Candidates usually wait 570 days earlier than any motion is taken by the UK patent workplace, reveals evaluation of World Mental Property Organisation knowledge.
This prolonged ready interval locations the UK fiftieth out of the 64 nations studied.
The examination course of for a patent utility differs in every jurisdiction, however typically includes figuring out whether or not the claimed innovation is novel, not apparent, and industrially relevant.
It takes China, which has the best variety of patent functions on this planet, simply over a 12 months (375 days) for its patent workplace to take motion. The USA, which has the second-highest variety of functions, takes marginally much less time than the UK at 507 days.
Brazil is the one nation receiving extra patent functions than the UK to take an extended period of time to reply.
Lithuania takes the shortest period of time to reply to functions, with waits of simply 12 days. Equally, Spain takes 19 days, although each nations obtain considerably much less functions, with 90 and 1,434 apiece.
Though the UK nonetheless ranks poorly for time taken to reply to patent functions, most up-to-date figures present an enchancment from 2020. It took the patent workplace 750 days on common to reply throughout that 12 months – the longest period of time candidates have needed to wait since UK knowledge began being collected in 2016.
In the meantime, HMRC knowledge exhibits uptake of the Patent Field, a type of tax reduction accessible to firms that make income from exploiting patented innovations, stays low. Regardless of greater than 89,000 Analysis and Improvement (R&D) tax reduction claims being made in 2020/2133, projections recommend that 1,535 firms made the Patent Field claims over the identical period4. But many firms embarking on R&D can even be making improvements which might be able to being patented.
Nigel Holmes, Director of Tax at innovation funding specialist Catax, stated:
“The UK is rightly happy with its innovation heritage, however it is vital that the techniques devoted to defending mental property are world-leading too.
“Patent legislation is complicated and the method could be very concerned, however UK efficiency is poor when in comparison with nations that take care of a larger variety of functions.
“Rushing up this course of will show the UK is strolling the discuss on delivering innovation-led development.
“It’s also essential that firms embarking on innovation perceive the patent course of and the related tax reliefs by receiving specialist recommendation from the outset.
“The price of acquiring a UK patent may simply be outweighed by the tax discount from a Patent Field declare which creates an efficient price of Company tax of solely 10%, but not sufficient firms are making patents and the Patent Field a vital a part of their innovation technique.”
