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R&D Tax Relief – Schemes & Case Studies
Companies that have not yet considered how their products or services may fall within the definition of Research & Development (R&D) for tax purposes are likely to be missing out on significant tax savings through R&D tax relief.
R&D tax relief rewards companies that are seeking advancement in the state of knowledge in their sector. In the definition for tax purposes1, R&D does not necessarily mean the development of a new product. R&D can involve development of new or improved products, processes, services, devices or materials. Importantly, R&D is not limited to a particular industry. For example, R&D claims can be made in industries such as retail (e.g. improved processes), IT and telecommunications (e.g. software development), food and beverage (e.g. innovative recipes), engineering (e.g. new materials), manufacturing (e.g. automation) as well as the more well-known R&D industries such as pharmaceutical, biotechnology and energy. (more…)
MIP IP Enforcement Forum 2018 – Forum Review
On 14 November, Charlotte Wilding, Senior Associate at Keltie, attended and spoke at the Managing Intellectual Property’s IP Enforcement Forum 2018, which took place in the beautiful Le Méridien, Piccadilly.
The theme of the day concerned how best to deal with IP enforcement in view of the ever-expanding online world. Presentations included a range of topics relevant to IP and covered both the legal aspects of protection, as well as perspectives from marketing experts and academics. (more…)
Patent Box
The Patent Box, like R&D tax relief (see last week’s post here), is a very much underclaimed relief. In 2014-15 only 1,135 claims were made, although this resulted in claims valued at £651.9m. 94% of this value was claimed by large companies even though such companies only accounted for a quarter of the claims made.
So, what is Patent Box?
As R&D tax relief is enhanced to encourage scientific and technological innovation based on costs incurred, Patent Box is a tax relief for profits made from scientific and technological innovation, whether that be a product or a process. (more…)
R&D Tax Relief – The Common Misconceptions!
You don’t have to be wearing a white lab coat to be able to claim R&D tax relief! (pixabay.com)
Whilst Research & Development (R&D) tax relief is now an adult, given that is has been in the UK tax legislation for over 18 years, there are many companies still not claiming the relief they are entitled to or are only scratching the surface in their claims.
Most companies don’t claim because they are simply not aware. HMRC estimate that around 200,000 companies in the UK could be claiming R&D tax relief but only around 40,000 actually do.
As a reminder – to an SME a claim uplifts qualifying costs by an additional 130%, substantially reducing a tax liability or, in the case of losses, an increased loss that can be surrendered in return for 14.5% cashback from HMRC, whether or not that company has paid any tax in the past! A claim can be submitted up to two years after the end of the accounting period.
What are the three main misconceptions or barriers to make a claim? (more…)
EPO to join WIPO’s Digital Access Service (DAS) for priority document exchange
WIPO’s Digital Access Service (DAS) allows priority documents to be exchanged electronically between participating IP Offices (there are currently 19 participating offices including the US, Japan, China, Korea [who make up 4 of the 5 IP5 offices], the UK and Australia).
The EPO will be joining the list of participating IP offices from 1 November 2018 (see Decision of the EPO President here and accompanying Notice from the EPO here). Where the WIPO DAS is used an Office of Second Filing (OSF) may electronically retrieve a copy of the priority document from the Office of First Filing (OFF) using a DAS access code.
Initially DAS at the EPO will be for EP patent applications and EP regional phase applications from the PCT. DAS will not initially be available for PCT applications filed at the EPO though this will be added in the future. (more…)
Computer-implemented inventions, cloud computing and the EPO Guidelines for Examination
IPcopy had the pleasure of attending the EPO ICT seminar at the end of September where recent developments at the EPO in relation to computer-implemented inventions (CII) were discussed. The seminar was held the week before the latest version of the EPO Guidelines for Examination (November 2018 edition) was published which meant we were teased a few times with what was about to be released.
We were however told that the 2018 update to the Guidelines contains some significant CII related changes*, in particular more examples that show what is regarded as technical and what is regarded as non-technical in areas such as business methods, computer programs, mathematical methods and data retrieval.
Interestingly, it was mentioned that the CII portions of the 2019 and 2020 versions of the Guidelines will probably only contain minor clarification amendments rather than the more significant changes that have been seen in the last few years. The CII Guidelines Working Group has had an ongoing project running since 2014 and the first batch of CII changes came out in the 2015 Guidelines (Problem-solution approach for mixed inventions/search for computer-implemented inventions), the second batch in 2016 (Claim forms for CIIs, examples for PSA for mixed inventions) and the third batch in 2017 (Presentation of invention and UIs). The 2018 Guidelines represent the fourth batch of changes and it was noted that we will likely only see clarification amendments for the next couple of years.
Now that the November 2018 Guidelines have been published IPcopy has taken a look at the CII sections and highlights the following changes : (more…)
Podcast: The Slants, A Year On
IPCopy is proud to present a podcast interview by Keltie Partner, Manuela Macchi, with Ronald Coleman, widely known in the IP community for successfully leading ‘The Slants’ trade mark case all the way to the US Supreme Court, securing US Federal registration.
The US Supreme Court judgement was handed down in June 2017, and on the path to this landmark ruling, Ronald had to grapple with fundamental principles of the US legal system, such as freedom of speech and the prohibition to register trade marks that are disparaging.
Little over a year from this judgement, we take a look back at the case with Ronald and discuss legacy, insights and ‘behind the scenes’ of the case. (more…)
Brexit: Patent, trade mark, design and GI “No Deal” notices published by UK Gov
It’s probably fair to say that the Prime Minister’s meeting in Salzburg last week did not go as well as the government would have hoped. Talk has now turned to the negotiations being at an impasse and the possibility of a No-Deal Brexit becoming reality seem to have increased.
Given that we’re now all staring out over the cliff edge again it seems a fitting time to take a quick look at the UK Government’s advice notices, that were published yesterday, in respect of patents, trade marks, designs and geographical indications in the event of a No-Deal Brexit. (more…)
UKIPO Patent Examination Time Calculator
Nestled towards the bottom of the CIPA August 2018 newsletter is news of a new patent examination calculator that has been introduced by the UKIPO on its patent document and information service (IPSUM).
For cases where examination has been requested the online file will now indicate the latest date by which the IPO expects to issue its first exam report. Currently, IPSUM entries will specify one of three things: (i) that exam is expected to be complete by 30 June 2019; (ii) that exam is expected by 31 March 2021; (iii) that it’s unlikely exam will be completed before 31 March 2021. More precise information may become available as the IPO works through its backlog of cases. (more…)
CBS Files for new Star Trek Trade Marks
In a recent statement, the US TV network CBS announced that they would be launching a new Star Trek show focussing on a “new chapter” in the life of Starfleet Captain, and living proof that we still won’t have cracked the cure for baldness by the 24th Century, Jean-Luc Picard.
The show will revisit the character around 20 years on from the events depicted in the somewhat underwhelming film Star Trek Nemesis and, in a truly great development, will feature Patrick Stewart returning to the role he first played in 1987. (more…)
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