2019 Election – is intellectual property (IP) and design high on the political radar?

 Dids Macdonald OBE, CEO of Anti Copying in Design said, “In short, an unequivocal NO!

One of the critical areas which no party has addressed is the potentially calamitous situation, deal or no deal, when the UK leaves the EU in that the majority of UK designers will lose automatic unregistered design protection in EU27. This is a significant omission as the majority of UK designers rely on unregistered design rights giving 3 years automatic IP protection currently in EU28. To date there has been no clarity nor support from any party.

As always, Design and IP are rarely mentioned by any political party which again is surprising given design contributes £85 billion to the UK’s GDP and 1.5 million people are in design and design related employment. There is no focus on cost, time-effective and robust IP enforcement policies such as criminal provisions for unregistered design infringement. The majority of UK designers are lone, micro and SME, 80% with under 10 employees and 67% with under 4 employees, and therefore IP enforcement is cost and time prohibitive.  

It is surprising that IP is not higher on the political radar for all parties given the significant value that IP rich businesses bring to the UK economy which, through consistent growth supports jobs but at the same time, in the case of increasing and blatant design and online infringement, poses job security threats. Take one example of ThisisNessie

For many years ACID has campaigned for a dedicated IP Minister, currently the portfolio is shared with the demanding policy areas and agenda of Universities, Science, Research and Innovation.  Read more

In summary, there is not nearly enough focus on intellectual property issues in any party manifesto. The Conservative Manifesto has no direct mention of IP though there are number of IP associated issues and policies; whilst Labour does better with a positive commitment to fair remuneration to artists and content creators. The Liberal Democrats raise the profile of IP indirectly through their ‘Innovation-led Economy’ section and have always, out of the three parties, been proactive supporters of the Creative Industries and the importance of IP. For example, take their support of the ACID campaign for registered design to have criminal provisions enshrined in the 2014 IP Act.”

Three main party manifestos on intellectual property – summary:

Conservatives

The Conservative manifesto includes Online harms: We will embrace new technologies and crack down on online crimes. We will create a new national cyber crime force and empower the police to safely use new technologies like biometrics and artificial intelligence, along with the use of DNA, within a strict legal framework.

• Trade: We aim to have 80 per cent of UK trade covered by free trade agreements within the next three years, starting with the USA, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. These will be negotiated in parallel with our EU deal.
• The UK is a world leader in many areas such as architecture, engineering, accountancy, information technology, digital services, law and the creative arts. Just as we led the way in opening up trade in manufactured goods in the last two centuries, we should open up trade in services, in which the majority of us work and where most new jobs will be created.
• Tax on music venues: We will cut taxes for small retail businesses and for local music venues, pubs and cinemas.
• Football Review: We will set up a fan-led review of football governance, which will include consideration of the Owners and Directors Test and will work with fans and clubs towards introducing safe standing.
• Creative industries: The UK is at its best when it allies its extraordinary design and artistic abilities with science and technology. The Festival of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in 2022 – a national celebration which coincides with the Birmingham Commonwealth Games – will encourage our leading arts and cultural organisations, universities, research institutes and businesses to come together to inspire the next generation in British innovation and creativity.

Labour

The Labour manifesto includes a number of relevant measures – most notably a commitment around fair remuneration:

• We will review the copyright framework to ensure fair remuneration for artists and content creators.

The manifesto also includes measures around online harms, making an explicit reference to economic crime as well as supporting the creative industries more broadly:

• We will also review the structures and roles of the National Crime Agency, to strengthen the response to all types of economic crime, including cyber crime and fraud, and ensure a modern, technologically advanced police service that has the capacity and skills to combat online crime, supported by a new national strategy on cyber crime and fraud.
• We will work with trade unions and employers to make creative jobs accessible for all, ensuring diversity in these industries so that everyone sees themselves represented on screen and on stage.

As part of its costings document Labour proposes to phase out the Patent Box over the course of the Parliament and ‘gradually move to a system of more direct funding, with investment provided through a National Transformation Fund and an independent National Investment Bank’s innovation arm.’

Liberal Democrats

The Lib Dem manifesto has some key points in the ‘Innovation-led Economy’ section – page 18 – which again recognises the importance of IP rights and anticipates further support:

• Support growth in the creative industries, including video gaming, by continuing to support the Creative Industries Council and tailored industry-specific tax support, promoting creative skills, supporting modern and flexible patent, copyright and licensing rules, and addressing the barriers to finance faced by small creative businesses.

More generally it has supportive measures for the creative industries, protecting live music venues from closure and supporting anti-racism and anti-homophobia campaigns in sport.  It again acknowledges the online harms agenda, promising to create a new Online Crime Agency to tackle illegal content.