British IP given permanent home

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With former Chancellor Gordon Brown firmly entrenched as the new British Prime Minister, details have emerged over the last week about the new UK Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) that he has established. Responding to recommendations in last year’s Gowers Review of UK Intellectual Property, the DIUS will ensure that Britain has a highly-skilled workforce, plus a dynamic business community which seizes new technology and takes advantage of opportunities provided by a world-class science base.

The department has received a warm welcome throughout the UK’s IP community. Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys (ITMA) president, Philip Harris, said: ‘This new department demonstrates the importance the government places on nurturing innovation. It is very pleasing to see that, on his elevation to prime minister, Mr Brown has taken immediate action to raise the profile of IP with this new department.’

According to Bob Weston, president of the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA): ‘Gordon Brown took the initiative to commission the Gowers Review of intellectual property when he was Chancellor. It’s encouraging to see that, now he’s Prime Minister, he’s continuing to implement Andrew Gowers’ recommendations. The UK’s international leadership in IP is fundamental to the encouragement and commercial development of innovation. Bringing IP out of the DTI and giving innovation its own minister is a stride in the right direction.’

MP for Southampton Itchen, John Denham, has taken on the portfolio, promising to raise Britain’s international standing in the IP arena. ‘High quality skills are vitally important to achieve this ambition,’ he said on accepting his post, ‘and we must strive to build a workforce able to compete in a highly competitive global market.’

He added: ‘I recognise that enhancing our already world-class scientific research and successfully exploiting cutting-edge innovation are also at the heart of global success. This new department which will bring together these key elements will help Britain stay at the forefront of the global economy in an increasingly competitive world.’