Tech companies lead UK patent rush

Posted on 9 Aug 2005 at 11:55

The UK patent office says it granted eight per cent more patents last year than in 2003, yet the numbers of patent applications is in decline.

Nowhere is this more evident than in the field of computing and electronics. For the category Electronic circuitry; telecommunications, 1,385 were published - a drop of 15 per cent - while 1635 were granted, up 21 per cent.

In fact the UK PTO granted more patents than it received in this category. However, a spokesperson said that as patents may take up to three years before a decision is made, it is quite possible that the anomaly is the result of a glut of patents applied for in prior years being granted.

By far the most prolific patent applicants are the technology companies. Hewlett-Packard topped 2004, receiving 294 patents granted. NEC made third position, IBM and Samsung were in fourth and fifth place respectively. Places 8, 9 and 10 went to Ericsson, Motorola and Intel - the latter receiving 107 patents.

Overall the UKPTO published 12,993 and granted 10,541: that's more than 80 per cent. Even though patents granted may be the result of applications that have taken a number of years to complete, in 2003 that figure was 75 per cent.

The PTO told us this trend was down to higher quality patent applications: that applicants are better informed and that there are more support networks and patents attorneys to help ensure applications are made appropriately.

The numbers of applications may still rise as technology companies grow in the UK and Europe. Patent expert and campaigner for higher quality patents Greg Aharonian warned that patent offices must be prepared to expand to handle an increased influx of applications or risk a downward trend towards US-style patent decisions.

'Back in the 1990s, the EPO (and I suspect UKPO) had a reputation for issuing a higher quality patent. But much of this was due to their smaller workload, which gives examiners more time to do their job.
As patent applications being submitted to the UKPO and EPO increases faster than their managements could adjust (something the USPTO failed at), it would not surprise me that patent quality at the UKPO and EPO over time will gradually converge lower than that of the USPTO,' he said.

'So the rises at the UKPO are the natural outcome of the growing interest in patents by UK companies (and foreign companies interested in the UK market). That quality drops if the UKPO doesn't expand accordingly is predictable.'

A spokesperson for the UK patent office told us that 'the rise in patents granted in the UK has in no way affected the time spent examining the patents or the quality of the patent examiners' work.

'If there were to be a considerable increase in applications, the Patent Office would obviously undertake to ensure that there were sufficient patent examiners employed to effectively meet demand.'

In fact Aharonian suspects that rather than the UK PO bearing the brunt of the burgeoning interest in patents, it will be the European office that is hardest hit. 'Over the past few years, many national patent applicants have switched over to filing at the EPO - especially given the UK's irrational anti-software patent policies. So some of the drop in filings at the UKPO may not indicate a lack of interest, but rather reflects shifts in forums.'

Author: Matt Whipp