Press release

Intellectual Property Office publishes Corporate Priorities for the next year

The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has today published its corporate priorities for 2023-24.

The Corporate Priorities 2023 to 2024 sets out the IPO’s priorities for the next financial year, the activities it will undertake to deliver these, and the outcomes it expects to achieve.
It sets out the next steps for serving the three pillars of the IPO’s strategy to 2026:

  • delivering excellent IP services

  • creating a world leading IP environment and

  • making the IPO a brilliant place to work.

The seven priorities for 2023-24 that will be delivered under this three pillar framework are:

  1. Delivering core IP rights granting services

  2. Continuing to transform the way we deliver our services through our One IPO Transformation Programme

  3. In Retained EU Law (REUL) and trade negotiations, seeking outcomes for the IP framework which benefit the UK economy

  4. Evaluating our office-wide approach to supporting innovative SMEs in making the most of their IP assets

  5. Developing our strategic workforce planning capability to enable us to build an organisation that is the right size and shape and has the skills and places it needs to deliver our priorities over the longer term

  6. Undertaking a culture audit to better understand the current IPO culture and design our future culture needs

  7. Confirming the vision for the IPO and developing the IPO strategy

The corporate priorities document also sets out the IPO’s Ministerial Targets for 23/24, and outlines how the IPO will measure its progress and resources.

It is vital that the office, its rights-granting services and the IP policy framework keep pace with changes in technology, the environment, culture and the economy and remain fit for the future.

Collaboration is essential for this to happen. The IPO will continue to work closely with partners to deliver its strategy, creating a world-leading IP environment that helps unleash the power of creativity and innovation.

Minister for AI and Intellectual Property Viscount Camrose said:

Innovation and creativity are the catalysts for a growing, sustainable economy. Now more than ever, a strong intellectual property (IP) framework is crucial to delivering the government’s ambitions for growth, cementing the UK’s role as a science and technology superpower, and a global leader in creativity and innovation. IP rights underpin all of the major technologies that are the driving force behind this ambition and provide the security that is essential for businesses, creators and innovators to invest, grow and flourish.

The Intellectual Property Office’s corporate priorities set out how they will help to unlock the UK’s innovative potential as we embrace the exciting new opportunities of the future.

This year, the IPO has identified a number of priorities including continue to transform the way it delivers its services through its One IPO Transformation Programme, seeking outcomes in Retained EU Law and trade negotiations which will benefit the UK economy, evaluating its approach to supporting innovative SMEs and continuing to support its people.

I look forward to working with the Office in delivering these aims.

The Intellectual Property Office’s Chief Executive and Comptroller-General Adam Williams said:

The UK has one of the best regarded IP systems in the world.  Effective relationships with our partners are central to achieving the ambitions that will help us keep it that way, as we deliver the next steps through our corporate plan for the next year.

The IP environment should help businesses, creators and innovators thrive by giving them a way to protect and monetise their assets, and protect consumers that use goods and services that rely on IP rights. To achieve this, it’s important that our rights-granting services remain world-class and flexible for future needs. Our One IPO Transformation Programme will begin to deliver that for our customers this year.

We want IP rights holders and the public to feel confident, certain and satisfied when they engage with us. Our plan sets out how we will focus on our customers and strive for ongoing efficiency, ensuring the UK’s IP environment remains fit for the future. It also sets out how we will support our people to enable us to achieve our ambitious aims.

Our IP framework must remain strong, balanced and adaptable. Working with our colleagues across government, academia, industry and the global IP community, we will ensure it keeps pace with rapid technological change, and acts as an effective enabler for the Government’s science and technology ambitions.

Published 25 April 2023