The UK Intellectual Property Office is consulting on how organisations might collaborate, innovate and commercialise their IP rights better. The IPO seeks views by 15 November 2017.
The consultation was announced in the government’s green paper ‘Building Our Industrial Strategy’, which was consulted on and published earlier this year. Feedback from that suggested that the UK’s IP regime as strong, balanced and broadly fit for purpose. The UK IPO is therefore focusing now on seeking proposals for targeted, non-regulatory interventions it could make to maximise incentives offered by the UK IP system. In particular, it seeks views on proposals it has previously received. These include:
- IP trading platforms – Developing the trading of IP assets on trading platforms to allow better returns for innovative businesses on their investment in IP.
- B2B model IP agreements – Developing model agreements for business-to-business collaborations that generate IP.
- Voluntary IP register – Creating a voluntary IP register for copyright works and unregistered designs, to give creators more certainty.
- Financial products – Developing IP-specific financial products to help IP-rich business access debt funding.
- IP licensing resolution – Creating a tribunal operated by the UK IPO to resolve licensing disputes between entities using standards-reliant technology.
- Royalty-free patents – Offering ‘open source’ patents that can be used free of charge to stimulate growth in new technologies and markets.
- IP valuation standards – Developing and improving the methods for valuing IP, to encourage trade, protection and investment.
Responses will feed in to a government white paper, due to be published later this year.
