Earlier this week Business Secretary Vince Cable announced a set of new intellectual property initiatives aimed at improving the way IP is approved and protected in the UK.
According to the Business Secretary, the measures will also improve services to business, strengthen enforcement, and help consumers get the most out of creative products and services.
Speaking at the Big Innovation Centre in London, Dr Cable outlined several new measures, including a faster patent processing service that can deliver patents in just 90 days instead of the years such a process can currently take and a faster trade marks examination service, which will deliver a full examination report in five days instead of 10.
He also outlined the campaigns aimed at younger people, who are more likely to engage in pirating copyright material, aimed at educating them to understand the importance of respect for IP, and announced that a special crime unit aimed specifically at illegal downloaders will be created in partnership with City of London police.
The Government has said that the IPO will also expand the way it operates, moving beyond just granting rights and do more to support businesses in understanding the opportunities available to them at home and abroad.
This will include piloting an IP advisory service for small and medium businesses with high-growth potential. The IPO will work more closely with organisations where businesses already go for advice such as trade associations, UKTI, chambers of commerce, banks and accountants and will help them get the best value from their creativity and innovation.
The changes will come into effect next year and are aimed at encouraging and helping businesses to get the best value from their ideas and boost growth.