Benefits of Protecting Your IP - Patents as Business Tools

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1 Benefits of Protecting Your IP - Patents as Business Tools David Paton Patent Attorney Venner Shipley LLP 31st January 2013 John Chettle Patent Attorney

2 Benefits of Protecting Your IP 1. Recent trends in patents 2. Benefits of patents 3. Government incentives 4. Design protection

3 Benefits of Protecting Your IP Intellectual Property Trade marks Industrial Designs Patents Other IP Copyright

4 General Trends in Patent Filings

5 Patent Filings (% Growth year-on-year) Patent Office Worldwide Europe FR, DE, GB USA Japan China Rep. of Korea -1.1

6 Who is Filing in Europe? Fastest Growth (EPO Filing Figures): 2011 Total vs 2010 Rank USA 59, % 1st Germany 33, % 3rd China 16, % 4th UK 6, % 8th India 1, % 20th Russia % 22nd Brazil % 27th

7 Indication of patent filings in select Cleantech areas: Biofuels, Solar PV, Carbon Capture, Wind

8 Patent Filings in Select Cleantech Sectors Biofuels Europe Worldwide Solar PV Europe Worldwide Europe Worldwide Carbon Capture

9 Benefits of patents A monopoly of the patented technology Enforceable against others and not necessarily restricted to one industry sector Licensable and saleable Provides a clear indication of the scope of the technology to potential investors Provides a tangible asset and gives a concrete definition of the protected technology

10 Benefits of patents Negotiating tool in disputes with competitors Marketing tool Stamp of quality Shows a difference from your competitors Tax incentive

11 Initiatives to promote patents Fast track programmes for green technology Accelerated search, publication, examination and grant of patent applications relating to green technology. E.g. UK, US, China, Canada, Rep. of Korea. UK Green Channel Patent Applications Wide-ranging definition: inventions having an environmental benefit can apply. Must file a request not automatic but is free. Possible to obtain tax relief at an earlier stage

12 Initiatives to promote patents Classification of green patents New European classification system for patent applications relating to clean energy. Patent Box R&D Tax Credits

13 Patent Box What is it? Preferential corporation tax regime Part of the UK government s growth agenda Aim is to encourage companies to retain and commercialise existing patents and to develop new innovative patented products Also aims to encourage companies to locate high-value jobs in the UK Also applies to SPCs, plant breeders rights and plant variety rights

14 Patent Box What are the benefits? Allows companies to elect to apply 10% rate of corporation tax Applies from 1 April % corporation tax applies to all profits attributable to qualifying IP rights Non-qualifying profits will continue to be taxed at main rate

15 Patent Box How do you obtain the benefits? In order for a product to qualify it is only necessary for a part of the product to be covered by a granted patent. Requirement to have a granted patent before you can claim the tax break Green channel can assist in obtaining a granted patent at an accelerated rate in order to take advantage of new tax regime. Claimant company must own qualifying IP right or have an exclusive licence in respect of qualifying IP right Claimant company must have made significant contribution to either creation or development of the invention or a product incorporating the invention

16 Industrial Design Appearance of a product may be important to differentiate your product from your competitors Design rights protect the overall appearance of a product May also protect the design of graphical user interfaces, such as the form of icons on tablet computer screens and other attributes of high-technology products May be used as an alternative or a supplementary right to patents Relatively cheap to obtain Can obtain protection across Europe with one application

17 Industrial Design - Growth

18 Summary Increasing trend towards seeking protection for IP. Real and tangible benefits to owing patents and designs A number of incentives have been put in place to encourage companies to obtain patents Thank you!