In a visit to Nottingham recently the Minister for Intellectual Property, Baroness Wilcox, revealed figures demonstrating that intellectual property rights including registered trade marks are worth an estimated £65 billion a year to UK businesses.
Two reports commissioned by the Intellectual Property Office (the body responsible for the UK regime of copyright, design, trade mark and patent rights), ‘The Role of Intellectual Property Rights in the UK Market Sector’ and ‘Film, Television & Radio, Books, Music and Art: UK Investment in Artistic Originals’ highlight that more than ever is being invested in goods and services capable of protection through one or more of trade marks, copyrights, patents and designs. The reports revealed that since 1990 business investment in intellectual property has more than doubled. The IPO intends to begin publishing figures on an annual basis as growth is expected to continue in coming years.
The Minister was in the city to discover how the University of Nottingham and a local low carbon business had benefited from protecting and licensing their intellectual property for commercial development. Speaking at the University’s Technology Demonstrator Wilcox said:
“Businesses who decide not to protect their intellectual assets are taking a huge financial risk because they may lose any rights to their creative ideas. We would therefore always encourage companies to make an investment and make sure they gain the financial benefits they are entitled to.
“The recent Hargreaves review of intellectual property in the UK highlighted that strong evidence should drive future policy and it is clear from the reports published today that protecting rights can add billions of pounds to UK businesses.”
In summary the main findings of the reports are:
- Investment in UK businesses covered by intellectual property rights is worth at least £65 billion per year
- Knowledge investment in rights protected by patents, trademarks, design and copyright has more than doubled since 1990
- Over the last ten years business growth from intellectual property investment has been bigger than that of business investment in their fixed capital (for example, hardware, office material and general business spending, but excluding computers)
- Copyright and design are the biggest contributors to growth of intellectual property rights – copyright includes software as well as music, publishing, broadcast and film
- Around £3 billion of copyright investment is currently not included in national accounts and the Intellectual Property Office is working with the Office of National Statistics to adjust Gross Domestic Product starting in 2012.