UKIPO reveals media IP focus over past decade

Research looks at frequency of IP mentions in UK news and effects on public perceptions | Focus includes copyright, patents, trademarks, and design rights | Shows a noticeable increase in IP mentions impacting decision making for rights owners.

IP has received greater attention and focus in the media over the past decade but a lack of public understanding of this area of law persists, new research has revealed.

Mentions of ‘intellectual property’ in UK news have increased in the last ten years, with articles touching on the scope of rights and registration and IP disputes, according to the latest report from the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO).

Hayleigh Bosher, associate dean, reader in IP law from Brunel University London, and principle investigator of the research, explained the report “sheds light on the impact of news reporting and social media on the public perception of IP over the last five years,”

It has the potential, she added, to “assist rights holders in their decisions on enforcement and management of their rights.”

“This research was commissioned by the UKIPO as an initial step towards an objective relating to how society views IP and whether IP is building a new social contract for itself, as part of its Futures initiative, outlined in its corporate priorities 2022 to 2023,” said Bosher.

Research covered copyright, design, patent, and trademark issues, highlighting there was a surge of IP mentions in the UK news in 2017-18 with 25,962 mentions in 2018, and a decrease in 2021-22 with 21,399 mentions in 2022.

News outlets studied included the Daily Mail, The Telegraph, The Independent, The Times, The Sunday Times, the Daily Mirror, The Sun, the Daily Express, the Metro, the Financial Times, The Guardian, The Observer, The Daily Star, and the Evening Standard.

Research findings

The research of copyright-related content showed a decline in the number of times the word ‘copyright’ was used over the past five years.

However, from a broader ten-year perspective there has been an increase in the use of ‘copyright’.

Three main topics emerged: the scope of copyright; management of copyright; and infringement of copyright.

The report highlighted an increase in the use of the word ‘patent’ over the past decade, with peaks occurring in 2013 and 2020.

These were due to increased reporting on mobile phone patent cases and the protection of COVID-19 vaccines, according to the report.

Two overall themes emerged: first concerned the scope of patent protection in health— notably in the context of the COVID-19 vaccine. The second looked at patent registration and new technology, specifically exploring whether AI could be an inventor.

The search for trademark-related news showed an increase in the use of the word ‘trademark’ in UK media, peaking between 2018 and 2021.

The three emerging themes were: the impact of the UK's exit from the European Union, disputes over trademark rights, and the extent of trademark registration.

Searching for news articles on design rights was a challenge because of the diverse meanings associated with the term.

However, after narrowing the search results to those referring to “unregistered” or "registered designs”, a pattern emerged showing less news coverage on designs compared with other types of IP.

Over the past ten years there were slight increases and decreases in the number of articles per year, but a similar number of articles in 2012 as in 2022.

A key theme that emerged was disputes, with news articles focusing on infringement of design rights and cultural appropriation of indigenous designs.

The impact on the public

Key themes pulled out from the research demonstrated the growing influence of social media as an enforcement strategy, suggesting that media and social media backlashes impact the decision making of rights owners.

It was also clear that the media emphasises stories around celebrity culture and tend to frame stories in a ‘David versus Goliath’ context, which in turn affects public perception of IP, according to the report.

The report also highlighted persistent inaccuracies in reporting, raising concerns about potential public misunderstanding of IP rights.