News Article - 18 January 2007
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Government plans to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) recognise intellectual property (IP) through a "healthcheck" which has been described as a misnomer by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA).

Proposals for the health assessment have been made because the majority of smaller firms do not register their IP, according to Accountancy Magazine.

Mark Gold, chairman of ACCA's creative industries forum, said: "The main reason UK SMEs don't register their IP is not because they don't recognise it.

"They often do know and it is a naive view that small business creatives don't understand what they are creating."

Some suggestions have been put forward by the forum in response, including that firms should be given help during their IP registration process, especially in relation to patent development.

Mr Gold added that the government's healthcheck project was not the solution to the situation.

Intellectual property not only relates to patents, but also to copyrights and trademarks.

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