UK Gowers Review of Intellectual Property Released

A UK government-commissioned but independently prepared Gowers Review of Intellectual Property (Review) was released on December 1 and has received a generally positive reception from interested parties. As previously reported in E-TIPS® ("UK Announces Independent Review of its [IP] Regime", Vol 4, No 19, March 29, 2006) Andrew Gowers, a former editor of the Financial Times, headed the Review, and started from the position that "the ideal IP system creates incentives for innovation, without unduly limiting access for consumers and follow-on innovators." The 142-page Review makes 54 recommendations, some of the key ones being to:

• retain the length of protection on sound recordings and performers rights at 50 years;
• in principle, prohibit retrospective changes to IP rights;
• allow private copying for the purpose of changing formats;
• allow private copying for research;
• create an exception to copyright for parody;
• encourage sharing between the EPO, the USPTO, and the JPO;
• encourage the development of a single EU patent;
• toughen penalties for online copyright infringement; and
• improve training of judges and magistrates on IP issues.

In accepting the importance of having access to a more or less continuous review of the IP field, the UK government announced on December 1 that it will set up an independent Strategic Advisory Board for IP Policy which will receive ₤500,000 from the UK Patent Office to commission research on emerging IP trends. For BBC news coverage, visit: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6214108.stm For the full text of the Review see: http://masl.to/?W3AC4576E For an analysis of the Review by the online service "Managing IP", visit: http://masl.to/?G5BC1576E Summary by: James Kosa