Intellectual Property Bill [Lords]

James Gray Excerpts

Monday 20th January 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr James Gray (North Wiltshire) (Con)]

My constituents at Dyson, which is one of the few very large companies that employ, I think, several thousand designers and engineers in Malmesbury in my constituency, of course welcome the broad thrust of the Bill. None the less, they are concerned about the fact that clause 13, to which my right hon. Friend refers, would criminalise people who might inadvertently copy someone else’s design. Will he not clarify that by inserting the word “intentionally” into clause 13, to deal with the concern of people such as those who work at Dyson?

[Mr Willetts]

My hon. Friend speaks very well on behalf of Dyson in his constituency. I recently met representatives of Dyson. They have a very important concern, which I hope we will be able to address in Committee.

I was paying tribute to ACID’s efforts. Following consideration and consultation, one of the central proposals in the Bill is to introduce a criminal sanction for those who set out intentionally to copy a design in the course of business. That will give design the same protection, in broad terms, as trade marks and copyright. One partner of a leading intellectual property law firm recently described the sanction as “evolution not revolution”, and the proposed changes as “sensible and pragmatic”.

I recently met one SME from Sheffield—I think it is located in the constituency of the right hon. Member for Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough (Mr Blunkett), whom I do not see in his place—and the representative of Burgon and Ball told me that it had to cope with 20 civil disputes over alleged design infringements in a period of two years. This problem will have been raised with Members on both sides of the House by SMEs active in the design sector. The problems caused by such design infringements impose an unmanageable financial burden on some of our most innovative small companies. We believe that other means of redress should be available, and the introduction of criminal sanctions will, for the first time, enable small design companies to bring the issue of copying to the relevant enforcement agency.