What can an IP attaché do for me?
26 September 2012
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Simon Crompton, London
The UK has appointed three IP attachés in the past year, but the EPO has opted not to replace its man in China. So what is the point of attachés and how are companies using them?
The UK appointed Tom Duke as its IP attaché to China in December last year. In May it added Anshika Jha in India and last month Sheila Alves became the attaché in Brazil. The UK IPO hopes to add one more, looking after south-east Asia and based in Singapore, later in the year.
Managing IP caught up with all three while they were in London together this week.
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| Tom Duke |
Their role has two parts: helping British companies deal with the local IP system and helping the host country ‘improve’ that system.
But the ability to deliver on both varies widely between countries. Duke says, for example, that the Chinese governmental agencies are always keen to learn about aspects of international best practice: they see their system as developing and want to know how it has developed elsewhere.
In India the flow of information is in the other direction....
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