Rates of British patent filings in international markets are falling behind key European competitors, according to new research.
British businesses are filing patents in the key markets of Europe and China at rates of up to 40% less than French and German companies, according to data from the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA), the UK’s largest intellectual property organisation.
The World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) has also found the UK lagging behind leading economies in patent filings. It ranks the UK in only 16-20th place globally in its Global Innovation Index measures related to patents – significantly lagging behind France and Germany again, relative to their respective GDPs.
It ranks Switzerland, Sweden and the USA as the top nations for global innovation.
The failure of British innovation to keep up with international competition poses a significant threat to the future of UK innovation, warned Sharon Todd, chief executive of global industrial science and innovation hub SCI.
She says the new Labour government must work with industry urgently to resolve patent challenges or else risk losing billions of pounds from the UK economy.
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“The lack of UK patent filings is a key indicator that the health of our science-based industry is suffering. We risk losing billions of value from this country to our international competitors,” said Todd.
“The UK cannot afford to stand still while other economies become leaders in GreenTech, new medicines and food production. We too need to propel our economy forward to create skilled jobs and protect the security of supply of products we rely on every day.”
The SCI warned that the UK’s patent threat is associated with a wider demise of innovative and commercial scientific activity in the UK, which it says will decline even faster without intervention from government.
SCI has called for a ‘Science and Innovation Growth Council’ of industry experts to advise central government on policy to grow innovative industry, adding jobs and growth to the economy.
Matt Dixon, president of CIPA, added: “The findings are loud and clear – innovative UK companies are missing opportunities in key markets because of a failure of international patent filing and strategy.
“CIPA is committed to working with government to address the UK’s patent problem. We strongly support SCI’s proposals for a Science and Innovation Growth Council, which will put business voices at the heart of policymaking.
“Only with businesses and government working together in close counsel will the UK avoid losing out on the incredible economic opportunity afforded by IP generation and patent protection.”
CIPA’s report also highlights the importance of government support for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) who develop new ideas and need to register patents. SMEs that own patents have 36% higher revenues and pay 53% higher wages than those without, according to the report.
SCI wants at least 70% of the Science and Innovation Growth Council to be made up of business leaders, including SMEs, from sectors as diverse as life sciences and clean technology.
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