UK Intellectual Property Bill gets second reading; implications reviewed

The UK Parliament heard a second reading of the Intellectual Property Bill in the House of Commons yesterday, following a first reading last August.

The bill, which stems from recommendations outlined in the Hargreaves Review of Intellectual Property and Growth, an independent review of the UK’s IP strategy, was approved by the House of Lords, the upper chamber of the UK Parliament, last year.

Commenting on the implications the IP bill for the pharma sector, Gareth Williams (pictured), a partner of leading intellectual property firm Marks & Clerk, said: “The majority of the Bill – and indeed the majority of the debate yesterday – was concerned with the amendments to registered design law, which, while of concern to SMEs [small and medium-sized enterprises] in the creative industries is perhaps less so to the medtech sector.”