Lord Sainsbury of Turville (Labour). Former Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department of Trade and Industry, Minister for Science and Innovation, stepped down 10th November 2006. Sainsbury is a billionaire with an estimated personal wealth of between £1bn and £2bn, derived principally from his family's supermarket empire. Has some involvement in biotech patenting, his financial interest in the development of genetically-modified food aroused controversy at a time when the government has come under attack for not banning GM crops. He has had a life long strong passion for genetic research, and has donated over £200m to the Gatsby Charitable Foundation which funds work into genetically improving the resistance of plants to disease.

Unlike most UK ministers who are MPs and therefore very interested in publicity, Sainsbury is not an MP, and apparently is genuinely motivated to try to do what he thinks will protect innovation. He's also spent an unprecedented long time in the same post UK ministers usually rotate after only two or three.

When he joined the government in July 1998 he transferred control of his business interests to a blind trust to avoid any suggestion of a potential conflict of interest, yet he could still appoint the members of the governing boards. Chairman of J Sainsbury plc until July 1998. Finance Director of J Sainsbury plc from 1973 to 1990 and Deputy Chairman from 1988 to 1992.

Issues

Lord Sainsbury has been asked by the Chancellor to carry out a review of science and innovation policies across government. Sainsbury Review of Science and Innovation

Copyright

Written answers House of Lords Lord Sainsbury of Turville 19 May 2006 Copyright

We have not entered into discussions with the individual countries listed. The United Kingdom takes part in international discussions on copyright law, with many of the countries listed in the schedule, in the World Intellectual Property Organisation and the World Trade Organisation.

The level of copyright protection granted in the United Kingdom to works originating in other countries is dependent on the treaties and conventions to which the country of origin is a party. The United Kingdom does not provide protection beyond that which it is obliged to give under the EC Treaty and the various intellectual property treaties. However, the United Kingdom does grant reciprocal protection to the works of a particular country, where it is not a party to a particular convention, in cases where that country provides or will provide reciprocal protection to British works. Section 159(3) of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 prohibits greater protection being granted to works of other countries on any other basis.

Patents

He follows the advice of the UK Patent Office closely.

Written Ministerial Statements Patent Office Executive Agency: Performance Targets 2006–07

Lord Sainsbury 20th January 2004

"The government is committed to improving the environment necessary to support and encourage innovation." "Effective, flexible and up-to-date patent law is essential to help businesses turn bright ideas into successful products and processes,"

Software Patents

Sets the goverment policy for Software patents.

FFII page on Lord David Sainsbury of Turville

BBC Be careful how you code 17 December, 2004

Early in December the British government held a consultation meeting with those who had commented on the proposals. Science Minister Lord Sainsbury went along to listen and outline the UK position, but according to those present, it was embarrassing to see how little the minister and his officials actually understood the issues concerned.

UK DTI Question and Answer Meeting 2004-12-14

In early November, the UK government - Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) - invited those concerned citizens who, by writing letters to their members of Parliament, questioned the government's policy on software patents and on the planned EU directive. A row erupted before the meeting, because leading critics had not been invited. At the meeting, most of the time was used for allowing the UK Patent Office people to present their case. Yet, according to some reports, the backers of the European Parliament's Counter-Proposal were able promote their case fairly well. It became evident that the Council's version lacks clarity and does not exclude from patentability the types of patents which the UKPO officials professed they wanted to exclude.

Example of the standard letter people received in 2003 when asking about software patents.

Piracy

Lord Sainsbury of Turville Protecting Intellectual Property: Pirates, Fakes and Organised Crime 22 June 2006

Everyone needs to be aware that this Government is determined to stamp out the problem of IP crime. It is not a victimless crime. Firstly consumers aren’t always aware that they are buying fake goods. This can have detrimental effects if the quality and safety of a product is compromised. It can also make criminals of people who think they are buying a legal good as we saw recently with the Russian MP3 site that appeared to be legal as they charged for music downloads.

Spam

A debate on Spam in the Lords was led by Lord Sainsbury. 2003 He drew attention to the EU's Privacy and Electronic Communications Directive to be adopted by the UK that makes unsolicited e-mails between member states illegal.

Computer Games

London Computer Games Summit 4 October 2006

A point not missed by the Government is that computer games generated an export value of £488 million in 2003 compared with £256 million from the much higher profile UK film sector. This impressive economic performance resulted in a positive trade balance of close to £200 million in 2003.

...the DTI's business-led board that is developing a national Technology Strategy for key technologies is having a day-long workshop with the creative media industries later this month to see if there is a common view on what these industries want out of the Technology Programme. ...

Broadband

The UK Government changed the definition of broadband if it's marketed as broadband, then it is broadband.Lord Sainsbury of Turville said: "The Government view broadband as a generic term describing a range of technologies operating at various data transfer speeds."

Unfortantly this makes the statistics on growth of broadband access in the UK meaningless.

Links

Voting Record
Lord Sainsbury Wikipedia
Lord Sainsbury DTI Biography

News

2006-12-27 - IPKat - Sainsbury Review: Summary: The Chancellor has asked Lord Sainsbury to carry out a review of science and innovation policies across government. The review will cover certain aspects of patent law, as the terms of reference point out. They state, inter alia, that Lord Sainsbury will consider ‘Patents, Measurement System and Standards’. He will report to Mr Brown and the Secretaries of State for Trade and Industry and Education and Skills, in time for the Comprehensive Spending Review in summer 2007. ... not convinced by the idea of an ‘independent’ review carried out by the man who, until 17 days before the review was launched, was the minister with responsibility for precisely this area.

2006-12-05 - Patenting Lives - Review for Science and Innovation in the UK: Author: Jo Gibson; Summary: Hot on the heels (or indeed, breaking at the starting gates) of the Gowers Review of Intellectual Property (due to be published tomorrow), the UK Treasury has announced the Sainsbury Review, the Review of Science and Innovation Policies of Government. The new Review, to be led by Lord Sainsbury, will consider various Government policy developments and interventions, in the context of globalisation. Lord Sainsbury's retirement from the Department of Trade and Industry was announced by 10 Downing Street, 10 November 2006, when mention of the proposed review was also made.

2006-11-10 - The Register - UK science minister steps down: Author: Lucy Sherriff; Summary: Lord Sainsbury has stepped down as science and technology minister, saying he wants to spend more time with his businesses and charities.

2006-11-10 - ZDNet - Lord Sainsbury steps down, won't be missed: Author: Matt Loney; Summary: Lord Sainsbury's departure as science minister will be hailed by software developers. He was the instrumental in steering the ultimately failed European patent legislation. My lasting impression of him will be trying to explain to a packed room of developers at the DTI Conference Centre on the subtleties of software patents.

2006-06-23 - The Register - UK a new piracy hotbed: Summary: Patent Office chairman Lord Sainsbury said the activities funded organised crime. "We suspect that all international crime organisations are now involved in counterfeiting," he said. The report identified the internet as a major avenue of trade for fake goods, pinpointing auction sites as particularly useful for counterfeiters.

2006-04-03 - The Register - Government backs Europe-beating supercomputer: Author: Chris Williams; Summary: The UK project to build Europe's fastest computer has received a cash boost from government. The High-End Computing Terascale Resource, Hector, will get an extra £52m and will be completed next year. ... Announcing the cash injection, science minister Lord Sainsbury said: "The computational limits of the existing facilities are now being reached."

2005-05-27 - ZDNet - UK workshops find patent directive faulty: Author: Ingrid Marson; Summary: Workshops held by the UK Patent Office (UKPO) around the country have found that the definition of technical contribution in the software patent directive would let through too many patents, according to the UKPO on Friday. The minister for science and innovation, Lord Sainsbury, and the UKPO agreed to hold the workshops after a public meeting at the end of last year, where software companies and developers expressed their concern about the directive, officially known as the directive on the patentability of computer-implemented inventions.

2005-04-08 - ZDNet - Patent directive slammed at UKPO workshop: Author: Ingrid Marson; Summary: Lawyers and developers attending a UK Patent Office workshop were united in their condemnation of the definition of 'technical contribution' in the software patent directive. Lord Sainsbury, the minister for science and innovation, and the UK Patent Office agreed to hold the workshops after a public meeting at the end of last year, where software companies and developers expressed their concern about the directive, officially known as the directive on the patentability of computer-implemented inventions.

2005-02-04 - ZDNet - Patent Office wants debate on software directive: Author: Ingrid Marson; Summary: The UK Patent Office announced on Friday that it will hold a series of public workshops across the UK to discuss the proposed software patent directive. ... Science and Innovation minister Lord Sainsbury agreed that more discussion was needed around the issue of technical contribution, at the end of a meeting held at the Department of Trade and Industry in December 2004. Unlike the meeting in December, to which some anti-patent campaigners were not invited, any software developer or patent professional can attend these workshops, according to the UKPO.

2004-12-17 - BBC - Be careful how you code: Author: Bill Thompson; Summary: Software Patents. Early in December the British government held a consultation meeting with those who had commented on the proposals. Science Minister Lord Sainsbury went along to listen and outline the UK position, but according to those present, it was embarrassing to see how little the minister and his officials actually understood the issues concerned.

2004-12-15 - Post Political Times - Meeting the Minister: Author: Richard Allan (At the time a lib dem MP); Summary: I found the meeting at the DTI yesterday on software patents very useful. It was an opportunity to have an expert audience challenge a Minister, Lord Sainsbury, and officials, from the Patent Office, directly on an issue of grave concern to them. There is great benefit for politicians in observing a debate like this rather than formalised Parliamentary debate in which the specialists cannot take part except by having their views mediated by MPs.

2004-12-15 - ZDNet - UK companies see perils in software patents: Author: Ingrid Marson; Summary: The government's claim that patents protect innovation was questioned by industry experts at a meeting on Tuesday where the proposed EU software patent directive was discussed. Lord Sainsbury, the minister for science and innovation, and the UK Patent Office (UKPO) heard evidence that many companies have been successfully protecting their work through copyright laws, and are unhappy about the prospect of having to apply for patents on software they develop.

2004-12-15 - ZDNet - Developers angry over software patent 'evasion': Author: Ingrid Marson; Summary: A meeting held at the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) on Tuesday to clarify the proposed Computer Implemented Inventions Directive left software developers angry that their concerns still haven't been addressed. DTI Minister Lord David Sainsbury said the meeting had been called to address the concerns of those who had written to their MPs about the issue.

2004-12-14 - IT Week - Lord Sainsbury backs EU patent directive: Author: Daniel Thomas; Summary: Science and innovation minister Lord Sainsbury today backed the European Union's (EU) proposed patent directive, denying that it will have an 'adverse impact' on the software market.

2004-12-14 - ZDNet - Patent campaigners make government breakthrough: Author: Matt Loney; Summary: At the end of a raucous meeting in London on Tuesday, the minister for science and innovation, Lord Sainsbury, and the UK Patent Office agreed to consult further on the pivotal issue of what should constitute 'technical contribution' when used to decide whether a particular software patent should be granted.

2004-12-07 - ZDNet - Public meeting on patents excludes anti-patent campaigners: Author: Ingrid Marson; Summary: A meeting on the proposed Computer Implemented Inventions Directive is due to be held next Tuesday at the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), but many anti-patent campaigners are angry because they have not been invited. The meeting, which has been organised by the UK Patent Office (UKPO), will include speeches from DTI Minister Lord David Sainsbury of Turville, UKPO executives and a question and answer session. The invitation states that everyone who has written to their MP about software patents is invited.

2004-02-18 - The Register - Universities cash in on IP: Author: Lucy Sherriff; Summary: Universities in the UK are generating more income from intellectual property, filing more patents and spinning out more companies than ever before... Lord Sainsbury, said the government has made "large investments in knowledge transfer over the last few years and it is good to see it bearing fruit".

2004-01-20 - The Register - Small firms to get ‘better protection’ with new patents bill: Summary: Lord Sainsbury, minister for science and innovation, welcomed the new Bill. "The government is committed to improving the environment necessary to support and encourage innovation." "Effective, flexible and up-to-date patent law is essential to help businesses turn bright ideas into successful products and processes," he said.

2003-06-10 - BBC - Taking spam off the mail menu: Summary: Spam - so-called because of Monty Python's song about the tinned meat - has also been the subject of a recent Lords debate, led by Lord Sainsbury. The Labour peer - and Minister for Science and Innovation - drew attention to the EU's Privacy and Electronic Communications Directive to be adopted by the UK in October to make unsolicited e-mails between member states illegal.

2003-03-18 - The Register - Government redefines broadband: Author: Tim Richardson; Summary: The UK Government has changed its definition of broadband. ... DTI man Lord Sainsbury of Turville said: "The Government view broadband as a generic term describing a range of technologies operating at various data transfer speeds. ... The truth is, the decision to dilute this definition means that any broadband "achievements" racked up by this Government will be as worthless and meaningless as its figures.

2000-10-24 - The Register - UK Gov't to fund easier-to-use GUIs: Author: Tony Smith; Summary: The UK Government today announced it will hand out £4 million to anyone who can make computers easier to use. "As we depend more and more on computers and communications technology in every aspect of our everyday lives, it is important that these systems are easy to use and available to all and do not in themselves present a barrier to whatever we are trying to do," said Lord Sainsbury