Mental Property Workplace Launches New On-line Service 

Submitting for a trademark or patent is among the most necessary steps when beginning a brand new enterprise. And now, all UK entrepreneurs will have the ability to make use of a brand new on-line search software to find patent info. 

Known as One IPO Search, the federal government confirmed the service launch final Friday. Will probably be accessible to all clients who have to seek for and uncover patents, changing the earlier Ipsum service, which has been working since 2012. 

Since 2021, the IPO has been working the One IPO Transformation Programme, which goals to offer a single, built-in service for managing all UK IP rights. Extra updates, together with AI-powered options, may even be launched within the subsequent 12 months.

What’s One IPO Search?

One IPO Search is a new on-line search software designed to assist modern companies to go looking and entry patent info. It has been developed by the Mental Property Workplace (IPO), the official authorities physique for mental property (IP) rights.

Based on a authorities announcement, it represents a ‘generational leap’ in how clients can seek for and uncover patents by sharing this knowledge on-line. Because of the brand new options, clients will apparently have the ability to discover related patents utilizing easy key phrase searches, and obtain patent info to share with groups.

Patents give companies the authorized proper to their innovations, akin to new merchandise, processes or technical options. They’re used to guard towards different corporations utilizing, stealing, or imitating their IP for a set time frame.

Whereas related, they’re completely different from a registered trademark, which is normally utilized to advertising and marketing supplies akin to a enterprise title or brand.

Based on the IPO, there have been roughly 200,000 patent searches within the final 12 months alone. One IPO Search will streamline this exercise by bringing the service in-line with the trademark register, an easy-to-use database to seek out registered emblems within the UK. 

How will the brand new service assist UK enterprise?

Defending your mental property is a crucial consideration for any new enterprise proprietor, however it could possibly usually fly below the radar relating to getting began.

Submitting a patent software is one of the simplest ways to protect your invention towards copyright infringement. It might probably additionally present a serious aggressive benefit when a model is simply beginning out, which is why buyers are sometimes reassured by patents throughout a funding pitch.

It’s additionally not only for new companies. Corporations which have been in operation for years will usually safe patents for his or her services or products updates. In 2024, in line with Patently Apple, the world’s largest tech firm had 3,082 lively patents.

Nevertheless, this new on-line service is more than likely to profit UK startups. Patent searches are sometimes carried out by new founders in the course of the product growth levels. 

They are often helpful for market evaluation, studying extra a couple of new subject of know-how, or to find out what design parts a brand new patent submitting can declare for. 

By making this knowledge extra accessible and simpler to crunch to most people, the IPO encourages UK innovation. Those that haven’t developed a Minimal Viable Product (MVP) but will have the ability to see what has been filed and alter their marketing strategy accordingly.

Tara Gillam, Innovate UK Enterprise Progress mentioned the patent panorama may be “time-consuming and complicated” for startups, including that the brand new IPO Search software would allow corporations to “higher determine alternatives, make extra knowledgeable choices about their R&D investments, and higher perceive and defend their mental property”.

What’s coming subsequent?

As a part of the One IPO Transformation Programme, the brand new One IPO Search software is only one of a variety of new measures designed to revolutionise IP submitting within the UK.

In addition to an up to date patent search software, the workplace final 12 months launched an AI-powered patent allocation software, which apparently slashes the time taken to submit an software to the related reviewer from 14 days to a matter of seconds.

A number of further options may even be coming to One IPO Search sooner or later, together with the flexibility to avoid wasting searches and get patent notifications later this 12 months. AI-powered searches are additionally apparently within the works, though no launch date has but been confirmed.

Minister for Mental Property, Feryal Clark spoke positively in regards to the replace. “Customers may have entry to all the knowledge they want in a single platform – modernising an outdated system to assist our innovators to do what they do greatest for years to come back,” mentioned Clark.