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Sunday, March 11, 2007

UK Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys To Face More Red Tape?

As I had reported in

my previous posting in 2005, the UK Government is planning to

reform regulation of legal services.

Now, it appears as if the UK professional bodies of Patent Attorneys (

CIPA) and Trade Mark Attorneys (

ITMA) are in fear that they coud

fall victim of undesirable side-effects of pending reform proposals. In particular, there are some concerns in view of a threatening costly over-regulation of both professions.

"[...] As two of the smallest approved regulators in the new system, we strongly believe that regulation must be proportionate. We believe that our status as a low-risk, non-consumer focused profession with an excellent conduct record should be recognised. Currently the level of regulation of patent/trademark attorneys is light-touch and the regulatory costs to us and our members are low. We have concerns that the Board may not sufficiently take into account the dangers of over regulation for smaller Regulators and our members. Our Members currently place a very low burden on the regulatory system, and we anticipate a real risk in over-regulating those who have the freedom to opt out. This may restrict entry to, and discourage retention in, our professions and make our position as an approved regulator untenable. We look forward to hearing assurances on this issue during the passage of the Bill. [...]"

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