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Intellectual Property is Increasingly Important to Businesses

Businesses across the UK are making increasingly larger investments in their intangible assets, such as R&D, software and design, according to new research by the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO).

Greater Investment in Intangible Assets

The research found that companies are investing more in these intangible assets than they are in traditional ‘tangible’ areas of investment like property, machinery and IT. In 2014, intangible investment reached £133 billion, which is apparently 9% more than the total spent on traditional ‘bricks and mortar’ items of investment.

Since the turn of the century intangible investment by organisations has increased by £45 billion, which the IPO says highlights the UK’s important role in the global “knowledge economy”. Investment in tangible assets also rose by nearly 38% between 2011 and 2014 - from £87.9 billion to £121 billion.

In addition, the IPO’s report revealed how important manufacturing and financial services are to the UK’s innovation economy. These two industries alone account for just 20% of total hours worked but are responsible for 58% of intangible investment.

Intellectual Property Rights

In 2014 more than half of intangible investments (53%) were protected by Intellectual Property Rights - a 3% increase from 2011. Of these assets:

  • 25% were protected by copyright
  • 11% were protected by trade marks
  • 11% were protected by design rights
  • 6% were protected by patents

Innovation is reportedly a major element of the Government’s plan to help UK companies drive future economic growth up and down the country, and IP rights play an increasingly important role in delivering this.

“The UK has an impressive track record when it comes to innovation and creativity,” explained Baroness Neville-Rolfe, Minister of State for Energy and Intellectual Property. “Investment in intangible assets like research and patents helps businesses grow - which is why the UK has a strong system in place to protect their IP rights, and encourage further investment.”

“Our intellectual property regime has helped create an environment in which innovators and creators can prosper knowing full well that their hard work will be rewarded and rigorously protected,” she added.

European Developments

The European Commission also recognises the importance of intellectual property to businesses. It has recently published details of proposed reforms to European copyright rules, which it says will modernise copyright to increase cultural diversity in Europe and content available online, while bringing clearer rules for all online players.

As a key part of its Digital Single Market strategy, the Commission has adopted proposals to allow:

  • Better choice and access to content online and across borders.
  • Improved copyright rules on education, research, cultural heritage and inclusion of disabled people.
  • A fairer and sustainable marketplace for creators, the creative industries and the press.

"Our creative industries will benefit from these reforms which tackle the challenges of the digital age successfully while offering European consumers a wider choice of content to enjoy,” commented Günther H. Oettinger, Commissioner for the Digital Economy and Society. “We are proposing a copyright environment that is stimulating, fair and rewards investment."

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We were approached by an operator who had received public inquiry paper several weeks earlier. The Operator instructed us to represent him at his inquiry listed for a hearing before the Traffic Commissioner’s (TC) only two weeks in advance.

There were several serious issues that the TC indicated he wanted to examine at the hearing and was threatening regulatory action against the Operator Company. The Operator had approached another firm of solicitors, who informed him that the likely outcome of the hearing would be loss of repute and licence revocation.

We provided the Operator with advice about immediate steps to be taken in preparation for the hearing. We requested the operator send us a number of documents critical to the success of his inquiry. A consideration of those document showed significant—but not insurmountable—shortfalls in maintenance standards and legal requirements.

The operator had recently appointed a new Transport Manager (TM) with an excellent reputation in his field. The TM worked along with us in analysing the Company’s compliance systems to create better compliance systems and improve the of the Company’s mindset about such.

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Transport Law
We recently represented two companies who were both called to the same public inquiry. Although separate entities, the companies were closely connected because of having the same set of directors. One of the companies (the Operator) had years previously been issued with a restricted goods vehicle operator’s licence. The other company had recently applied for the same kind of licence (the Applicant).

Over the previous year, the directors had decided to progressively move most of the Operator’s business interests to its sister company the Applicant. Without understanding the potential consequences, and before being granted its operator’s licence, the Applicant began using the Operator’s heavy goods vehicle. The Operator company had not informed the Traffic Commissioner (TC) of its change in business arrangements and of the apparent change of entity (though the companies were actually wholly owned subsidiaries of another company – see below).

The Public Inquiry was convened because of changes at this business group and a fundamental misunderstanding of the operator’s licence regime, and that there had been what appeared to be a change of entity involving the companies.

The TC needed to be satisfied as to whether the companies were not unfit to hold an operator’s licence due to relevant activities and convictions, and about the events relating to a change in the circumstances of the licence holder. The Operator risked revocation of its licence. The Applicant was at risk of not having its licence granted.

In advance of the inquiry, and to start building their case, we obtained as much information as we could about the businesses and provided each company comprehensive legal advice. We examined the companies’ compliance systems and made recommendations about immediate and longer-term changes that needed to be implemented. On our recommendations, the companies invested time and resources into their maintenance and other systems

As a result of our preliminary work and advice, the companies were fully prepared for the public inquiry hearing. In particular, to answer questions and provide evidence about the apparent change of entity.

At the hearing we demonstrated that the companies were running professional and competent businesses. With specific reference to the issue of the apparent change of entity, the TC accepted that Section 3(4) of the Goods vehicle (licencing of operators) Act 1995 was relevant and that this was not a typical “change of entity” case – because of the companies being subsidiaries. We were able to persuade the TC that the issues that lead to the inquiry arose out of ignorance rather than an attempt to mislead or gain financial advantage

The TC granted the new licence to the Applicant with the Operator company voluntarily surrendering its licence. The directors were delighted with the outcome of the public inquiry hearing and that they managed to avoid the damaging consequences they feared.
Transport Law

We were approached by a small business owner to represent them at the a public inquiry which had been called to consider their application for a new passenger vehicle operator’s licence.

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