IP System Revision-United Kingdom
An independent revision of the entire UK Intellectural Property system is in ffing to make certain improvements that will benefit brand owners. Commissioned by Prime Minister (in waiting) Gordon Brown and headed by Andrew Gowers, the review is wider in scope, encompassing laws, registry procedures and enforcement mechanisms and takes into account more than 500 suggestions from interested parties. It makes more than 50 recommendations for change that have been broadly welcomed by brand owners. The frast track proposal of Gowers is that trademark applications may be decided in UK within 10 days of their filing, but at a higher fee. It is expected that this change will be introduced in late 2007. However, the application process will otherwise remain untouched because UK law in this area is based on European law and significant change at a national level is impossible.
While enforcement mechanisms are also subject to EU law, there is more flexibility in this area for EU Member states and further improvements are possible in this area. In particular, several proposals are aimed at helping brand owners in their fight against counterfeiters and outlets such as car boot sales. It is also recommended that UK law enforcement take counterfeiting more seriously and devote greater resources to fighting it. The UK Patent Office (of which the Trade Marks Registry is part)has grouped 41 recommendations out of 54 by Gowers into themes of activity. Brand owners should take advantage of the opportunities in order to influence policy at an early stage. The Office itself is to be renamed the UK Intellectual Property Office, effective April 2007.
The controversal topic of copycat products (in particular as own-brand items sold by supermarket chains) was considered by Gowers, but his conclusion was that the government should monitor the implementation of the European Directive on Unfair Commercial Practices in the UK. This is disappointing for brand owners; nevertheless, some are pushing for further consideration of changes in the law. The review represents a brave attempt to take a holistic view of the entire IP system in the UK, recognizing that its various elements are increasingly interrelated. Although the review has been criticized for being too broad in its focus and only scratching the surface, it has put the issue of how best to protect intellectual property back on the political agenda at an important time with a change in the country's leadership expected this year.
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