UK IP minister moves on but questions remain over AI comments

Managing IP is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 1-2 Paris Gardens, London, SE1 8ND

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2025

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

UK IP minister moves on but questions remain over AI comments

GeorgeFreeman.jpg

George Freeman claimed he had left office when now-binned AI proposals were first made, despite his resignation actually coming more than a week later

UK intellectual property minister George Freeman has been moved to a newly created Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, it was confirmed today, February 7, amid confusion over comments he made in Parliament last week.

The new department is expected to cover IP, though the exact nature of the brief had not been confirmed at the time of publication. Michelle Donelan will head the department as secretary of state while Freeman will continue in a junior ministerial position.

Meanwhile, Freeman has failed to clarify remarks he made in parliament on Wednesday, February 1, when the government announced it would not be pursuing part of the UKIPO’s artificial intelligence proposals.

Freeman claimed he was not in office when the now-dropped policy for a copyright exemption for text and data mining (TDM) purposes was published.

The Mid Norfolk member of Parliament was minister for IP until his resignation from Boris Johnson’s government on July 7 2022. But the UKIPO actually first published its TDM proposals more than a week earlier on June 28.

Freeman, who was subsequently reinstated as IP minister in October, told the House of Commons last Wednesday that the policy would not go ahead due to strong opposition from the creative industries.

He also appeared to criticise the process that led to the proposal being put forward.

“I hasten to say that they were published after I left government, and it was a period of some turmoil. One of the lessons from this is to try not to legislate in periods of political turmoil,” he added.

Managing IP contacted both Freeman’s parliamentary office and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) for clarification on the remarks but has yet to receive a response.

Freeman was a minister at BEIS until the cabinet reshuffle this morning.

more from across site and SHARED ros bottom lb

More from across our site

To mark the EUIPO having processed five million EUTM and REUD applications, Managing IP speaks to the most prolific representatives to uncover how they stay at the top of their game
The merger marks Rouse’s second M&A deal within a month, and will provide access to Arnold & Siedsma’s UPC offering
Simon Tønners explains why IP provides the chance to work with some of the most passionate, risk-taking, and emotionally invested clients
The co-leaders of the firm’s new SEP practice group say the team will combine litigation and prosecution expertise to guide clients through cross-border challenges
Boasting four former Spruson & Ferguson leaders and with offices in Hong Kong and Singapore, the IP firm aims to provide fast, practical advice to clients
Partners at three law firms explain why trade secrets cases are rising, and how litigation is giving clients a market advantage
Delegates at a conference unpicking the UK’s relationship with the UPC are hopeful of strengthened UK involvement – so should we all be
News of a litigation funder suing its co-founder and a law firm over trade secrets infringement, and a strategic hire by Womble Bond Dickinson were also among the top talking points
Managing IP’s parent company, LBG, will acquire The Lawyer, a leading news, intelligence, and data-driven insight provider for the legal industry, from Centaur Media
In major recent developments, a team of partners broke away from Taylor Wessing to form their own firm, while Kilburn & Strode made a strategic UPC hire
Gift this article