COORDINATION

The IP crime Group (UK)
Easy IPR Access (FI)

The IP crime Group (UK)

Title of case

Co-ordination of IPR Enforcement through the UK

IP Crime Group

Organisation

The IP Crime Group: a multi agency coalition of government policy makers, public enforcement bodies and private industry experts. The Group was conceived and is facilitated by the UK Intellectual Property Office (UK IPO)

IPR Expert Group Recommendations

It is necessary to establish Co-ordination Offices for IPR issues and enforcement, both at a European and at national levels;

Where not currently in place, a common Intellectual Property service has to be developed

Areas that the case illustrates

Strategic co-ordination
Comprehensive approach to all forms of IPR
Enforcement strategy
Intelligence gathering
Effective liaison with police, customs and industry investigative bodies

The UK IPO’s services relate to:

Patents
Trademarks
Designs
Copyright

Brief description:

The UK Government has promoted co-ordinated enforcement support for all forms of IPR (except patents) and has developed an enforcement strategy that brings together all the relevant agencies through the IP Crime Group. The IPCG is structured around specific Expert Groups who carry out agreed work and implement the strategy. Above these a Tasking and Coordinating Group is the key decision making assembly.

Full description

In 2004, the UK Government decided on a major reform of its provision for intellectual property as part of a reappraisal of the significance of IPR within economic policy and especially for the promotion of innovation and growth in a modern economy.

As a result, there were a number of structural changes – new organisations were created and the former Patent Office (now UKIPO) was given a wider remit and orientation aimed at improving the protection of intellectual property.

Central to the new approach, as far as enforcement of IPRs are concerned, was the establishment of the National IP Crime Group, which brings together in regular meetings the full range of policy-makers, industry stakeholders, and enforcers, including:

the Serious Organised Crime Agency
the Assets Recovery Agency
Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs
the Crown Prosecution Service
the Association of Chief Police Officers
local enforcement agencies such as trading standards organisations, and
commercial interests from brand owners to the creative industries

The aim has been to create a co-ordinated approach to IP enforcement and oversee the implementation of the National IP Crime Strategy. Important elements in this Strategy are:

establishing an accurate measurement of the level of IP crime within the United Kingdom
identifying areas of threat and specific harm to the public
building a more consistent approach to the enforcement of IP Crime
identifying sources of key knowledge and expertise
bringing together and building local, national and international partnerships and co-ordinating UK and international intelligence and action
setting priorities and focusing the allocation of resources
supporting training for enforcement officers
spreading best practice
continuing to raise consumer awareness
measuring performance and evaluating the impact

The IP Crime Team in the UKIPO provides operational support for this Strategy, developing intelligence and supporting enforcement action. The Team has developed a dedicated IT-based knowledge system, and is promoting co-ordination of the various agencies at the local, regional and national levels. Information is also passed to Interpol to support enforcers tackling serious and organised crime operating on an international scale.

This enforcement 'hub' has staff with specialised knowledge and experience, for instance in intelligence gathering, development, and financial investigations. As result, the Team's resources are in a position to help enforcement all the way through the process from the initial identification of the problem to arrest and assets recovery action.

An Annual National Enforcement Report provides a public account of progress.

The IPO also provides training for a range of officials in IPR enforcement matters and is developing a useful intermediation service between SMEs and the enforcement authorities in the police and customs services. In this sense, the IPO acts as a bridge between SMEs and the authorities, providing templates, for instance, to help SMEs present their case and, in this and other ways, helping the authorities to act upon the information provided.

A public reporting system allows enterprises and citizens to report incidents of counterfeiting and piracy by phone, e-mail, letter, or fax.

Transferability & Performance:

Evaluation and measurement of performance is built into the National IP Crime Strategy and the results presented in the Annual National Enforcement Report.

Further information:

Web site:

Contact details:

Concept House Tel: +44 1633 813930
Cardiff Road E-mail: enquiries@ipo.gov.uk
Newport
South Wales
NP10 8QQ
United Kingdom

Easy IPR Access (FI)

Title of case

Providing Easy Access: the integration of assistance for IP management and enforcement with general business support

Organisations

The Finnish National Board of Patents and Registration

The Foundation for Finnish Inventions

TEKES, the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation

The T&E Centres (Employment & Economic Development Centres)

IPR Expert Group Recommendation

Support service provision should be co-ordinated nationally, with local access to IPR information, advice and IP management training being provided by the established business support organisations, in close co-operation with specialist IP agencies.

Areas that the case illustrates

Broadly-based access to IPR support for SMEs
Integration with specialist IP information and advice
Integration with innovation support

The Finnish services relate to:

Patents
Utility models
Trademarks
Designs
Copyright

Brief description

Like most other countries, Finland has a range of business support agencies, each with differing functions but all of them aiming to support SMEs in their business development. The IPR Expert Group has emphasised the need to provide access to specialist IPR services through locally available support organisations.

Finlandhas taken steps to ensure the effective integration of all forms of business support and this approach has been applied to the provision of support for Intellectual Property management and enforcement. Key to this has been the co-ordination of the services of specialised IP agencies with those of the T&E Centres (Employment & Economic Development Centres), which are the first-line support agencies for enterprises located across the country.

Full description

Finland'sT&E Centres provide a regional framework for business support. They were created by bringing together in 15 regional centres the previously separate services of a number of ministries (Trade and Industry, Labour, Agriculture and Forestry) with the explicit intention of providing a regional One-stop-shop.

T&E Centres are tasked with the promotion of business, employment and rural vitality within their region, through the provision of advisory, training, development and financing services. Their Business and Entrepreneurship sections provide local access to a wide range of services for enterprises at various stages of their development, with low-cost and practical tools and various company-specific development programmes enabling companies to enhance their competitiveness. T&E Centres also provide training programmes covering a variety of subjects.

An example of type of service package provided is TuoteStart: a Programme for the development of product and service ideas. This service helps entrepreneurs to refine new and early-stage product and service ideas, launch product development projects and carry through ideas and innovations into commercial products and a profitable business. TuoteStart is available for SMEs in a range of industries and at various stages of their development and consists of a consultancy programme tailored to the customer’s needs of 1–4 days duration - depending on the project's nature and requirements.

Through the T&E Centres, enterprises and potential entrepreneurs are then able to access more specialised services in ways that are described in the following sections.

Integration with Innovation Programmes

Tekes, the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation, is the main government organisation for research and technological development in Finland. It especially promotes innovative, risk-intensive projects and channels funding and expert services to research, development and innovation projects run by companies, research institutes, and universities.

Tekes employs 290 people centrally and a further 80 technology development experts in the regional T&E Centres. Each year, Tekes has some 3000 company clients and 50 universities, higher education institutions and research centres.

Strategic priorities are established in key centres for science, technology and innovation and through Tekes National Programmes, which provide a process for creating nationally significant innovation action lines and co-ordinating the large group of actors that are involved in delivering them.

National Programmes consist of research and development projects and other activities in enterprises and research organisations that promote the development of business competence, networking, regional impact, internationalisation and the dissemination of results especially to SMEs. The development and management of intellectual property, together with the enforcement of IPRs represent significant elements within the overall innovation strategy.

Integration of IP Support

As well as providing the traditional registration services for patents, utility models, trademarks and registered designs and the related information and advice services, the National Board of Patents and Registration in Finland (NBPRF), also provides various support services to innovators, especially (although not exclusively at a regional level) through the T&E Centres. These, in turn offer local access to patent-related information material and initial advice and the forms, price lists and brochures of the NBPRF.

The Foundation for Finnish Inventions acts as a particular focus for the development of IPR. It is a private foundation - with funding from the Ministry of Employment and Economy - that gives support and advice to inventors: private individuals, university researchers and micro companies. The evaluation of inventions and advice on their protection are a core part of the support provided, along with guidance on product development and marketing, including the building and testing of prototypes, and access to funds, both directly from the Foundation and from third parties. Services cover a wide range of registrable IPR (patents, trademarks, designs), non-registrable IPR (e.g., copyright) and the appropriate strategies for protecting intellectual assets. Where appropriate, legal assistance is provided with licensing arrangements and there is access to the services of patent attorneys.

The activities of the Foundation are confidential, and the services are free of charge.

The NBPRF, the Foundation and the T&E Centres co-operate to employ ‘innovation agents’ who work in each of the regional T&E Centres to promote innovation and the technical and commercial exploitation of inventions. They provide advice to inventors on patenting and industrial property management, applying for funding and the marketing of products. These agencies also work with universities and with higher education, again with innovation agents placed in these institutions, promoting innovation and the technical and commercial exploitation of inventions - in this case, arising from academic research. Again advice on patenting and industrial property management form part of the support provided and this increasingly includes legal advice on contractual matters and enforcement.

Overall then, it can be seen that the Finnish support agencies achieve an exemplary balance in the provision of specialised advice and support that is at the same time accessible on a broad basis across the country through general business support agencies. Furthermore support on IPR matters is well integrated into the support of innovation, presenting a coherent and co-ordinated service for existing and potential enterprises.

Transferability & Performance

The principles illustrated by this case study concerning the effective integration of all forms of business support are clear and straightforward; the actual application, however, very much depends on the institutional circumstances of each country. It is particularly important, then, that there is effective monitoring of progress with integration plans and rigorous evaluation. An evaluation culture is evident in all of the organisations referred to in this case study and a formal evaluation of the performance and effectiveness of the Foundation for Finnish Inventions’ Network of Invention was conducted by consultants for the Ministry of Trade and Industry in 2006. This commended the Foundation's advice and evaluation services, but recommended further integration with other service providers in order to cover the range of innovation support needed by enterprises.

Further information

Web site:

http://www.keksintosaatio.fi/(Foundation for Finnish Innovation – in Finnish)
http://www.innofin.com/ (Foundation for Finnish Innovation)
http://www.prh.fi/en.html (National Board of Patents and Registration)
http://www.prh.fi/en/tietoaprhsta/alueellisetpalvelut.html NBPR’s local offices)
http://www.tekes.fi/eng/
http://www.te-keskus.fi/ (T&E Centres)