Overview

Professor Ian Hargreaves has published his government-commissioned report looking at the UK’s legal and regulatory framework for intellectual property (IP).

The report provides recommendations on how to ensure that the strategic direction of IP policy is best suited to support innovation and promote economic growth in the digital age, with proposals for reform including:

- an efficient digital copyright licensing system;
- a broadening of the exceptions to copyright infringement; and
- measures to seek to address the “patent thickets” which have grown up in certain technology areas, obstructing market entry.

In this briefing, Macfarlanes takes a closer look.