Intellectual Property Needs Protecting

Motorsport Industry Association news release

CBI CITES MOTORSPORT VALLEY AS AN EXAMPLE WHERE A ROBUST INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY SYSTEM IS CRITICAL FOR GROWTH AND RECOMMENDS MORE SUPPORT FOR SMEs

The UK has a world-class Intellectual Property (IP) framework, which must be maintained to support continuing investment and growth, the CBI said today and highlighted IP-rich Motorsport Valley companies as being an example.

To help drive future growth, the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) must provide more targeted support to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), to enable them to commercialise their ideas swiftly. This should include a fast-track SME patent scheme, better guidance on protecting and using IP, and improved access to finance for smaller IP-rich firms.

"Motorsport companies in the UK invest more than 30 percent of their hard-earned annual sales income into research and development to stay ahead of international competition. They rely on a stable and positive IP framework to ensure their investments are protected and can be exploited profitably. The MIA welcomes this timely CBI submission, which has our full support" said Chris Aylett, CEO of the Motorsport Industry Association. 

In its submission to the Independent Review of Intellectual Property & Growth, the CBI - the UK's leading business group - said that the IP framework is fundamental to supporting our world-class IP-intensive sectors.

Copyright, a particular focus of the review, should not be eroded. In the digital age, new technologies are changing how information is distributed, and we must ensure that people's ideas are protected. Wholesale changes to the IP framework could damage confidence, reduce the incentive for further investment, and threaten growth.

John Cridland, CBI Director-General, said: "Intellectual Property is a key economic driver, and should be considered one of our 'crown jewels'. The UK has a number of IP-rich industries across the country, where FTSE 100 firms sit alongside young, high-growth SMEs. For example, the biotech and technology companies of Silicon Fen in Cambridgeshire and Motorsport Valley in the Midlands...

"The Government must set out a clear and unambiguous aspiration to make the UK the best place to create, develop and exploit IP. Any significant change or weakening of the existing IP regime, particularly erosion of the copyright laws, could undermine these industries, and be a big risk. We must play to our natural strengths by supporting the UK's world-class IP-rich industries, which are fundamental to growth.

"The support which the Government offers to SMEs could and should be improved. By developing the IPO's offering to small and medium- sized firms, the Government can bolster their innovative potential and create new entrepreneurial activity."

To ensure that the UK's IP system continues to attract investment and support growth, the CBI is calling on the Government to:

:: Create a comprehensive support strategy for IP-rich businesses, which recognises that the IP framework is influenced by the wider tax, competition and skills environment;

:: Develop a better understanding of IP among competition authorities;

:: Increase the UK's tax competitiveness, beginning with a smooth introduction for the patent box scheme;

:: Simplify the procedure for seizing counterfeit goods; and

:: Use foreign and trade policies to promote robust enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPR) globally.

 The CBI believes that strong enforcement of IPR globally is essential for UK growth as international infringement causes most damage to UK competitiveness.