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International figures suggest UK is regaining lost ground in innovation

11 March 2008
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The UK and other EU member states are showing signs of fighting back against the tidal wave of innovation and patenting in China and Korea, says the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA).

According to Matt Dixon, a patent attorney and spokesman for the Institute, figures for 2007 just published by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) show that, at 9.1 per cent, the UK had the highest rate of growth in Europe for international patent filings under the Patent Co-operation Treaty (PCT).

“In 2006, the UK lost its position as one of world’s top five centres of innovation for the first time in nearly 30 years,” Matt Dixon said. “WIPO’s figures for that year showed that, in terms of the number of patent applications filed, the UK had dropped to sixth place, behind the US, Japan, Germany, South Korea and France. 

“WIPO’s figures for 2007 show that although the UK remains in sixth position, the good news is that its rate of growth for international patent applications has picked up well and is now ahead of major competitors Japan and the USA (both with a growth rate of 2.6 per cent). The UK’s growth rate is also higher than both France (2.1 per cent growth) and Germany (8.4 per cent). 

“If this is sustained, we expect to see the UK back as one of the world’s top five innovating economies within three years.” 

The CIPA spokesman also pointed out that China’s surge in patenting indicates that the economy there is changing fast. “China is doing today what Japan did 30 years ago,” Matt Dixon continued. “It has moved up to 7th position in the patenting league table and is changing from low-cost ‘copycat’ manufacturing to innovating in its own right. We expect to see this lead to a greater concern for product quality among Chinese manufacturers - which will undoubtedly give rise to some price inflation. 

“The UK and the rest of Europe need to keep up the momentum in innovating and patenting to have any hope of remaining competitive in manufacturing. The latest WIPO figures suggest that many companies here have taken that message on board.”
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