Introduction
Updated 1 July 2021
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/review-of-the-ip-enforcement-framework-call-for-evidence/introduction
1. Review of the UK IP enforcement framework
The UK has one of the best intellectual property (IP) systems in the world. The government takes issues of IP infringement seriously. Its aim is to ensure that the UK remains one of the world leaders for IP protection.
The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) is the government agency responsible for ensuring that the IP framework enables businesses and individuals to protect and enforce their IP rights. The IPO develops policies to ensure that the IP enforcement legal framework is up-to-date and fit for purpose. The framework can be used to protect a creation or invention from being used without the owner’s consent.
Enforcement of IP may be defined as any action or remedy taken to stop the infringement of an IP right or to impose sanctions on the infringer. These actions range from the use of alternative dispute resolutions (ADRs) like mediation and arbitration to criminal and civil legal remedies which may include going to court. Having a framework for the effective, proportionate, and accessible enforcement of IP rights is important. It helps to reduce IP crime and infringement, whilst promoting innovation and creativity.
In our IP Enforcement 2020 Strategy, we committed to review existing methods of legal recourse for IP infringement to ensure they are effective, consistent and proportionate.
We created a working group to help us target the right areas for further research. The people on the working group have knowledge and experience of using the enforcement framework. They helped identify some issues businesses face when they use the enforcement framework. There were three key issues that they raised during discussions.
- cost of legal challenges,
- accessibility and effectiveness of judicial processes, and
- online infringement.
Of those three issues, we decided to focus our attention on the first two. We recognise that online infringement is a challenging issue for businesses. However, we believe that this important issue is currently being addressed through a range of other initiatives. These initiatives include the roundtable process stemming from the Industrial Strategy and the Creative Industries Sector Deal (PDF,8.6 MB). We feel it is right that there should be no duplication of ongoing work, which is why we have not focused on this area in this exercise.
We welcome responses from all IP rights holders who have used or thought about using the framework to protect or defend their IP rights.
1.1 Data protection
A summary of responses to this call for evidence will be published on GOV UK. The summary will include a list of organisations that responded but not personal names, addresses or other contact details.
Information provided in response to this call for evidence, including personal information, may be made available to the public on request, in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (EIRs). We may also publish responses to the FOIA/EIR requests on The Intellectual Property Office’s website.
Read our privacy statement for more information.