UK Urged To Strengthen Innovation To Close The Global Gap, According To Patent Data Research

New data highlights the UK government's need for an IP strategy to boost the UK’s competitiveness in innovation to beat world leaders

A new report reveals the UK ranks in the top 10 globally for innovation in three key technology areas: Automotive, AI and Telecoms. However, it trails behind global leaders, indicating that more needs to be done by the UK government to close the gap with leading nations.

Data is published as the new Labour government targets growth through public and private investment in science and technology. The industry calls for the UK to have its own intellectual property strategy to support growth and implementing such measures will be crucial for the UK if they want to become a global leader.

According to the latest figures China and the US continue to dominate the rankings, representing over 50% of all patent filings in each technology area. The UK currently ranks 9th for automotive patents, and 8th for both telecoms and AI.

The data revealed the UK filed 2.01% of global automotive patents in the past decade. This is four times lower compared to close neighbours Germany and three times lower than the European Patent Office.

The UK also falls short in the telecoms sector where they filed 1.85% of global telecoms patents. Germany has seen more than double the telecom patents filed since 2010. The US, who are world leaders in this space, has seen 18 times more telecoms innovation than the UK.

Green shoots of potential are seen in AI innovation, however, as the UK sits just a little over 2.5% behind Korea, which ranks third globally for AI innovation patents. This is nearly double the filings compared to France and Germany. Despite this, the UK still struggles to match innovation with the world leader China, which has 34 times more AI innovation patents than the UK.

The report, created by IP specialists and R&D tax credit experts Source Advisors, analyses the volume of innovative output from the UK compared to other territories for the three key technology areas.

Luke Hamm, Managing Director at Source Advisors says:
“Now the election is over and the new government get down to business, the headline-grabbing commitment to economic growth now must take shape in actual policy. There are choices to be made on what we want to be famous for and how the legal, and regulatory framework compliments this as well as was fiscal incentives will drive greater levels of investment”

Akshay Thaman, IP Consultant & Policy Lead:
“This research shows that the UK sits at the lower end of the top 10 for patents filed in the Automotive, Telecoms and AI industries. Ultimately, it highlights the level of work needed by the incoming government to position the UK to truly compete on the world stage. Now, funding routes such as the R&D tax relief regime, grant funding and private investment are all crucial to driving growth. However, we ask the incoming government to carefully consider the importance of intellectual property awareness, protection and commercialisation as a key lever to driving growth. Other comparative nations are clearly ahead of the UK in doing this. Perhaps it’s time for the UK to have its own intellectual property strategy.”


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