11 July 2014Copyright

UK IP adviser to retire

A member of the UK Parliament (MP) who serves as an IP adviser to the Prime Minister (PM) has announced he will not stand for re-election next year.

Mike Weatherley, MP for Hove and Portslade who took office in 2010, has told PM David Cameron he does not intend to stand but has hinted at continuing his work as an adviser on IP issues.

In the last few months, Weatherly has spoken out in support of securing funding for the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit, a temporary police unit at the City of London Police set-up to tackle IP crime.

In May, he released a report called Search Engines and Piracy that said search engines should remove copyright infringing websites from their listings if they have been blocked by a court order.

Weatherley said deciding not to stand again had been an “exceptionally difficult” decision to make.

But in a letter to PM Cameron Weatherley said he was keen to continue his work on championing IP.

“Over the past year, I have taken immense pride in serving as your IP adviser,” Weatherley said.

“I am sure that you will agree that we have made huge steps towards really getting politicians and industry talking – which is key to making the most of our country’s wealth of creative talent.  It would be a privilege to continue offering my assistance in this regard,” he added.

Already registered?

Login to your account

To request a FREE 2-week trial subscription, please signup.
NOTE - this can take up to 48hrs to be approved.

Two Weeks Free Trial

For multi-user price options, or to check if your company has an existing subscription that we can add you to for FREE, please email Adrian Tapping at atapping@newtonmedia.co.uk