Sir Digby Jones, outgoing director-general of the CBI, has called for the creation of a Whitehall organisation in charge of patents, copyright and other intellectual property issues, headed by an IP minister.

Sir Digby, who has just returned from a visit to China, says the UK is treating the issues too casually. Its success in moving towards producing high value-added, branded products could be threatened by counterfeiting and copying in lower-cost countries.