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At the Enterprise Conference on 2 December 2005, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that, as part of the Pre-Budget Report 2005 package, he was asking Andrew Gowers to lead an Independent Review to examine the UK’s intellectual property framework. Mr. Gowers will be assisted by a small secretariat of civil service officials. The review will report to the Chancellor, the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry and the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport in Autumn 2006. The Gowers Review of Intellectual Property launched its consultation phase with a formal call for evidence on 23 February 2006.
Intellectual Property is a critical component of our present and future success in the global economy. Our economic competitiveness is increasingly driven by knowledge-based industries, especially in manufacturing, science-based sectors and the creative industries. The IP framework must balance the need to encourage firms and individuals to innovate and invest in new ideas and creative works with the need to ensure that markets remain competitive and that future innovation is not impeded.
While it has been suggested that the present UK system strikes broadly the right balance between consumers and rights-holders, it also appears that there are a variety of practical issues with the existing framework. The Review will look at both the instruments (patents, copyright, designs etc.) that are provided by government to protect creative endeavour, and also at the operations: how IP is awarded, how it is licensed in the market, and how it is enforced. The Review will examine whether improvements could be made and, as appropriate, make targeted and practical policy recommendations.
Call for evidence
The Review will be evidence led and has therefore issued a public call for evidence as part of its commitment to consult widely with interested parties.
The call for evidence consists of a letter from Andrew Gowers, accompanying an issues paper, which provides details of the scope of the Review and sets out a number of general and specific issues on which we would particularly like to gather evidence. It also invites respondents to highlight other issues for consideration by the Review.
The issues paper includes instructions on how to submit evidence to the Review and a cover sheet for responses. The Review would prefer electronic submissions where possible, and to that end a MS Word version of the cover sheet for responses is also attached below. Responses in hard copy format will of course be accepted.
These documents are available to download below in Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format (PDF). If you do not have Adobe Acrobat installed on your computer you can download the software free of charge from the Adobe website . For alternative ways to read PDF documents and further information on website accessibility visit the HM Treasury accessibility page.
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The call for evidence will form a key part of the evidence base that the Review team will draw upon to develop its analysis. It will be used alongside a range of other evidence sources, including quantitative data; surveys and views of representative groups; visits; seminars; and interviews.
Submissions to the call for evidence should be sent to the Gowers Review of Intellectual Property by Friday 21 April 2006. We would prefer electronic submissions where possible, but we will accept responses in hard copy format. Contact details are below.
Review Team contact details
Gowers Review of Intellectual Property
Zone 4/E1
HM Treasury
1, Horse Guards Road
London
SW1A 2HQ
Email: gowers.review@hm-treasury.gov.uk
Tel: 020 7270 4902
Fax: 020 7270 4414
Due to the high volume of correspondence we are receiving, the Review may not be able to reply to all emails personally, however all correspondence will be read and acted upon.
Access to information held by the Gowers Review is governed by the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Any requests for information received by the Review will therefore be administered accordingly. We will handle any personal data you provide in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998.
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