The Gowers review to streamline intellectual property (IP) law for the digital age is just 'tinkering at the margins', practitioners have claimed.


Andrew Gowers, the former Financial Times editor who undertook the Treasury-commissioned review, said the current system was broadly functioning satisfactorily.



Among the 54 recommendations proposed are tougher penalties for online copyright infringement, taking the maximum to ten years' imprisonment, in line with physical piracy.

Mediation and a consultation on the use of fast-track litigation were suggested to lower the prohibitive legal costs of defending or challenging an IP matter. Mr Gowers also proposed that the UK Patent Office be restructured as the UK Intellectual Property Office, and the creation of an independent board to advise government on IP policy.





Jonathan Riley, a partner at Lawrence Graham, said the review made the system more visible, user friendly, and gave more protection against counterfeiters and piracy. But he said it amounts more to a change of style than substance, as so much of the legal framework is laid down in international conventions.



Andrew Hobson, head of IP at Reynolds Porter Chamberlain, added: 'Much of it is tinkering at the margins, or more politely, fine tuning.'



Catherine Baksi