Creating a 21st Century IP Office
Intellectual property (IP) offices are shifting from registries to innovation hubs, government councils, and data providers, as Muireann Bolger discovers.
“We are no longer simply registration offices; now IP offices are playing a more intensive and proactive role throughout our societies.”
This statement by Spanish Patents and Trademark Office Director General Jose Antonio il Celedonio resonated with his fellow IP office heads at a packed session exploring this evolution.
The panel event, IP Office of the Future: How to Build an Action Plan for a 21st Century IP Office, held on Monday, May 2, delved into the challenges and opportunities these changes presented.
Kickstarting the session, moderator Jose Luis Londono, INTA’s director, Global Policy, pointed to INTA’s 2020 IPO of the Future—Think Tank Report, which explains how IP offices are increasingly aligning their functions with national economic policies.
Aligning Functions
On this basis, he queried whether IP offices should align plans with government priorities.
In response, Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) Chief Executive Rena Lee stressed that such action is an absolute must.
“IP is not an arcane, esoteric subject that’s confined to a group of lawyers, but instead has a role to play in supporting innovation, creativity, and economic development. Aligning the IPO’s policies with broader government priorities helps individuals and enterprises,” she enthused.
“Consumers need common support, they need common advice and education. And that should cover all rights, not just individual ones.”
Tim Moss, UK Intellectual Property Office (UK)
Providing an example, she explained that IPOS had started work with a number of government agencies in Singapore under its Singapore IP Strategy 2030.
“We have our government approach, a plan for intellectual property that covers a hub for IP transactions, businesses, and skills. We are devising a package of initiatives in tandem with these agencies that ultimately will help individuals and enterprises to not just to protect their IP, but actually manage their IP and use it.”
United States Patent and Trademark Office Commissioner for Trademarks David Gooder had a different take.
“The first step is to develop an understanding of where the policy is coming from, what it addresses, and whether it has a deadline,” he cautioned.
“Depending on whether it is coming from parent agencies or a higher executive, that will influence our approach. We then have to look at whether we can realistically do this and if we have enough resources.”
According to CEO and Comptroller General Tim Moss of the UK Intellectual Property Office, a lack of understanding stemming from other government entities could prove to be an obstacle to greater collaboration.
“IP is not an arcane, esoteric subject that’s confined to a group of lawyers, but instead has a role to play in supporting innovation, creativity, and economic development.”
Rena Lee, IPOS (Singapore)
“They don’t often understand intellectual property. And if they perceive anything as too technical or complex, they will say ‘just leave it to the IP office.’ And they miss the point that IP is focused on innovation and creativity, and all government agencies should be linked into the IP function.”
Critical Challenges
In the view of Canadian Intellectual Property Office CEO Konstantinos Georgaras, a certain amount of autonomy remains crucial for IP offices.
“It allows us to be responsive to the market to grow or shrink according to market demand. And that’s absolutely critical. Because we are operating close to the private sector, we do need to be responsive to client needs,” he said.
Financial sustainability was another key challenge, agreed the panel.
Mr. Georgaras added that such considerations were especially difficult when striving to meet users’ demands for more advanced systems.
“We’re all trying to update our IT systems by using an agile approach, which adds certain challenges from a financial perspective in terms of predicting future costs, timings, and scope. It is difficult to account for the future benefits coming from this modernization,” he said.
“We need to take a holistic approach to IP rights, because they are so interlinked.”
Catherine Chammartin, Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property
A One-Stop Shop
The panel agreed that a centralized IP office offered some key benefits. Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines Director General Rowel Barba said: “It’s easier to develop and implement consistent policies and programs that can not only further enhance our business individually in our offices alone, but also ensures that this can be done efficiently.”
This view was endorsed by Director General Catherine Chammartin of the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property, who said: “I wouldn’t have it any other way because you have to look at the users’ perspective. We need to take a holistic approach to IP rights, because they are so interlinked. A benefit of this one-stop shop is that a user doesn’t need to go to different government entities to discuss these issues.”
Financing did present one hurdle in this context, she noted.
“Patents, trademarks, and designs are largely self-financing but copyright is definitely an area where we have a deficit. But I still think it’s important to bring the IP functions together as we carry out operational activities and policy work,” she said.
Mr. Moss agreed that this centralized approach adhered to consumers’ needs, noting: “We need to think about things from a business organization perspective. I’m a great believer that these functions should be brought together. Consumers need common support, they need common advice and education. And that should cover all rights, not just individual ones.”
Video courtesy of Envato Elements / antonpetrus
New INTA Report
On Tuesday, May 2, INTA will be releasing a report on IP-related taxation issues in the EU, Switzerland, and UK that will provide valuable information for IP professionals. Entitled Report on the Taxation of Trademarks and Complementary Rights in Europe, it focuses on the importance of tax issues to the trademark practitioner and the impact of tax issues on the trademark lifecycle. It will be available online to members as an exclusive members-only benefit.
Wednesday, May 4, 2022
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