Specialist solicitors at Belfast firm Tughans gave advice to Northern Ireland entrepreneurs and investors at the INVENT Mentor Day yesterday.

Ciara Lagan, partner at Tughans, said the firm was “delighted to once again be sponsoring and playing an active part” in the event, which was sponsored by the firm.

The firm’s contacts and technology team gave advice on issues such as patent, copyright and licensing negotiation to twelve teams competing in Northern Ireland Science Park’s INVENT Awards.

Ms Lagan said: “Naturally inventors are focused on creating and developing new ideas, but they also need to be business savvy in order to realise their vision. Gaining the right advice at this stage can be critical to a business’s success.”

She said Tughans solicitors were “on hand to provide each inventor with advice on protecting their unique intellectual property, both for the benefit of the inventor and any potential investors, and also how to attract and secure much needed funding in order to grow and develop their ideas into businesses”.

Joe Devlin, founder and CEO of finalists Point Energy, said: “The quality of mentoring provided at the workshop was invaluable as we prepare for the INVENT final panel and continue to drive the business forward. It really was a perfect combination of business experience together with investor insights and legal guidance.”