Managing IP is part of the Delinian Group, Delinian Limited, 4 Bouverie Street, London, EC4Y 8AX, Registered in England & Wales, Company number 00954730
Copyright © Delinian Limited and its affiliated companies 2023

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

Not so influential now - UK replaces IP minister

Well, this is embarrassing. Just a week after we revealed this year’s list of the 50 most influential people in IP, and before many subscribers have even received their hard copies of the July/August issue, one of our selections has been sacked

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

Lord Younger, until last week the UK’s IP minister, was included in the top 50 list to reflect his work on the passage of the UK IP Act, including skilfully dealing with concerns over the provisions criminalising design infringement; his engagement with the IP community; and his efforts to improve enforcement. I understand he had been involved in preparing for a UK-China IP Symposium to be held in Beijing in September. He was also hoping to speak at our Global IP & Innovation Summit in Shanghai.

However, none of this was enough to save him in Prime Minister David Cameron’s ministerial reshuffle last week. He has been replaced by Baroness Neville-Rolfe (right), who becomes the seventh IP minister since the post was created by Gordon Brown in 2007, and the fourth since 2010 (can any readers name all of them?).

Politics is notoriously a rough business, so perhaps we should not feel any sympathy for Younger, who was in office for about 18 months, and there’s no reason why IP should be treated differently from other areas of government. Neville-Rolfe, once a senior civil servant and also a former director of Tesco, may prove to be an inspired appointment, though with an election due in May next year her term could be short. And there may well be political or electoral reasons behind the move (though Younger and Neville-Rolfe, like all bar one of the previous IP ministers, are members of the unelected House of Lords).

younger-summit-200.jpg

But it still seems regrettable that Younger should be replaced now, when the IP Act is being implemented and with it the crucial discussions about the UK joining the Unitary Patent and UPC, not to mention that controversial changes to copyright exceptions are coming into effect. I know many IP practitioners had the opportunity to meet Younger, and he had also built relationships abroad. He was open and straight-talking when we interviewed him last month. And, at the recent IP Enforcement Summit (left), it was notable that (unlike many politicians at similar events) he had cleared his diary, stayed throughout and paid careful attention to all the speakers.

Now the various groups representing IP issues will have to spend time getting to know Neville-Rolfe, and work out whether her appointment represents any fundamental change in policy or is just a fresh face.

The high turnover in IP ministers, and the fact that IP only makes up 50% of their brief, does make you question how seriously the government takes IP. When Brown created the post, most practitioners were pleased to see a dedicated person devoted to the topic. But, seven years on, you have to wonder if the UK would be better off without an IP minister.

more from across site and ros bottom lb

More from across our site

Ronelle Geldenhuys of Australia’s Foundry IP considers the implications complex computer technologies such as AI have on decision-making
Bertha Ho, who helped the Hush Puppies owner with the sale of its IP rights in China and Hong Kong SAR, explains how to navigate complex transactions in the region
Online storytelling platform Humans of Bombay isn’t wrong for trying to protect its copyright, but it could have handled its dispute better
We have started accepting submissions from in-house counsel and teams for the 19th annual Managing IP Awards programme
Patient groups and generics makers may have to bear the brunt of India’s latest attempt at patent reform
Each week Managing IP speaks to a different IP lawyer about their life and career
Paolo Tavolato, who will share the role, said private equity support would help the IP consultancy achieve its ambitious M&A plans
Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas has hired former Anand & Anand partner Swati Sharma and hopes to compete with specialist IP firms
Rapporteur-Judge András Kupecz ruled that education and training weren’t legitimate reasons for a member of the public to access documents
Searches for comparison prior art will be a little easier, but practitioners will have to put more thought into claim construction and design patent titles