Intellectual Property (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020

Lord Naseby Excerpts

Monday 14th September 2020 Grand Committee

[Lord Naseby (Con)]

My Lords, I thank the Minister for presenting a very complicated area very well. By way of background, I think it is only right to mention that I used be an adviser to two pharmaceutical companies, Upjohn, a US company, and Reckitt and Coleman Pharmaceuticals. I was also involved with Fisons. I was a director of a major advertising agency and most of my clients would have been covered by this area, which is, as the Minister said, vital to UK industry and commerce, so the document we have in front of us is very important.

I shall go through the Explanatory Memorandum paragraph by paragraph if I may. There are a number of questions. I do not expect the Minister to have the answers immediately to hand, but I would be grateful, if he feels it appropriate, if he will drop me a line afterwards. Paragraph 2.4 states

“which have been protected at an international level.”

Does that refer to the world intellectual property organisation? If not, who is it?

Later the paragraph refers to

“new database rights to UK nationals”.

I am always a little concerned about our overseas territories—I declare an interest here in that I have family working in the Cayman Islands, which are part of the overseas territories; they are UK nationals and have a very close relationship with the UK. Does this SI affect our overseas territories? Are they covered by it or is that for later?

Under the heading “What will it now do?”, paragraph 2.9 says

“certain decisions taken by EU bodies or courts on the validity of such rights are recognised in the UK.”

I am not entirely clear whether there is a time limit on that.

Paragraph 3.1 says

“This instrument corrects several drafting errors”.

Well done to the people who found them. Have any more been found since the SI was printed? It would not be unusual if there had been.

Paragraph 7.5 says:

“As far as possible, the approach remains to ensure that the law which currently applies in the UK will continue”.


Does the department have any particular worries about that statement? If it does, they should be brought forward and perhaps we should take action to try to remove them.

I confess, having read paragraphs 7.8 and 7.9 several times now, that I—as someone who is reasonably good at reading and understanding legislation—find them a little confusing. When it is transposed into directions for interested parties, could someone have a go at an Explanatory Memorandum that is slightly less confusing?

To paragraph 7.14, I say hooray and well done. It says:

“This also provides legal certainty”,


and that is vital.

Are paragraphs 7.18, 7.19 and 7.20 saying that these continue without having to apply through the World Intellectual Property Organization? If not, I need some explanation why.

On paragraph 7.21, I am so pleased about the work done on design courts and unregistered designs. It is very important to the creative industry.

Paragraph 7.22 says:

“There is an exception where the grounds for revocation/invalidity would not apply if considered under UK law.”


That needs clarification; I can see some of the major companies asking themselves what exactly is being talked about there.

Paragraph 7.25 says,

“for up to five years”.

Was any consideration given by the UK Government to whether that should be lengthened? The Minister said at the beginning that we are essentially an innovative country. We are on the frontiers of all these technologies, and here we are, going on our own beyond the EU. It seems to me that maybe we will miss a trick if we stick to five years. We want to encourage more and more UK research, as the Minister said in his opening statement.

Paragraph 7.30 talks about UK export wording. This paragraph is very important. Have the chambers of commerce all been informed? They are probably, alongside the specialist groups such as the ABPI and the chemical industries, et cetera, the people who will be getting questions from relevant companies. I just hope somebody has briefed them. Consultation is talked about under paragraph 10; the ABPI and agrochemical companies are important, and I am sure there are others.

I turn to paragraph 10.3. Do I understand that this is all ready to go in terms of the forms that will be required and so on or are we still waiting on that? One of the criticisms that has been made by a number of trade associations is that while they understand the principle of what is happening when we leave on 1 January, they have yet to see any of the forms associated with it, so how can they prepare for it? I note under paragraph 10.4 that in reality they had only 22 days in which to respond, and that was during a holiday period, so one wonders whether that was enough time. Paragraph 10.5 states:

“Responses generally approved of the drafting of the legislation.”


The question arises: what did they not approve of and is that important to British industry? Finally, under monitoring and review, basically in my judgment: when will this be done and how regularly will it happen?