and design rights.
Key Takeaway: I realized I’ve been worrying about the wrong things. I thought I needed to patent everything to be “legit.” It turns out, for a business like mine, it’s often more about Copyright (which can happen easily) and Trade Secrets than expensive patents.
The “Expert Surgery” at 11:15 was particularly useful. Rather than a lecture, it was an open floor for legal and governance questions. It was reassuring to hear that other founders are grappling with the same issues: How do I protect my pitch deck? What happens if a freelancer writes my code?
It wasn’t the “sexy” side of running a studio, but it felt like eating your vegetables. You might not crave it, but you feel much stronger for having done it.
The Studio Tech
After the heavy legal stuff, we got a tour of “The Studio Kit”.
This is the advantage of being in a programme run by The Studio. They aren’t just a co-working space; they are a hub for media innovation. Seeing the inventory of high-end cameras, VR headsets, motion capture gear, and computing power available to us was motivating.
For a boot-strapped business, hardware is a massive overhead. Knowing I have access to this kit means I can prototype clearer, faster, and more ambitiously without burning through my own runway buying gear I might only use twice. My brain is already whirring with what I can build next.
Reflections
If the first workshop was about connection, this one was about protection and capability. I left Bath feeling a little more grown-up as a business owner. I have a clearer idea of what I own, how to protect it, and the tools I have access to.
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