ON THE TOPIC OF | PATENTS
AHROEW Y SOTURRO NG PATENTS?
If you’re a technology entrepreneur
or an SME then applying for
patents can be a great way
to appear inventive, to attract
investors, or to take advantage of
tax breaks like the UK’s Patent Box
scheme. But for larger companies
the motivations are different. In their
case, building an IP portfolio is much
more about protecting sales revenue
and market share:
■ to prevent products being
cloned, particularly when
manufacturing in the Far East;
■ to discourage or delay fast
followers by driving up their
development costs;
■ to prevent competitors that
might otherwise follow them
into an emerging market; or
■ to close a system so that
consumables can be tied-in (such
as printer cartridges).
But it is worth thinking about
how patents actually discourage
competitors because the number of
patent lawsuits that go to court is very
low. In fact, the litigation rate between
2007 and 2016 – the number of cases
going to court versus the number of
new patents granted – was less than
2%. So, although most patents never
have to face a legal test, they remain
an effective barrier in creating the
fear of infringement.
However, there is an alternative
explanation for why lots of patents
never get tested in court. When a
company discovers a competitor
has just launched a product into their
market, they rush to check their
patent portfolios, and then realise
Simon Jelley, head
of innovation and
Tom Copeland,
senior consultant
at 42 Technology,
look at common
errors made in
protecting patents.
JSEIMLLOENY
Head of innovation
at 42 Technology
14 WWW.EUREKAMAGAZINE.CO.UK | JUNE 2020
/WWW.EUREKAMAGAZINE.CO.UK