The remit of this study is:

• To create a short synthesis of existing knowledge on IP related markets, and the information infrastructure needed to make the markets work effectively.
• To describe an end point in developing IP markets which can be used as a reference point for value, and in which there is a reasonable expectation of being able to trade in ways that are readily understood and accessible to people who want to use them.

The main questions to address are as follows:

• What could or should the characteristics of a market in intangible assets be?
• What information infrastructure could make the market work?
• What data is used to support both the exchange and financial transactions in Intellectual Property?
• Where possible, what are the key factors to underwriting Intellectual Property value?

The time allocated to this study and the breadth of consultation was limited. The aspiration for the process of engaging with stakeholders and the dissemination of the final report is to stimulate conversations and collaborations and to frame future actions by the public and private sectors in this area.

Therefore, the report is structured as:

• A restatement of the ‘problem’ in Sections 3-6 – pulling out requirements on the information ecosystem from the excellent work that has gone before, in language which is perhaps more accessible to those outside the IP arena and especially to information technology and digital professionals.
• A description of the world of possible solutions in Section 7.
• Recommendations for next steps in Section 8, which require further planning and refinement but which could well form the ‘germs’ of lines of action which would need to carry for some years in order to achieve the desired change

Read the Study in Full