Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent discussions her Department has had with international counterparts on approaches to protecting intellectual property rights in the context of generative artificial intelligence.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government has consulted on several topics relating to the interaction between copyright and artificial intelligence (AI), including on the use of copyright material in AI development.
As part of this work, the Government has engaged extensively, both with international counterparts and with industry stakeholders on the interaction between copyright and artificial intelligence (AI).
The Government will review the responses to its consultation carefully as it considers its next steps. The Government will continue to engage extensively on this issue and its proposals will be sent out in due course
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to ensure that existing copyright law is (a) upheld and (b) enforced in relation to the scraping and use of creative content by generative artificial intelligence developers without permission or payment.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Copying protected material in the UK infringes copyright unless it is licensed, or an exception to copyright applies.
Rights holders are supported to enforce their rights by initiatives such as the streamlined procedures of the UK’s Intellectual Property Enterprise Court (IPEC).
The Government consulted on several topics relating to the interaction between copyright and artificial intelligence (AI), including the use of copyright material in AI development.
The Government will review the responses to its consultation carefully as it considers its next steps. The Government continues to engage extensively on this issue and will set our response in due course.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what guidance they provide to national museums and galleries about the copyright status of exact digital reproductions of two-dimensional artworks that are in the public domain.
Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
According to case law, a work will only be protected by copyright if it is original, in the sense that is the author’s ‘own intellectual creation’. It is questionable whether an unaltered reproduction of an existing work where copyright has expired could satisfy this criterion if there has been no (or very limited) scope for the creator to exercise free creative choices. However, this will depend on the individual facts of the case.
Further guidance is published on GOV.UK in an Intellectual Property Office copyright notice on digital images, photographs and the internet.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what grant funding is available to help support training in small and medium-sized enterprises in the video games development sector.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The UK Games Fund (UKGF) provides grant funding to small and medium-sized enterprises in the video games sector for development of new intellectual property, as well as development programmes for new graduate talent. As part of the recently published Creative Industries Sector Plan, the government announced the £30 million Games Growth Package, including an expansion of the UKGF over the next three years.
Since its inception in 2015, the UKGF has supported 440 companies with grant funding, and over 200 teams through talent development programmes Tranzfuser and DunDuv.
Small and medium-sized enterprises in the video games sector have also benefited from other support provided by DCMS and its arms-length bodies. This includes through the Create Growth Programme, which supports high-growth creative businesses to scale up and become investment ready.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many video games studios have been supported by the UK Games Fund.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The UK Games Fund (UKGF) provides grant funding to small and medium-sized enterprises in the video games sector for development of new intellectual property, as well as development programmes for new graduate talent. As part of the recently published Creative Industries Sector Plan, the government announced the £30 million Games Growth Package, including an expansion of the UKGF over the next three years.
Since its inception in 2015, the UKGF has supported 440 companies with grant funding, and over 200 teams through talent development programmes Tranzfuser and DunDuv.
Small and medium-sized enterprises in the video games sector have also benefited from other support provided by DCMS and its arms-length bodies. This includes through the Create Growth Programme, which supports high-growth creative businesses to scale up and become investment ready.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what estimate he has made of the potential impact of removing legislation that requires the Intellectual Property Office to seal patents with wax on (a) money and (b) time savings.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Legislation requires that certified office copies, which verify the content of patent applications, are provided with a physical seal but the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) does not use wax. The IPO is exploring measures to modernise its services, this includes giving users the option of choosing between digital and paper certified copies. A consultation on this has revealed that the majority of users support the introduction of digital certified office copies alongside paper, with some highlighting that this would make processes more efficient, quicker and cheaper. Legislation to remove the requirement would be accompanied by an impact assessment in which these matters would be addressed.
Asked by: Abtisam Mohamed (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of university-based (a) research and (b) development activities on levels of UK (i) productivity and (ii) economic growth.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Evidence shows that every £1 of public R&D investment leverages around £2 of business R&D investment [1] and generates approximately £7 of net economic benefits in the long term [2].
Universities play a central role in the UK’s R&D ecosystem, receiving around half of the Government’s R&D funding [3]. Their impact is wide-ranging, from advancing scientific knowledge to commercialising innovation. For example, university spin-outs and start-ups – just one channel through which universities contribute to the economy - attracted £20.6 billion in investment between 2014 and 2022 [4].
[1] The relationship between public and private R&D funding | Oxford Economics
[2] ‘Evidence on the balance and effectiveness of research and innovation spending’, written evidence submitted by UK Research and Innovation to the Science and Technology Select Committee, published November 2018
[3] UK gross domestic expenditure on research and development
[4] Intellectual property, start-ups and spin-outs | HESA
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether cultural access to science falls within the remit of her Department, in the context of the UK's obligations under (a) Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and (b) Article 15 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The UK's obligations under Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 15 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights concern cultural participation, science, and intellectual property, and are the responsibility of a number of Government departments. Obligations relating to science fall within the remit of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what discussions he has had with international partners on their willingness to negotiate on (a) investment, (b) competition, (c) services, (d) intellectual property, (e) government procurement and (f) other aspects of the sunset clauses of Economic Partnership Agreements.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Secretary of State for Scotland
The UK's Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) do not contain expiry provisions or 'sunset clauses'. The preferential market access they provide to developing country partners will continue indefinitely. EPAs do include review clauses allowing for discussion on areas such as investment, competition, and services.
The Department's approach to these reviews will be guided by dialogue with partners and aligned with UK growth and development objectives, as per the Trade Strategy. There is no obligation for partners to negotiate where they are unwilling. The Strategy also commits to engaging governments and businesses on expanding EPAs to include services. Broader stakeholder consultation will be considered in any review process.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how much the Intellectual Property Office has spent on equipment to enable staff to work from home in each of the last three years.
Answered by Feryal Clark
The Intellectual Property Office does not hold a complete central record of all spending on equipment to support home working as provision can be made utilising office surplus or stock equipment. Information is only centrally recorded where the individual costs exceed £500 or recorded as a reasonable adjustment in line with Health and Safety legislation for Occupational Health.
The Office has spent the following on equipment for safe and productive home working:
(i) 2022-23 = £27,069.13
(ii) 2023-24 = £8250.11
(iii) 2024-25 = Zero spend
To obtain comprehensive data for each of the last three years, it would be necessary to contact holders of asset registers across the organisation, which would not be possible within the timeframe for responding to a Written Parliamentary Question, and would incur a disproportionate cost.