The initiative has come from an unexpected source - the Comptroller General of Trade Marks, Patents and Designs - who has also turned down an application by the HTA to increase the levy they charge producers of Harris Tweed for stamping the cloth by more than 30 per cent.

Under the terms of the 1993 Harris Tweed Act, the Comptroller General occupies the role of Registrar who must be notified of any proposed increase and has the power to refuse it. This is the first time the procedure has been invoked as all previous increases have been small and on an agreed basis.

This time, however, Harris Tweed Hebrides made representations to the Registrar against the increase on the grounds that it would, in effect, be a 'tax on one company' and that it would make it more difficult for Harris Tweed to compete in world markets against rival fabrics.

Harris Tweed Hebrides chairman, Brian Wilson, said: "We support the role of the HTA but it is obvious that this kind of increase would do nothing to resolve the difficulties of the HTA in anything but the shortest of terms. We also feared that a 30 per cent increase, if approved, would soon have been followed by an even bigger increase so that they could make ends meet.

"I am delighted that the Registrar has accepted our arguments and decided to take a proactive role in finding a solution."

In a letter to Mr Wilson confirming that he has turned down the HTA proposal, the Registrar writes: "This means that the increase in charges, which would have become effective from 15th June 2009, will not now take place. But this does not preclude the Authority from re-submitting a further proposal in the future."

While the 1993 Act decreed that the Comptroller General of Trade Marks, Patents and Designs would be the Registrar, that position has since been incorporated into the role of the Chief Executive of the Intellectual Property Office based in Newport, South Wales.

He told Mr Wilson: "Your letter has raised a number of important issues which I agree should be discussed in a wider forum and preferably before the Authority submits any new proposal. I am willing to facilitate a meeting of interested parties such as the Harris Tweed producers, the Harris Tweed Authority, relevant government bodies and the IPO, at a suitable location in London, Scotland or here in Wales. I would welcome our involvement in these discussions and I have asked my staff to arrange this."

Mr Wilson commented: "I am pleased that the Registrar has declined to act as a rubber-stamp as I am sure the HTA expected. A meeting of the kind that he proposes should take a serious, long-term look at the HTA's future funding which cannot simply be enhanced by increasing the levy on a much-reduced volume of output. It would also fit in very well with the review of the HTA which Highlands and Islands Enterprise is currently carrying out.

"Our own view as a company is that the local authority, which has a statutory role under the Act, should take the HTA under its wing on a semi-autonomous basis. This is the only way the HTA will access to resources which will allow it to fulfill its duties which include generic marketing of the fabric and protection of the trade mark, as well as stamping the tweed."