Intellectual Property (Hansard, 29 June 1999)

§ Dr. Howells

The Government's Competitiveness White Paper, which was published last December, includes a comprehensive and ambitious action plan for improving the legal framework which creates and defines rights, for improving access to intellectual property, and for reforming the civil justice system to allow intellectual property rights to be enforced more easily and cheaply.

In particular, we are pressing for early adoption of a proposal for a European Directive on copyright and the information society. This will introduce changes to the copyright system throughout Europe to ensure that it can deal more effectively with the challenges and opportunities brought by dissemination of copyright works by means of digital networks. Also in the field of information technology, during our presidency of the European Union, the United Kingdom hosted a major international conference on ways to protect computer software, including by patents. As a result of this initiative, we expect the European Commission to bring forward a proposal for a Directive for harmonising the patents regime across member states, and so to encourage innovation in this important area.

In patents, we are pushing for a unitary Community patent providing rights across all member states. This would present further choice for those who wish to protect their innovations by patents in addition to existing routes via the European Patent Office, through which a bundle of individual national patents may be obtained, and the United Kingdom's own patent office which affords rights in the United Kingdom. Such a unitary system must, however, command the confidence of industry, and we are seeking ways to ensure that rights are underpinned by a high degree of legal certainty.

Discussions are currently taking place with our European Community partners on the possibility of harmonising so-called "utility models" (or petty patents). If adopted, a Directive would require the United Kingdom to introduce such a system for the first time, although 12 of our EC partners currently operate such regimes. Utility models are for the protection of smaller, incremental inventions. Rights would be granted by registration without the technical and legal scrutiny which precedes granting of patent rights. Acquisition of rights would, therefore, be quicker and cheaper and would present advantages to industry, especially small businesses. However, this carries risk that rights could be found to be invalid, and that rights could be used anticompetitively. It is important that the terms of an eventual Directive benefits firms, especially small businesses.

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Official fees for obtaining patents and trade marks at the United Kingdom Patent Office have been substantially reduced in the last 2 years. Some fees in trade marks and patents have been reduced by 50 per cent. and application fees for patents have been abolished completely—the first intellectual property office in the world to do so. In addition, the Office continues to offer a customer focused service and to grant high quality rights speedily. Trade mark rights are granted within weeks, and patents can be granted within a year of the initial application. Once the impact of the present fees reductions has emerged, we will undertake a review to determine the effects of official fees on the innovation process.

Access to, and cost of litigation in, the intellectual property field is soon to benefit from changes recommended in Lord Woolf's recent report. New Rules on litigation before the Patent Office should be in force this year and benefits will accrue from more general changes to civil actions.

The Patent Office is also closely involved with the European Patent Office and the World Intellectual Property Organisation in the establishment and implementation of a global system for introducing e-commerce into the filing and prosecution of applications for intellectual property rights. It is expected that technical standards for this field will be agreed internationally next year and a full system should be implemented by 2005.