"It is vital that our intellectual property laws incentivize innovation and investment, helping to drive the private sector-led economic recovery," said Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne. "I warmly welcome Professor Hargreaves' review on how the intellectual property framework can be updated to better support economic growth in the digital age."

Organizations representing rights holders expressed disappointment that Hargreaves had not recommended tougher sanctions against the abuse of intellectual property (IP), a contentious issue the report examined in some detail.

"The government has missed an opportunity to create a strong enough disincentive against software IP theft," said Sarah Coombes of the Business Software Alliance, an organization that represents the interests of large software companies, including Apple, Adobe and Microsoft.