Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that their international trade agreements are consistent with their existing international treaty obligations on (1) intellectual property in general, and (2) the Convention on the Grant of European Patents.

The United Kingdom has a robust intellectual property regime and will remain fully compliant with the World Trade Organisation’s framework for intellectual property, the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement. We remain a full member of the World Intellectual Property Organisation and a party to international agreements on intellectual property too.

As stated in our published negotiating objectives for the negotiations with the US, Australia and New Zealand, we are committed to ensuring that any provisions agreed in future trade agreements are consistent with our existing international obligations, including the European Patent Convention (EPC), to which the United Kingdom is party.