The Office of Intellectual Monopolies

The group behind the Adelphi Charter has apparently proposed that the UK Patent Office be replaced with an Office of Intellectual Property:

The proposed new statutory body, the Office of Intellectual Property, with the suggested acronym OfIP, would cover all kinds of IP, including copyright and patents, and would have to report annually to the British Parliament on its activity, said John Howkins, director of the Creative Economy Forum, which put forward the proposal. The forum is a group of international IP experts - business, academics, non-governmental organisation representatives - interested in the creative economy.

An interesting idea, though I'm not wild about enshrining the term "intellectual property" in the title: how about the Office of Intellectual Monopolies? That's got a nice Orwellian ring about it.

There's No Such Thing as a Free...Culture

Well, Becky Hogge probably wouldn't agree. She's written a useful summary of all the IP ins and outs this year, wondering whether this will be "the year of free culture?"

I'm not holding my breath, but I was grateful to be told about the Adelphi Charter on "creativity, innovation and intellectual property", which I'd not heard of before.

Hogge concludes:

What is crucial now is that defenders of the public good vested in the democratic dissemination of information step forward to make their voices heard. Expect this columnist to return to the matter, and to amplify these voices.

I look forward to it.