Tagged / IPO

Firms putting more of their assets under IP

Impact, innovation, Knowledge Exchange and Impact Team

business_law
UK industry is investing more than £70 billion a year in intangible assets covered by intellectual property rights, the national agency responsible for regulating patents and copyright has said.
In its booklet Fast Facts 2017, the Intellectual Property Office—the government agency formerly known as the Patent Office—reveals a steady growth in industry investment in IP rights. Companies spent £70bn on assets protected by IPR agreements in 2014, compared with £47 billion in 2000.

The booklet contains facts and figures which describe the intellectual property landscape and provides information on:

  • patents
  • trade marks
  • designs
  • copyright
  • enforcement
  • the IPO

Further information including a printable version of the Fast facts 2017 can be found here.

UK Intellectual Property Office survey on training

Knowledge Exchange, Knowledge Exchange and Impact Team

survey

The UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO) is conducting a short survey to understand the opportunities available for PhD students and early career researchers to learn about managing intellectual property (IP).

It is anitipated  that the results of the survey will highlight best practice as well as identify any skills and knowledge gaps. This will help to inform the development of any future activities or programmes to support IP management in knowledge exchange and commercialisation.

The IPO are interested in receiving responses from a broad range of stakeholders and are particularly keen to hear from PhD students, early career researchers, academics and professionals involved in knowledge exchange, commercialisation and PhD training.

The survey is completely voluntary, and all information will be held securely in accordance with the Data Protection Act.

To complete the survey please click on the following link: https://response.questback.com/intellectualpropertyoffice/ipsurvey.

The survey will close on Wednesday 31 August.

Intellectual Property Office 2013 Fast Forward Competition

Funding opportunities

£750,000 competition launched for innovative university-industry projects

2013 Fast Forward LogoThe Intellectual Property Office (IPO) launched its annual Fast Forward competition on 22 October 2012, to encourage universities and public sector research establishments to collaborate with businesses and local communities on innovative projects that benefit UK society and can help grow the economy.

Now in its third year, Fast Forward has so far provided £1.25 million in prizes to 23 winning projects in diverse areas, ranging from the creative industries to medical research and social enterprises.

The total prize fund available for this year’s competition is £750,000, which will be awarded to around a dozen projects in individual awards of between £10,000 and £100,000.  More details can be found here: 2013 Fast Forward Competition

The IPO‘s Chief Executive, Sean Dennehey said:

“UK universities lead the world as seats of learning, but they are also hubs of innovation, creating and harnessing intellectual property to fuel market competitiveness and economic growth.

“Fast Forward recognises and rewards projects that demonstrate innovative approaches to university-industry collaborations, providing funding that can help create new companies and services which benefit the UK economy and society.”

 The RKE Operations team can help you with your application. Please direct any enquiries to RKE Ops in the first instance.  Details of how to enter can be found here.  The closing date for entries (electronic and paper) is 17:00 on Friday 14 December 2012.

Peer to Patent website aims to strengthen applications

Research news

The Intellectual Property Office launched a Peer to Patent website on 1 June, enabling the science and technology community to view and comment on patent applications.  The office will upload some 200 applications in computing during a six-month pilot scheme, commentating that a similar scheme has been successfully run in the US and Australia. 

“Patent applications granted after using the Peer to Patent website review will be potentially stronger, giving businesses better protection to grow their innovative ideas. This will give the IPO access to a wider body of knowledge when deciding whether a patent should be granted,” said IP minister Judith Wilcox in a statement.  “The pilot will give experts the opportunity to comment on patent applications and share their vital expertise before patents are granted. It will also mean that inventions already known in the wider community will be filtered out more readily,” she added.