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Intellectual Property Law

: IPKat

Are you ethical? Are you any good? Do you really want to know?

By Johanna Gibson, David Pearce, Jeremy Phillips and Ilanah Simon.

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Do you provide services relating to IP rights? Do you -- or your clients -- ever wonder if you're any good? If so, read on. The British Standards Institute (BSI) has published on its website a request for comments relating to its draft specification for the provision of services relating to intellectual property rights. The draft standard, BS 8538, can be reviewed only if you register with the BSI here. Registration is a formality: Tufty has now registered on behalf of the IPKat Weblog, without apparent problems.

Following an introduction, an explanation of the scope of the proposed specification and a list of terms and definitions, the draft tackles a couple of important issues: (i) principles for ethical behaviour and (ii) process for service provision. A bibliography and annex relating to non-disclosure agreements bring up the rear.

The IPKat is not going to make any comments of his own till he has had a chance to read the spec in full, other than to welcome this initiative and to draw to the attention of IP service providers and their professional bodies the fact that the closing date for receipt of comments on the draft is 31 July 2010. Presumably the standard will be subject to constant pressure for fine-tuning and amendment in line with changes in law, practice and client expectations. Even so, the BSI's kitemark is a reassuring sign that someone, somewhere is doing something right. Merpel wonders, are there any court decisions that establish that compliance by a service provider with the terms of a current BSI standard is a defence to an action for professional negligence? It would be good to know.

Full post as published by IPKat on June 08, 2010 (boomark / email).