Current IPO activities

Research

It was recognised at the 'Branding in a modern economy' conference, which took place in November 2009, that the contribution that branding makes to the UK economy requires both quantification and clarification. This echoes the IPO's own view that policy development should be based on evidence. With that in mind, and as part of our comprehensive research programme, the IPO has commissioned a number of research projects to help fulfil some of the outcomes from the conference:

  • Trade mark incentives
  • Design Economics
  • Changing Business Models in the Creative Industries
  • Trade marks and the cost of look-alikes

Details of all research published by the IPO may be accessed via the IP Research section of our website.

Education, Awareness and Support for Business

The IPO already has a sophisticated education and outreach programme

However, we recognise the need to explain the value of IP as a business grows; in-tangible assets, such as a brand, can represent well over half the corporate value. Yet according to IPO research, over 96% of SMEs have never tried to assess what their IP is worth. We are currently in the process of delivering a rolling program of regional branding events and our outreach activity will continue to concentrate on the value of brands as assets both to increase profitability and leverage.

Business Link is the main focus of Government advice to business; we have collaborated with Business Link on their new 'Create, innovate and protect External Link' section that provides advice on IP including 'What branding is, how to create and manage a brand and how it can help improve your business'. Working with Companies House we also developed a search facility for the Business Link website to allow users to check whether the name they want to use for their business is already registered as a company name or trade mark.

Government 'Champion for Brands'

The IPO, with its responsibility for IP policy, recognises that we have a natural role as the champion for brands and other forms of IP within Government. We will continue to work with other government departments to ensure that IP issues are taken into account on a wide variety of issues, including IP enforcement , plain packaging of tobacco External Link, expansion of the internet, trade External Link and growth External Link issues, and how the design system operates – some of which has been published in the Hargreaves Review: Digital Opportunity A Review of Intellectual Property and Growth.