One of the legal issues that the new government will have to address over the course of the next five years is how to build on and improve intellectual property laws.
There is an ongoing debate in the European Union about how best to reform an ageing framework of legislation so that it meets the needs of a digital age.
But the UK’s Intellectual Property Office (IPO) is also considering the matter itself and recently published a five year strategy to ensure that individuals and businesses are adequately protected from infringement.
Discussing its plans between now and 2020, the IPO said: “The IP framework we deliver should incentivise and protect investment in IP while allowing knowledge to be shared and disseminated. A balance here is critical for innovation and creativity to flourish.
“By getting this right we will give everyone the confidence to make the best use of IP. This confidence can stem from many factors: protection which can be relied upon; our helping to resolve uncertainty around IP, both directly and through education; that we provide rights with a high presumption of validity; our work to give consumers the sense that IP also works for them.”
The six goals at the centre of the strategy are:
- Promoting UK growth through IP policy.
- Delivering high quality rights granting services.
- Ensuring IP rights are respected and appropriately enforced.
- Educating and enabling business to understand, manage and protect their IP.
- Improving the skills and capability of our people.
- Increasing efficiency and delivering value for money.