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Wednesday, December 06, 2006

UK: Gowers Review Has Been Published.

At the Enterprise Conference on December 02, 2005, the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer had announced that, as part of the Pre-Budget Report 2005 package, he had asked former Financial Times editor

Mr. Andrew Gowers to lead an Independent Review to examine the UK's intellectual property framework.

Today, the

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rt Hon Gordon Brown, MP, has

published Gowers' Review in the context of the presentation of the

Pre-Budget Report 2006.

At a first glance this might appear to the observer from the continent as a piece of regional politics without much importance for Europe in its entirety. However, such reviews have been carried out in the UK from time to time, perhaps once per one or two decades or so, and in the past many aspects of UK Intellectual Property policy have been shaped by the reports given by Mr. Gower's predecessors. And, of course, those various reports have, in their times, also heavily influenced the British position on the international theatre, e.g. in view of the European Patent Convention and other treaties. It might well be that also Gower's Review will create a substantial impact on international politics concerning Intellectual Property. Gowers writes:

"[...] It is expensive to obtain and defend IP rights in the UK, and costs spiral when securing rights internationally. These costs are onerous for all businesses, and for SMEs in particular. The Review recommends:
better provision of IP information to UK businesses at home and abroad. This will extend from greater information provided to firms on how to use IP strategically when they register at Companies House, through stronger support and better information via the Business Link network, to expert advice provided by UK Trade and Investment and the Patent Office for UK firms abroad;
consulting to enable fast-track litigation to be used in IP cases. This should mean that capped fees, limited disclosure and time limits will apply to IP cases, greatly reducing the cost; and
supporting the establishment of a unitary Community Patent (COMPAT). This will substantially reduce the cost of patent applications in Europe, which are currently twice as expensive as in the USA. [...]"

Furthermore, Gowers points out that a policy of not extending patent rights beyond their present limits within the areas of software, business methods and genes should be maintained.

With regard to patent-related operational aspects, Gowers recommends:

The Government should encourage the EPO to pursue work sharing with the USPTO and JPO.
The Patent Office should pursue work sharing arrangements with EPC member States, and trilaterally with the USA and Japan to reduce cross-national duplication of effort.
Continue to support and expedite the establishment of a single Community Patent through negotiations in Europe.
Government should support the London Agreement as an interim step towards COMPAT, and as an improvement in its own right.
Maintain a high quality of patents awarded by increasing the use of 'section 21' observations: streamlining procedures and raising awareness.
The Patent Office should conduct a pilot of Beth Noveck's Community Patent Review in 2007 in the UK to determine whether this would have a positive impact on the quality of the patent stock.
The Patent Office should develop stronger links with universities and other research institutions, including through short placements, to ensure that IP examiners are aware of recent developments in technology.
Introduce accelerated grant process for patents to complement the accelerated examination and combined patent search and examination procedures.

In particular, Gowers' reference to the

Peer To Patent Project of

Prof. Beth Noveck appears to be far-reaching and exciting.

In addition to Gowers Review, Lord Sainsbury has been asked by the UK Chancellor to carry out

a review of science and innovation policies across government. The Review will take a forward look at what needs to be done to ensure the UK's continued success in wealth creation and scientific policy-making. The Sainsbury Review will report to the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Secretaries of State for Trade and Industry and Education and Skills, in time for the Comprehensive Spending Review in summer 2007. It looks as if there might be some overlap with Gowers Review, in particular because of the Sainsbury Review will cover patent politics.

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Intellectual Property

[UPDATE 2006-12-06 2000] Statement

on the website of CIPA:

[...] CIPA spokesman and main author of the submission, Alasdair Poore also urged the members of the Chancellor of the Exchequer appointed Review team to: 'think very carefully before making proposals for change since much of the system is working well and our reading of the Treasury document which accompanied the setting up of this Review gives us cause for concern since it strikes an unnecessarily negative attitude. Anyone who has studied the system knows the UK has a huge positive balance of payments from copyright; trade marks are crucial to branded products sold across the world by UK companies; and patents ensure that profits from research-based innovation are not undercut by competitors riding on UK Research and Development.' [...]

[UPDATE 2006-12-06 2015]

Statement of the UK Government::

The Government welcomes the Gowers Review of Intellectual Property (IP) and will be taking forward the recommendations for which it is responsible to ensure that the United Kingdom (UK) IP regime is fit for the digital age. The Government firmly believes in the importance of strong enforcement of IP rights to support the UK's most creative industries. At present the music industry loses around 20 per cent of its annual turnover to piracy and counterfeiting. The Review's recommendations on IP enforcement will bring significant benefits for UK businesses. In order to allow copyright law to be effectively enforced, the Government will allocate an additional GBP 5m to Trading Standards in 2007-8 to support the implement of new powers and duties to tackle copyright infringement.

The Review also recommends a number of measures to improve access and reduce costs for businesses using the IP regime. An independent Strategic Advisory Board for IP policy will be established to raise the performance of IP policy-making. This Board will receive GBP 500,000 from the Patent Office to commission research on emerging IP trends.

[UPDATE 2006-12-06 2015]

Statement of the UK Patent Office::

Ron Marchant, Chief Executive and Comptroller General, said: 'The Patent Office joins others in welcoming the Report and I look forward to the Patent Office playing a full role in implementing the recommendations for which it is responsible. Andrew Gowers and his team have done a comprehensive and thorough job in a very open-minded way. We congratulate them. The Report has confirmed the crucial importance of IP to the success of the UK in the global knowledge economy and we are pleased that the report sees the system as operating broadly satisfactorily. We are very pleased that the report recognises the important role played by the Patent Office and supports our own programme 'Patent Office for the 21st Century', identifying the programme as an appropriate vehicle for some of the recommendations.'

In particular, the Patent Office will revise its role in the following areas:
Advice for UK Businesses as they seek to obtain and protect their rights both domestically and in other countries
Fast track rights processing
Seeking to make progress on European and Community Patent proposals
Continuing to improve patent quality
Working with other Patent Offices, particularly the US and Japan, to make multinational patent processing simpler
A better match between fees and the costs of the services covered by them
Raising public awareness of the wider impact of IP crime
Ron Marchant added 'Thanks to the work we began with our Patent Office for the 21st Century programme we are ready to rise to the challenge. That challenge is highlighted by the proposed change of name to the UK Intellectual Property Office as this will signal to all customers and stakeholders the true range of our activities and contribution. I am delighted that the Patent Office for the 21st Century will be "The UK Intellectual Property Office'.

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