Press release

IPO publishes new Analysis Priorities for 2023/24

The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has published its Analysis Priorities for 2023/24.

The Analysis Priorities report sets out the IPO’s main objectives and priorities in its research and analysis work for the next 12-18 months.

It explains how and why these have been shaped, and how the IPO works with the wider IP research community to provide analysis that is relevant, clear and trusted.

The IPO will commission and undertake ground-breaking research and analysis to support the development of the IP framework in a wide range of areas.

These include:

  • support for businesses to identify, manage and use IP
  • Standard Essential Patents (SEPs)
  • Retained European Union law (REUL)
  • One IPO Transformation programme
  • copyright policy and music streaming
  • trade mark policy
  • designs policy
  • IP Enforcement policy
  • artificial intelligence
  • international trade
  • how and why applicants and businesses use IP, including as an intangible asset
  • the wider role of IP in the economy and society

The analysis programme reflects the priorities of the IPO, and those of wider government.
It sits at the core of the IPO’s ambition to continue delivering high quality, robust, and independent evidence to support effective policy making.

The IPO’s Head of Research, David Humphries, said:

IP is at the heart of everything that makes life better for us all, and its central to the Government’s ambition to make the UK a science and technology superpower and a creative powerhouse. In an increasingly uncertain world, independent and robust research is ever more vital to inform discussions around IP, which have significant impact across our economy and society.

The IPO’s latest analysis priorities demonstrate our ongoing commitment to develop the evidence base, nationally and internationally. But we can’t do this without you, and we welcome expressions of interest in delivering on our ground-breaking research - especially around the impact of future technologies on the IP framework.

The programme is broadly split into strategic analysis, policy analysis, and IP services analysis.

Some IPO analysis priorities are best delivered in-house by the IPO’s expert analysis team. Others are best delivered by commissioning external parties who can bring in their relevant expertise or data, and help provide research that is independent from government or the IPO.

The IPO welcomes proposals, suggestions, or expressions of interest from researchers or potential suppliers via [email protected].

Notes to editors:

  • the analysis programme comprises themed research programmes, one-off projects, reactive analysis, and ongoing knowledge sharing and engagement
  • potential areas where the IPO might commission further work from external providers in 2023-24 include:
    • enforcement research including understanding the costs of IP crime and consumer behaviours around physical counterfeit goods and online copyright infringement
    • understanding small and medium sized businesses and how they use IP or trade secrets
    • evaluation activity – growing our evaluation expertise and evaluating IP programmes.
    • research on policy issues in relation to the impact of futures thinking on the IP Framework
  • the IPO is part of a research network of International IP Offices. We share analysis proposals and findings at regular events and information exchanges, and in some cases undertake joint projects, including support for the World Intellectual Property Organization’s WIPO for Creators, building awareness of the importance of IP amongst global creators

Updates to this page

Published 8 August 2023