There's a new IPO report on designs infringement - game-changer or stating the obvious?
Four years is a long time in politics but not a particularly long time in the land of government reports. Just under four years ago the UK Intellectual Property Office commissioned research to address the lack of existing data on design infringement. The results of that research were published last week . Designs are an important part of the UK economy. In 2015, the UK design economy was worth 6% of the nation’s total economy. It was therefore considered a worthwhile exercise to review the current designs regime and identify opportunities for improvement. The report includes some positive indicators about the design sector " there is some evidence that the design sector as a whole is thriving, and that the use of design improves the productivity of firms in other sectors ." It is less positive about the legal mechanisms which are designed to protect this: " there is still little knowledge based on reliable evidence about the effectiveness of the legal system to achieve ...