Brunel University London signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Economic Research and Evidence (ERE) team at UK Intellectual Property Office in November 2015.
The agreed MoU is for development and analysis of data which will improve the government’s knowledge and understanding of the role that intellectual property plays in boosting innovation and growth in the UK economy.
Over the next two years, Professor Suma Athreye from Brunel Business School, will advise and develop the UK's evidence base so that it is capable of shedding light on the role that intellectual property (patents, copyrights, trademarks and trade secrets) actually plays in nurturing innovation in UK firms. As the Hargreaves Review noted in 2011, there is currently a large gap in the evidence base for policy towards intellectual property.
Professor Athreye will also work with the ERE team to disseminate the findings from this new evidence base more widely to policy colleagues at the parent organisation in the Department of Business Industry and Skills, but also to quasi-governmental bodies such as NESTA and Innovate UK.
The MoU formalises a long period of engagement between Professor Athreye and the UK IPO which started in 2010 and has encompassed some path-breaking work linking patent use and innovation in the UK economy. Some of this work is now being replicated at patent offices in other countries.