Monthly Archives: November 2017

Friday (24 November 2017) marked the first anniversary since the Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys signed their Royal Charter to establish themselves as The Chartered Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys. In the same week, they also celebrated their 83rd birthday. A ‘Royal Charter’ is ‘reserved for eminent professional bodies or charities which have a solid… Read more »

The European Patent Office management has put forward a proposal to reduce its fees. If adopted by the Member States of the European Patent Organisation in December, the PCT search fee and the examination fee will be reduced by €100 each. Additionally, the 50% reduction of the EPO’s examination fee that already applies to applications… Read more »

Introduction “Know yourself to improve yourself” – August Comte Every business will have some form of intellectual property (IP) – not just those that deal with technology. This article will describe the various forms of IP that could be assessed during an IP Audit and why it is important to know about them. The article… Read more »

The UK is one of a number of countries that offers a ‘Patent Box’ scheme. What is the Patent Box? The Patent Box is a UK tax-based incentive that aims to encourage innovative companies to locate their research and development operations in the UK, by helping to outweigh the cost of patenting with patent-related tax… Read more »

Recent governmental report on the UK Life Sciences Sector A report (The Bell Report) to the UK government[1] has recently published, with the aim of bringing into focus the next 20 years of UK government policy in the ‘health life sciences’ sector. In the context of the report, ‘health life sciences’ refers to the application… Read more »

There are many grants available to innovative small businesses, and a wealth of funds available. There are various cash grants as well as tax relief options and loans to encourage innovation that can be explored, as highlighted in this guide. Many SMEs and start-ups are put off applying for grants, considering the process to be… Read more »