§ Lord Haskelasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they have any plans to authorise a private entity to exercise the function of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks, as envisaged in the Deregulation and Contracting Out Bill.
§ Viscount GoschenThe options for the future ownership and management of the Patent Office are currently being considered as part of the normal arrangements for reviewing executive agencies after the first three years of operation.
The enabling provisions in the Deregulation and Contracting Out Bill will increase the range of Patent Office functions which could be considered for market testing or contracting out. No decisions on the future ownership or management of the office have yet been made, however, and contracting out is only one of the options under consideration.
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