The new Intellectual Property Act received Royal Assent on 14 May, as announced by the government. It will lend stronger protection to UK businesses, guarding their intellectual property rights in the UK and abroad.

The new Act will enable the UK to implement the Unified Patent Court Agreement. This is in line with the plan to introduce a single patent across a number of EU countries, thus saving UK businesses up to £40 million a year.

The Intellectual Property Act introduces new protective measures for designers and stipulates the removal of red tape as well as some of the uncertainties businesses face when protecting their assets. The Act also foresees the introduction of online services which will assist businesses in managing their intellectual property more effectively.

The announcement features comments by the Minister of Intellectual Property, Lord Younger, who says continued investment in intellectual property is of key importance to all businesses, as they need a stable environment to work in, creating designs and inventions that boost the UK economy. Lord Younger expressed confidence in the ability of the new Act to make the UK’s IP system even stronger, thus allowing both large and small businesses to flourish.

Among the key policies to be implemented are providing new protections for pre-publication research and thus allowing UK universities and the research sector to continue acting as world-leaders, introducing a criminal sanction for intentional copying of registered designs, as well as introducing measures to help businesses estimate the strength of their IP case before getting involved in expensive legal proceedings.

The Act will enable the UK Intellectual Property Office to share information with other national patent offices on unpublished patent applications.

The new measures are expected to come into force in October 2014 with all of them to be implemented by late 2015.