Consultation outcome

IPO Transformation programme: second consultation

From:: Intellectual Property Office
Published: 22 August 2023
Last updated: 10 April 2025 — See all updates

Read the full outcome

Government response to IPO Transformation programme: second consultation

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Detail of outcome

The IPO is transforming its services which includes building a single, integrated digital service for all registered IP rights (patents, trade marks, designs and supplementary protection certificates).

In 2022, the IPO ran a first public consultation, on changes to support transformation with a focus on the new digital patents service. The government response to that consultation was published on 1 August 2023.

This is the outcome of the second consultation, which ran between 22 August - 31 October 2023. It mostly relates to trade marks, designs and IPO tribunal services. The consultation included proposals to simplify, modernise and bring greater consistency to all registered IP rights.

Original consultation

Summary

We are seeking views on a package of changes to improve services in support of the Intellectual Property Office’s (IPO) digital Transformation programme.

This consultation ran from
10am on 22 August 2023 to 11:59pm on 31 October 2023

Consultation description

The IPO’s Transformation programme is designed to modernise and improve the IPO’s services. By the end of 2025, we will have replaced our existing processes with a digital system for all registered IP rights (patents, trade marks and designs).

In 2022, the IPO ran a first public consultation, which mainly focused on changes related the launch of the new digital patents service in 2024. The government response to that consultation was published on 1 August 2023. This will inform some of the potential legal and practice changes to enable transformation and the build of the service.

A second consultation is now necessary to inform and support the next phase of the programme, which is chiefly concerned with trade marks, designs and IPO tribunal services. This consultation sets out changes which the government considers may be needed in the following areas:

online public document inspection service for trade marks and designs
rules governing public inspection of trade marks and designs documents and requests for confidentiality
series trade marks
length of supplementary protection certificate fee payment periods
collection and publication of addresses for patent inventors
ways to encourage more mediation during IPO tribunal proceedings

We ask for your responses to the questions highlighted in the consultation document.

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