Our governance
The main steering board, audit committee and other governance groups of the IPO.
Our governance.
The Intellectual Property Office Framework Document specifies the governance arrangements that apply to the Intellectual Property Office (IPO). This details the responsibilities of the Chief Executive, the main steering board, audit committee and other governance groups of the IPO. It also sets out the framework of policy, planning, accountability and delegations within which the Intellectual Property Office operates.
IPO Steering Board
Our steering board advises ministers on the strategies, performance and targets set out in our corporate plan. It also provides commercial guidance on our operation and development.
Board meetings
Summaries from each meeting are available:
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
April 2008 to July 2013
Board minutes from are available in the National Archives and to a request a copy of minutes from a previous meeting, please email secretariat@ipo.gov.uk.
Board members
Members of the board are:
- Tim Suter, Chair, Managing Director of Perspective Associates
- Mandy Haberman, Creative Director of Haberman Products
- Lopa Patel, Independent board member, founder & CEO for think tank Diversity UK
- Kevin Orford, Independent board member, trustee Board Member and Finance Committee Member of Stonewall Equality Ltd and a trustee Board member and Finance Committee
- Andrew Lawrence, Independent board member, Chairman of the Board of Bron Afon Community Housing
- Laurie Benson, Chair of Audit Committee at Christie Group plc, and Board of Trustees for The Royal Air Force
- Jo Shanmugalingam, Director General, Industrial Strategy, Science and Innovation, BEIS
- The Director General provides a designated deputy, David Rawlins, Head of Sponsorship for the IPO at BEIS
- Tim Moss - Chief Executive and Comptroller General, Intellectual Property Office
IPO Audit and Risk Committee
The audit committee is a sub-committee of our board. The committee looks at our corporate governance, accounts, internal audits and external audits, and assesses how well we are meeting the requirements that the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills places on executive agencies.
Committee meetings
The committee meets 4 times a year. To a request a copy of minutes from a previous meeting, email secretariat@ipo.gov.uk.
Committee members
Members of the committee are:
- Andrew Lawrence, Chair
- Paul Coombs, Independent Member, Director of Finance, Planning and Performance at Crown Commercial Service
- Lopa Patel
- Kevin Orford
The obligatory attendees are:
- Tim Moss, Intellectual Property Office, Chief Executive and Accounting Officer
- Neil Hartley, Intellectual Property Office Finance Director
- David Holdsworth, Intellectual Property Office Deputy CEO and Director of Operational Delivery
Attendees by invitation are:
- Government Internal Audit Agency
- National Audit Office
- Head of Governance and Risk
- BEIS Representatives
- External Auditors
- Intellectual Property Office Executive Directors
Patent Practice Working Group
The Patent Practice Working Group (PPWG) provides the Intellectual Property Office with users’ views on patent practice issues. PPWG meetings are attended by representatives from the patents organisations below.
If you would like further details about the PPWG please contact information@ipo.gov.uk.
Membership
Professional representatives and organisations represented
- Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA): Stuart Forrest and Laurence Lai
- IP Federation: Ruth Barcock and David Litherland
- British Association of The International Federation of Intellectual Property Attorneys: Liz Dawson and Simon Rees
- ideas21: Richard Gallafent
Copyright Advisory Panel
The purpose of the Copyright Advisory Panel is to provide a forum for IPO and a broad range of representatives of the creative industries to discuss issues of common interest in copyright policy making, with an emphasis on horizon-scanning for factors that should be taken into account at an early stage of policy development.
Terms of reference
Members of the Copyright Advisory Panel
- Tim Suter – Non-Executive Director (Steering Board), IPO (Chair)
- Geoff Taylor – CEO, British Phonographic Industry
- William Bowes - General Counsel and Director of Policy Publishers Association
- Crispin Hunt – Chairman BASCA
- Magnus Brooke – Director of Policy and Regulatory Affairs, ITV
- Maureen Duffy – Writer, Poet, President of Honour of British Copyright Council and Author’s Licensing and Collecting Society
- Alex Towers - Director of Policy and Public Affairs, BT
- Bill Bush – Executive Director, Premier League
- Gilane Tawadros – CEO, Designers and Artists Copyright Society
- Dr Gaetano Dimita - Senior Lecturer in International Intellectual Property Law, Centre for Commercial Law Studies, Queen Mary University of London
- Jane Secker - Centre for Learning Technology, City University
- Hamish Crooks - Global Licensing Director, Magnum Photos
- Stephen Edwards – Partner, ReedSmith
- Ros Lynch – Director, Copyright and Enforcement Directorate (CED), IPO
Meeting Minutes
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
Contact details
Contact details: copyright.advisorypanel@ipo.gov.uk