Freeman re-appointed as IP Minister
George Freeman MP has been re-appointed as the minister with responsibility for intellectual property (IP), less than five months after resigning from his ministerial role.
Mr Freeman, the MP for Mid Norfolk, takes over from Dean Russell MP who was removed from the responsibility following the changes in Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Business in October.
As Minister for Science, Research and Innovation Mr Freeman is responsible for government policy on science, artificial intelligence, space and innovation, as well as intellectual property.
This marks a change of approach for the IP brief from Dean Russell’s short stint, where he was responsible for markets and enterprise. It is, however, similar to the previous time Mr Freeman held the role, although this time he is in a more senior Minister of State role.
The role sits within the department for Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).
Mr Freeman addressed our members at our Spring Conference earlier this year in March 2022.
He said that the work our members do is more important than ever as the UK continues to boost innovation,
“As we seek to harness the lessons of the pandemic and continue that pace of innovation across all sectors of our economy, it’s going to make the work that you are doing even more important,” Minister Freeman told delegates.
Mr Freeman resigned as a minister in July 2022 during the mass resignations in the final months of Boris Johnson’s time as Prime Minister.
CITMA President Rachel Wilkinson-Duffy said: “We welcome Mr Freeman back to the role and look forward to resuming the conversations we were having with him earlier this year. His background and special interest in the sector is a great asset, but the delay in seeing his appointment means there is no time to waste in tackling its critical issues.
“I am sure he shares our view that intellectual property is vital to growing the UK’s economy and that our world-class IP system needs protecting. This is why we are proposing a simple new safeguard around tightening the rules for representation before the UK IPO. By ensuring that representatives are appropriately regulated and qualified, we will help to deliver an excellent IP environment that works in the interests of our innovators rather than foreign practitioners.
“It is vital that we get to work straight away on this, and we look forward to working with Mr Freeman to boost growth.”
In previous roles Mr Freeman served as a Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Minister of State for Climate Change, as government adviser on Life Sciences and as the Prime Minister’s UK Trade Envoy.
Before being elected as the Conservative MP for Mid Norfolk in 2010 he had a 15 year career in the life sciences sector.
Previous ministers for intellectual property:
- Dean Russell MP 2022
- George Freeman MP 2021-2022
- Amanda Solloway MP 2020-2021
- Chris Skidmore MP 2019-2020
- Lord Johnson of Marylebone (Jo Johnson) 2019
- Chris Skidmore MP 2018-2019
- Sam Gyimah 2018
- Lord Johnson of Marylebone (Jo Johnson) 2016-2018
- Baroness Neville-Rolfe 2014-2016
- Viscount Younger of Leckie 2013-2014
- Lord Marland 2012- 2013
- Baroness Wilcox 2010-2012