Written evidence from The Publishers Association
THE CASE FOR THE IP ATTACHÉ
1. The Publishers Association is the representative
body for the book, journal, audio and electronic publishers in
the UK. Our membership of 115 companies spans the academic, education
and trade sectors, comprising small and medium enterprises through
to globally successful companies. The PA's members annually account
for around £5 billion of revenue, with £3.5 billion
derived from the sales of books and £1.5 billion from the
sales of learned journals. The PA greatly welcomes this opportunity
to contribute to the Select Committee's inquiry into government
policy and actions on trade and investment.
2. Publishing is a sector in which the UK has
a clear competitive advantage:
- the UK is the largest exporter and re-exporter
of books, with 16% of global book exports, followed by the US
with 15.7%;
- five of the top 25 book publishers in the world
are headquartered in the UK;
- the UK is one of four countries (with USA, China
and Russia) that produces over 100,000 new and revised titles
a year;
- 40% of UK publishing revenues are derived from
exports;
- the UK publishes over 20% of the world's scholarly
journals, and UK researchers produce 7% of the global supply of
journal articles; and
- The value of book exports from the UK grew by
2.6% in 2010, with the strongest growth coming from the Middle
East / North Africa and East / South East Asian markets.
3. At the root of the publishing sector's international
and domestic success lies intellectual property. The creation,
ownership and exploitation of published content provides publishers
with the asset base upon which globally competitive businesses
can be maintained and grown. The copyright law which gives rise
to this is, therefore, of fundamental and critical importance.
In order to be successful internationally, it is vital that intellectual
property rights are recognised, respected and enforced in the
key export markets in which our companies compete. This need -
and through that the interests of the British economy—would
be better served, we maintain, through the creation of a network
of IP Attachés.
THE ROLE
OF THE
IP ATTACHÉ
4. The IP Attaché would be a British government
official, based in the British embassies or consulates in key
foreign markets, who would be tasked with providing political
and technical assistance in championing the intellectual property
rights in their host territory. They would act as a conduit between
British industry, British Government, the host government and
industry, in order to communicate the importance of IP and to
uphold and enforce IP rights under international law.
5. The IP Attaché would be a specialist,
with a profound understanding of both the legal and commercial
dimensions of IP, capable of articulating the importance of respecting
copyright and the impact of copyright infringement on business
interests. Their key strategic roles would be:
- to promote the UK government's policy on IP law;
- to secure strong IP laws in the host country
and in international law; and
- to ensure strong IP protection and enforcement
by international government with respect to infringement taking
place in their own territories.
6. The IP Attaché would also have a role
in communicating to UK creative industry professionals policy
and legal developments in the host country or region, and in ensuring
a strong communications flow with relevant government officials
and counterparts in the host country's creative sector.
7. The main benefits of such a system would be:
- A clear point of contact for UK creative sectors
with whom to discuss and make representation on IP issues;
- A source of expertise on the development of policy
in foreign territories and advice on political communications;
and
- An expert advisor and participant in trade negotiations
covering IP issues;
THE NEED
FOR IP ATTACHÉS
8. Through its International Board, The PA is
an active advocate of publishers' interests in a number of key
export territories. This activity takes two main forms: (i) trade
promotion, such as through trade delegations, book fairs and exhibitions;
and (ii) anti-infringement initiatives, tackling large-scale commercial
counterfeiting in overseas markets. To be truly effective, this
latter function requires the close collaboration with host country
law enforcement authorities. The PA is operating on-going campaigns
in India, Bangladesh, China, Pakistan, Egypt, United Arab Emirates,
Saudi Arabia, Turkey, with operations being considered in Nigeria
and Russia. The campaigns are funded by participating publishers
contributing to a dedicated budget. This is then used to fund
activities, such as physical raids on premises where infringement
is taking place, follow-up legal proceedings, media and political
specialists, training for enforcement officers and awareness raising
campaigns.
9. The PA's extensive experience of conducting
these operations over many years and in many different territories
gives us a well-informed insight into the current capabilities
of British international trade support and as to where improvements
may be made. In particular, we believe there are the following
gaps in expertise and service:
- On-the-ground knowledge of the state of development
in IP legislation and the need for representative action (this
was particularly lacking in the on-going case of the Indian Copyright
Amendment Bill - legislation which will be very harmful to British
and Indian publishing interests);
- Gaining access to key policy-makers and influencers
- a very important function in markets with closed political systems
such as China;
- Developing training and awareness-raising programmes
and co-ordinating local enforcement agencies.
10. Whilst each of these roles can, to some extent,
be covered by existing UK representation and / or industry engagement
as is presently the case, experience shows that this leads to
inconsistent effort, patchy results and no "ownership"
of the overall programme and its results. The creation of an IP
Attaché network would bring dedicated and focused and strategic
resources to these (and possibly other) activities, to the wider
benefit of British creative exporters.
THE US NETWORK
11. The US government already has such a network
in place. If the British creative sector is to maintain its globally
competitive position in the creative industries, and in publishing
in particular, it must compete effectively with the US. America's
decision to invest in an attaché network speaks to the
merits of the policy and points to the need for British interests
to be similarly well-served in order that the UK maintains its
competitive position.
12. US IP Attachés are managed through
the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and are present in
offices in China (Beijing and Guangzhou), India, Brazil, Egypt,
Thailand and Switzerland. These offices are hubs from which policy
for the region is managed. Further information on the US network
can be found at the following website: http://www.uspto.gov/ip/global/Attaché
/index.jsp.
13. For some British publishers which have US
operations, the US IP Attachés act on their behalf, and
to this extent The PA enjoys a close working relationship with
them (indeed, they have been very helpful to us in preparing this
submission). But ultimately, they are responsible to the American
government and primarily have the interests of that economy at
heart. It may be argued that British interests could "free
ride" on the strength of American representation; however,
not only is this an ignoble policy, it will also fail to deliver
returns for the UK when American and British commercial interests
are in conflict. In publishing, a great deal of copyright is governed
by territoriality, whereby a publisher may have the rights to
sell and distribute works only in particular specified territories.
Hence, as the leading publishers of English language works, the
UK and US will very often find their interests diverging on the
issue of territoriality - subsuming our interests with theirs
on an international scale is not a sustainable long-term strategy.
14. The European Union is also considering the
establishment of an IP Attaché network and is trialling
it in a small number of territories. However, we do not see that
this initiative, even if it were to be developed more widely,
obviates the need for the British government to improve its function
in this area. The UK holds a competitive advantage over all of
its European partners in the world of publishing, as the statistics
noted above demonstrate. The needs of British creators will coincide
with those of other Member States to a considerable degree, but
in the final analysis we are in competition with those economies;
our international activity is more prolific and our capability
of a more specialised nature. Dedicated British IP Attachés
would be one, important, means of cementing this advantage.
CONCLUDING REMARKS
15. Creating a network of IP Attachés
would derive considerable benefits to British creative companies
who would be able to call upon their expertise, and in so doing
help maintain the UK's competitive advantage in this sector, thus
boosting growth. This paper has not analysed the financial impact
of creating the network, which would require detailed knowledge
of pay structures and consular running costs. However, we hope
that the concept has sufficient merit to encourage the Committee,
and in turn the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
and relevant agencies to subject it to further analysis and eventual
implementation.
16. If it would be helpful to the Committee,
I would be delighted to provide further evidence in either written
or oral form.
31 January 2011
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