Intellectual property worth £65bn a year to the UK

Products and services protected by intellectual property rights (IPRs) are worth £65bn a year to the UK.

The figure comes from two reports commissioned by the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) entitled The Role of Intellectual Property Rights in the UK Market Sector and Film, Television & Radio, Books, Music and Art: UK Investment in Artistic Originals.

The reports also show that a significant proportion of this – some £3bn – is not included in the national accounts, meaning that the value of intellectual property to the economy has been underestimated to date.

The IPO is now working with the Office of National Statistics to factor that into gross domestic product in 2012.

IP minister Baroness Wilcox said: "These reports show that business investment in intellectual property rights has more than doubled since 1990, and this £65bn figure is expected to continue to grow."

The reports also found that over the past 10 years business growth from intellectual property investment has been bigger than that of business investment in fixed capital such as hardware, office material and general business spending.

Copyright and design are the biggest contributors to growth of intellectual property rights.

Copyright includes software as well as music, publishing, broadcast and film.

The IPO is the official government body responsible for the national framework of intellectual property rights (IPRs) comprising patents, designs, trade marks and copyright.