Research and analysis

Intellectual Property Office Analysis priorities 2023-24

Published 8 August 2023

Context

The objective of analysis at the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO) is to provide relevant, clear, and trusted analysis to improve Intellectual Property (IP) policy and operations. Analysis can be an incredibly powerful tool, unlocking game-changing insights that lead to better IP policy, better operational delivery, and better outcomes.

The IPO has a rich history of both internally produced and externally commissioned insight and analysis, including a wide range of research and statistical publications. In 2006, following the publication of the Gowers Review, it was agreed that the IPO would invest resources into the development of an independent and externally commissioned research programme to inform IP policy. The objective was and still is to support evidence-based policy making, on what can be highly contentious policy issues, with conflicting opinions from an industrial and societal perspective. The IPO’s research programme and the publication of its outputs has received praise from industry and academia and influences national and international policy agendas.

This document sets out our analysis priorities for 2023-24, the wider context and drivers that have shaped those priorities, and how we work with the wider IP research community.

How we work

The IPO has a wealth of skills and experience. Collectively, our people have patent analytics capabilities, deep knowledge of the IP system, a range of analytical ‘toolkits’ (including economics, social research, and statistics), an ability to wrangle complex data, and strong links with the IP academic community.

The analysis function in the IPO is part of the Government Analysis Function. We assess ourselves against the Government Analysis Functional Standard and identify best practice from others, to make sure we are using the best approaches and assuring our work.

We aim to build and maintain strong relationships with the wider research community exploring IP issues, so we can understand and draw on a much wider range of skills and experience to meet our objectives. We do this in many ways, including through contracting work to external suppliers and through other engagement like research seminars for IPO staff. We welcome proposals, suggestions, or expressions of interest from researchers or potential suppliers via research@ipo.gov.uk. We hope this document helps others in the IP research community to understand the IPO and government analysis priorities and how we work, to build those relationships further.

Much of our academic engagement is through the IPO’s Research Expert Advisory Group (REAG). This group provides a forum for IPO and a broad range of representatives from industry, academia, government and non-governmental organisations to peer review existing IPO analysis and commissioned research; to help in the development of new research specifications; to identify potential new research themes; and to champion the IPO’s research programme. We also work with a range of independent research centres including the Enterprise Research Centre (ERC) hosted by Warwick Business School and the Policy and Evidence Centre (PEC), hosted by the University of Newcastle and the Royal Society of Arts (RSA).

The UK IPO is part of a research network of International IP Offices. We share analysis proposals and findings at regular events and information exchanges, and in some cases undertake joint projects, including support for the World Intellectual Property Organization’s WIPO for Creators, building awareness of the importance of IP amongst global creators.

We work with other government analysts, particularly in the Department for Science, Technology and Innovation, UK Research and Innovation, Government Office for Science, and the Department for Culture, Media, and Sport.

IPO and government IP priorities

Our analysis programme is developed to support UK IPO and wider government priorities, in particular:

• IPO Corporate Priorities for 2023-24 & the IPO strategy to 2026
• The March 2023 Science and Technology Framework sets out the UK government’s approach to making the UK a science and technology superpower by 2030. It includes a range of priorities and actions where IP plays a significant role
• The 2021 Innovation Strategy focuses on how the government supports businesses to innovate by making the most of the UK’s research, development, and innovation system
• The ‘One IPO’ Transformation Programme will create a single, integrated system for all registered IP rights. Our analysis programme aims to ensure that the new system delivers data and tools to unlock new, more powerful insights
• Cross-government futures, foresight, and emerging technologies activity
• Areas of research interest for the Department of Culture, Media, and Sport, particularly relating to the creative industries, where IP is often a critical issue

IPO analysis priorities for 2023-24

The IPO analysis programme comprises themed research programmes, one-off projects, reactive analysis, and ongoing knowledge sharing and engagement. The programme is broadly split into strategic analysis, policy analysis, and services analysis:

Strategic analysis

1. Continuing to build the evidence base on the drivers of IP demand to build a more comprehensive picture of why applicants use IP.
2. Understanding the wider role that IP plays in the economy and society, particularly in innovation, commercialisation, growth, and creativity.
3. Analysis of how businesses use IP, including as an intangible asset
4. Analysis of the diversity of our people, processes, and customers.
5. Identifying evidence gaps relating to IP and the metaverse following a successful IPO-sponsored Metaverse and IP Conference with Queen Mary University London (QMUL).

Policy analysis

1. Analysis to support trade policy, including to support the negotiation of IP chapters in UK trade deals with partners. The UK’s trade policy priorities in 2023 include progressing negotiations with India, Canada, Mexico, Israel, and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
2. Analysis to support policy development and/or producing Impact Assessments on a range of policy areas, in line with the government’s better regulation framework, including:
   - Support for businesses to identify, manage and use IP
   - Standard-essential patents
   - Retained European Union law
   - IPO Transformation programme
   - Copyright policy and music streaming
   - Trade mark policy
   - Designs policy
   - IP Enforcement policy
   - Artificial Intelligence
3. Evaluation of the impact of key policy activities including support to evaluate the IPO Counter-Infringement Strategy, and the IP Audit and IP Access programmes.

Services analysis

1. As part of the One IPO Transformation Programme, delivering a new analytical platform, including tooling and access to required data in a suitable format, and a set of priority reports and datasets to enable the IPO to continue to understand its demand, performance, and forecasts
2. Improving our forecasting of future demand for IPO services, including through analysis of external factors, exploring historic volatility of demand in different areas, and learning from best practice elsewhere
3. Delivering management information to the IPO Board and other governance bodies to support effective and efficient IPO operations

Potential external research commissions

Some IPO analysis priorities are best delivered in-house. Others are best delivered by commissioning external parties. There are several reasons for this:

a). Drawing on the skills and flexibility of external organisations in conducting surveys
b). Bringing in relevant expertise or data
c). Providing research that is seen to be independent from government or the IPO
d). Helping to build the academic community working on relevant IP issues

Potential areas where IPO might commission further work from external providers in 2023-24 include:

• enforcement research including understanding the costs of IP crime and consumer behaviours around physical counterfeit goods and online copyright infringement
• understanding small and medium sized businesses and how they use IP or trade secrets
• evaluation activity – growing our evaluation expertise and evaluating IP programmes
• research on policy issues in relation to the impact of futures thinking on the IP Framework

The IPO is committed to publishing commissioned work so it can reach all interested parties. The IPO’s guide to evidence for policy sets out some principles for how evidence should be gathered, used, and presented.

The team would like to thank all those that contribute their time, knowledge, and experience to support the IPO’s objective of relevant, clear, and trusted analysis. Special thanks go to the IPO’s Research Expert Advisory Group (REAG), chaired by Catriona Hammer.