UK failing to commercialise its intellectual property – GovGrant
- The UK is a global leader in research but is failing to commercialise its IP and risks being left behind in the post-COVID economic recovery
- Business investment in R&D (1.7% of GDP) falls short of OECD average (2.4%)
- Just 10 firms dominate one fifth (18%) of all UK-based patent applications
R&D and innovation specialists GovGrant have today revealed the UK economy is failing to capitalise on its world leading academic prowess and intellect by not translating its R&D into commercial gain and creating intellectual property (IP).
Data analysis from CBI Economics commissioned by GovGrant comes at a particularly crucial time for UK policymakers, who have pinpointed innovation as one of the key drivers behind the post-COVID economic recovery plans.
The study’s findings are corroborated by the World Intellectual Property Office’s (WIPO) Global Innovation Index, which ranks the UK’s academic publications as being 1st globally, but ranks its innovation outputs as 3rd, behind both Switzerland and Sweden.
The UK’s shortfall in commercialising innovation is linked to lower investment in research and development (R&D), with the UK currently investing 1.7% of GDP, compared to an average spend among OECD nations of 2.4% and considerably behind Switzerland (3.3%) and the Republic of Korea (4.3%).
CBI Economics analysis commissioned by GovGrant provides a further analysis of the origin of IP applications, revealing where the investment in innovation is coming from. SMEs are shown to have a much lower propensity to file patents and are less likely to own IP rights, and the UK is no exception.
Only 9% of European SMEs were found to own IP rights, compared to 40% of large firms. In addition, the largest number of IP applications is dominated by a small number of large firms. In the UK, the country’s top 10 patent applicants, dominated by large firms, make up a fifth (18%) of all patent applications, but this is higher for other countries analysed, such as Sweden or Korea, where the top 10 patent applicants make up as much as 60%, and 42%, of all applications.
Despite a supportive policy environment for IP for large and small firms alike, the analysis points to areas of development which could help drive further value from R&D and help UK firms turn research into commercial outputs. The new report – Prosperity Pending – notes the UK’s IP system (policy and regulatory environment) is the second strongest in the world, according to the U.S. Chamber’s Global IP Centre – but its patent system is not working to its full potential.
The analysis finds that IP policy needs to be integrated with policy supporting businesses at the earlier stages of the R&D process, with incentives tailored to changing business need as they progress through these stages. The UK could also stand to gain from expanding the current patent box to include other forms of IP and provide alternative models of obtaining IP rights for SMEs.
Prosperity Pending is available to download in full here.
