Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether the Government has made an assessment of the adequacy of requirements for representation in ensuring only regulated and qualified practitioners can appear before the Intellectual Property Office.

The Government supports appropriate regulation of intellectual property practitioners where this is necessary to ensure that applicants and rights holders are effectively represented.

The Government has not seen a need to change the current regulatory framework but continues to welcome evidence from practitioners and consumers if they consider there to be deficiencies in the current system.