Kleiberit’s new product offering, HotCoating, allows the company to supply solutions for a rich-looking high gloss and a warm-feel of super matte – all in one process

HotCoating from Kleiberit

May 2013 #235News / Technology

Previews: Ligna / Interzum / KBBFittings & components / Foils, laminates & veneers / Hand tools

Dust extraction, biomass & woodwaste / CNC machinery & tooling www.furnitureproduction.net

FP235_pages.indd 1 25/04/2013 15:53

w w w . f u r n i t u r e p r o d u c t i o n . n e t

4 COMMENT

PUBLISHERNigel Gearing

EDITORIALSteve PlattsTel: 01424 776109steve.platts@gearingmediagroup.com

ADVERTISING MANAGERPaul McCleeryTel: 01424 776102paul.mccleery@gearingmediagroup.com

DEPUTY ADVERTISING MANAGERMatthew WoodTel: 01424 776102matthew@gearingmediagroup.com

PRODUCTIONJames Ash (manager)Katie Bate and Alex DemetriadesTel: 01424 775304production@gearingmediagroup.com

SENIOR EDITORPaul Farleypaul@gearingmediagroup.comTel: 01424 776101

GROUP EDITORIAL DIRECTORJohn LeggTel: 01424 776104john@gearingmediagroup.com

PROOF READER Keith Fitz–Hugh

ACCOUNTSWendy WilliamsTel: 01424 774982wendy@gearingmediagroup.com

SUBSCRIPTIONSElaine SmithTel: 01424 774988subscriptions@gearingmediagroup.com

REPRO, PRINT and DISTRIBUTIONAcorn Web Offset Ltd

INTERNATIONAL AGENTSItaly: Erika Plorer (0039) 02 48006193China, Hong Kong: Hua Bing (0086) 10 65017550Thailand, Malaysia, Taiwan: Lydia Yin (0086) 21 626 85759

ISSN 1364 - 9191

ADVERTISING RATES FULL PAGE - £1376HALF PAGE - £897QUARTER PAGE - £483 NEWSTRIP - £224FRONT COVER PACKAGE - £2715INSIDE BACK COVER - £1400OUTSIDE BACK COVER - £1613These rates apply to fi nished digital material only.CLASSIFIED - £15 per single column centimetre

DISCLAIMER: All material submitted for inclusion in Furniture Production is done so en-tirely at the contributor’s own risk. No responsibility is accepted for the safe-keeping of contributors’ materials. Whilst all attempts are made to ensure accurate reproduction, Furniture Production accepts no responsibility for variations. Artwork undertaken by our studio remains the copyright of Gearing Media Group Ltd and may not be repro-duced or stored without prior permission. Some articles in Furniture Production have been submitted by companies and organisations. Monies may have been accepted in some instances to offset production costs. All rights reserved. In respect of artwork originated free of charge as part of a booking, clients should know that excessive work (more than one set of corrections, known as ‘authors corrections’) is chargeable at £55 per hour.

DATA PROTECTION “OPT OUT” STATEMENT: Readership data held by Gearing Media Group Ltd may be shared with any member of the Gearing Media Group Ltd and associated companies for the purposes of customer information, direct marketing or publication. Data may also be made available to external parties on a list rental/lease basis for the purposes of direct marketing. If you do not wish data to be made available to external parties for list rental or lease please write to: Data Protection Co-ordinator, Gearing Me-dia Group Ltd, 4 Red Barn Mews, High Street, Battle, East Sussex TN33 0AG.

SUBSCRIPTIONS: Refunds on cancelled subscriptions will only be provided at the pub-lisher’s discretion, unless specifi cally guaranteed within the terms of the subscription

offer.

© Gearing Media Group 2013 Gearing Media Group 4 Red Barn Mews, High Street, Battle, East Sussex TN33 0AG, UK

www.furnitureproduction.net

Lighten the loadFrequent readers will no doubt have noticed that since the beginning of this year, my introductions to Furniture Production have invariably started with a somewhat mechanical reference to the date. There are two reasons for this, the fi rst is that I simply can’t believe how quickly 2013 is evaporating and the second is that every passing month has brought us closer to May!

Pages 10 to 44 of this edition are dedicated to the trade fairs that make May such an important month for anyone who produces, sells or sits on furniture, so I shan’t wax lyrical about them again here. But what does interest me particularly is the emphasis that the Ligna exhibition will be placing on lightweight panels.

Following its premier in 2011, the second ThinkLight – International Conference on Lightweight Panels will be organised by the Technical Conference Management, and will take place as part of the Lightweight Network at Ligna. The goal of the conference is to give a comprehensive overview of the developments in lightweight furniture and identify and discuss future trends.

Topics will range from whether Lightweight panels are a sustainable development, right through to the individual methods companies have developed to decrease the weight of their products, such as ThermHex thermoplastic honeycomb.

What interests me so much about this issue is that there is so much to gain – and so much to lose – by the panel industry shedding a few pounds. Initially the risks seem minimal, if companies can develop a panel with the same structural strength, yet with only half the weight, then why not? Lighter panels mean less fuel consumption for transport – making it an environmentally-friendly development – and would mean less strain on the workers who have to carry them, making it a safer option.

But there are other considerations to take, such as the processes used to make panels lighter – are these safe for the environment? Would the end products be any more or less bio-degradable? Will a lighter panel board be more fl ammable? And of course, how do all these developments affect the product’s fi nal price?

I’ve been reading a lot about ThinkLight and lightweight panels and I’ve started to gather a lot of information, but I can tell the place to really the get the answers to these questions is going to be Ligna 2013.

Steve Platts, editorial assistantE steve.platts@gearingmediagroup.comW furnitureproduction.net

Follow Furniture Production editorial on Twitter: @FurnitureProdEdor Furniture Production advertising on Twitter: @FurnitureProdAd

FP235_pages.indd 4 26/04/2013 15:03

w w w . f u r n i t u r e p r o d u c t i o n . n e t

98 INDUSTRY VOICE

So, now you have identified your Intellectual Property (see Nial’s articles in issue 233 and 234) – what can you do with it?

Stop OthersThe first and most obvious answer is you can stop others from using your Intellectual Property without your permission. This is the most obvious thing that people think. In the main though you have to do it yourself, so you need to make provision for the costs. The law is changing and the best thing you can do is take out an insurance policy to pay for any legal costs you incur in taking any action.

But what you have to remember is that Intellectual Property is just that, property. It can be exploited in the same way as any other property right and yes, that includes your house.

Sell ItYou can sell your Intellectual Property. There are a number of now commonly used methods of valuing Intellectual Property and, unlike your house, there is no stamp duty to pay. In 2011, Forbes magazine

published a list of the top ten most valuable trademarks. Google was top valued at $44.3b, while Vodafone came in at $30.7b. Home Retail Group – Argos to most – bought the Habitat brand and just three stores from the administrator for £24.3m. Of course I am not saying you will all get that much but it gives you an idea that it is worth something that someone else will pay for.

LicenseYou don’t have to sell your Intellectual Property if you don’t want to. Alternatively, you can license your property for a fixed term; for a specific sector; or for a specific country or area of a country. You can do this for an ongoing royalty or a lump sum, either way, it may be a way of generating some extra income without too much effort in a sector you aren’t exploiting or going to exploit.

SecurityYou can use your Intellectual Property as security for a loan or mortgage in the same way as you can your house. A bank will value the Intellectual Property and

enter into a mortgage arrangement with you. And yes, your Intellectual Property is at risk if you fail to meet the repayments.

But did you also know that you can add Intellectual Property to your pension scheme? So, if you have a pension scheme that needs a bit of a boost don’t ignore your Intellectual Property. It may help more than you think.

TaxAnother area where your Intellectual Property can help is on the tax side. Are you aware of R & D tax credits and the Patent Box?

The Government may contribute to your investment into new products by way of R & D tax credits. Some think you have to be a technology business to qualify but you don’t.

In order to qualify, firstly you have to be a legal entity that pays, or is liable for, corporation tax. If you are, then there are two schemes depending on the size of your organisation – the Small or Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) Scheme and The Large Company Scheme. For these purposes you are an SME if you have fewer than 500 employees and either of the following:• An annual turnover not exceeding €100 million• A balance sheet not exceeding €86 million

The type organisation you are dictates which scheme you fall into and therefore what relief is available. Most of you will more than likely fall into the bracket of SME. If you are in this scheme the tax relief on allowable R&D costs is 200 per cent. As long as you spend more than £10 000 on relevant R&D then you may qualify.

The guidance says that R&D for tax purposes takes place when a project seeks to achieve an advance in science or technology. Well that can be a new method of manufacture, a new fixing method for designs to surfaces, new materials in a product; the possibilities are many and numerous.

The Patent Box, which commenced in April 2013, will enable companies to apply a lower rate of Corporation Tax to profits earned from its patents after this date.

In order to qualify you need to have a patent or an exclusively licensed patent and be liable to Corporation Tax and make a profit from exploiting the patented invention. If you do, then profits attributable to the patent will be taxed at 10% and not at the normal corporation tax rate.

So, Intellectual Property is a valuable asset which can seriously improve your business. Protect it!

Niall Head-Rapson, partner and IP specialist with McDaniels and Co concludes his three-part discussion on the IP rights of designers and manufacturers.

Exploitingyour intellectual property

Nial

l Hea

d-Ra

pson

FP235_pages.indd 98 24/04/2013 15:52