Government should move now to update its intellectual property legislation, according to a Bermuda trade mark specialist.

"International protection of intellectual property assets is very much in the forefront and Bermuda's legislation is becoming manifestly more unsuitable and out of step as the years go on,'' said Mr. Alan Bray, manager of the intellectual property section at the firm of Appleby Spurling & Kempe.

"If we are to maintain our rightful position in international business, I suggest this problem should be tackled sooner than later.'' Intellectual property is a term used to describe the means of protecting and exploiting ideas.

The most common branches of intellectual property are; patents, trade marks, copyrights, and designs.

In Bermuda most of the legislation governing intellectual property is based on UK law but the UK has recently introduced a simple and more "workable'' Trade Marks Act, said Mr. Bray.

"Groups of countries are now attempting to harmonise legislation to protect this type of property on a global basis. Sadly, many companies are totally unaware of their ownership of potentially valuable rights.'' These rights could apply to; a patentable idea, the development of more efficient machinery, a computer programme which assists a firm's productivity, or literature with original ideas or concepts.

Companies should also be aware of whether or not their goods are provided under a recognised banner or trade mark.

Mr. Bray suggested companies could benefit financially if they studied the above areas and endeavoured to undergo intellectual property audits.

"Intellectual property is possibly the fastest growing branch of law internationally,'' he said.

The demise of communism and its replacement with a more capitalist-oriented economy has resulted in many countries taking steps to protect this type of property.

Mr. Bray, a trademark attorney and former head of Trade Mark Examinations in the UK Patent Office, spoke April 25 at the Bermuda Insurance Institute in connection with the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators in Canada, Bermuda Branch, lecture series.

In 1992/93 he was seconded to Government to assist in the preparation of legislation concerning the introduction of service marks, a new branch of trade marks.