Millepede's UK operations has new telephone and fax numbers. 

Main switchboard: +44 (0)845  834 0347

Extensions: 

1 - Sales

2 - Accounts and Chris Naylor

3 - Mille-Com and Mark Stephenson 

4 - Technical Support and John Nemcovsky 

5- John Butterworth Direct 

Fax : +44 (0)845 834 0348

 

 

WHEN TV Dragons’ Den contestant Andrew Harsley won over the judges with his new invention, it seemed his fortune was assured.

Within weeks he had secured a £36million deal to manufacture his reusable Rapstrap plastic bands which can secure a host of household items from bin bags to electrical cables.

Dragons’ James Caan and Duncan Bannatyne even invested £150,000 in his firm, taking a 50 per cent stake. But last night his dream looked in danger of becoming a nightmare.

Officials from the Patent Office ruled that his device was too similar to one produced by another firm - which Mr Harsley, 35, had helped to found.

Experts compared his bands with Millepede’s similar Quickstrip ties, developed over a decade ago. The two items were too alike they decided and Mr Harsley’s invention breached his competitor’s patent.

Millepede’s bosses are now considering whether to launch legal action against Mr Harsley and his firm.

If they challenge Mr Harsley in the courts it could spell the end for his business venture.

He co-developed Millepede’s cable tie when he helped found the company in the late 1990s.

Managing director John Butterworth said he had been stunned when he had seen Mr Harsley’s design on Dragons’ Den. He said: “Our view is that the Rapstrap is no different to the standard patent we hold.”

Extract from Scottish Sunday Express
Website: http://www.scottishsundayexpress.co.uk
Link: http://www.scottishsundayexpress.co.uk./printer/view/88882/

Click here to download the pdf.

A man whose invention caught the attention of millions of television viewers may have infringed a patent he applied for himself ten years ago. A contestant on the Dragons' Den TV programme may have to defend his invention from legal action.

Andrew Harsley appeared on the programme and convinced two of its panellists, Duncan Bannatyne and James Caan, to invest £150,000 in the Rapstrap, a plastic cable tie.

But the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has said that the invention is already partially covered by a patent owned by a company Harsley helped to found. He has since left the firm.

Millepede's patent for the reusable plastic strip lists Harsley as the inventor. Harsley has said that he has since been awarded patents in China and Mexico for his own Rapstrap product.

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Extract from The Register
Website: http://www.theregister.co.uk
Link: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/03/17/dragon_whoops/

Click here to download the pdf.

TV show judges who invested £150,000 in a plastic cable tie invention spent their money on an unlawful product according to the UK Intellectual Property Office.

Entrepreneurs Duncan Bannatyne and James Caan, who are two of the five judges that feature on the BBC's Dragon's Den programme, jointly invested the money after being impressed by contestant Andy Harsley's Rapstrap cable ties. However, the UKIPO has upheld a challenge from Harsley's former company Millipede, which accused the cable ties of infringing its Millie-Tie patent.

Harsely helped invent an earlier version of the Millie-Tie for Millipede - the firm he founded after leaving university. Millipede asked the UKIPO to examine the Rapstrap after it received nationwide publicity on the Dragon's Den programme. A senior examiner has now concluded that the invention does infringe Millipede's patent.

Harsely has said that the UKIPO decision means nothing unless Millipede pursues the matter in court. Until then, Harsley and his backers say they will continue with the development and marketing of the Rapstrap.

Extract from IPWorld
Web Site: http://www.ipworld.com
Link: http://www.ipworld.com/ipwo/doc/view.htm?id=214408&searchCode=H

Click here to download the pdf.

 

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