UK Tech Firms Not Protecting IP, Says Survey

by Robin Pilgrim, LawAndTax-News.com, London

26 April 2007

International law firm Pinsent Masons has warned that UK technology companies do not know how to value their Intellectual Property (IP), and that they are not doing enough to exploit the value of their IP portfolios.

The firm has urged the Government to help raise commercial awareness of IP rights and exploitation.

According to Pinsent Masons, technology companies often overlook IP issues, such as ownership of IP and any licences, in standard terms and conditions.

Six out of ten of the firm's 100 technology lawyers (33 of whom are IP specialists) agreed that the biggest gap in IP knowledge amongst technology clients was the protection of IP rights. This also featured as the highest ranking single biggest IP risk for technology companies.

More than half (52%) said that many tech firms they deal with do not actively police their IP, both in terms of watching competitors and in ensuring that trade marks are not used inappropriately.

Kim Walker, head of Pinsent Masons' intellectual property team, observed that:

"The results of our survey give cause for concern. We regularly advise upon IP issues and often find that even some of the smartest companies are under-informed when it comes to the protection of their intellectual property. We hope to help rectify this problem with our activities on World IP Day and hope that other large law firms will do the same."

"But the Government is in a position to make a huge difference. We find that US companies frequently have a better feel for the value of their IP and we believe that the UK Government could do more to close that gap. We urge the Government to follow the recommendations in the Gowers Review to give businesses better access to information about IP."

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