Leading intellectual property practice Marks & Clerk – which has offices in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen – has been named the UK’s top patent filer.

The firm filed the highest number of Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) applications between January 2014 and December 2016 according to data published by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).

The statistics also showed the firm – which has offices across the UK, Europe, North America and Asia – is one of Europe’s top three filers.

The first-place ranking highlights the increasing role of innovation in driving the economy in Scotland and the wider UK.

Globally an estimated 233,000 international patent applications were filed in 2016 – an increase of 7.3 per cent and “the fastest increase since 2011”, according to the WIPO’s Global PCT Leaders Report. Of these, 5,496 patent applications were filed in the United Kingdom in 2016, a 3.9 per cent increase from the previous year.

Paul Chapman, Managing Partner in Marks & Clerk’s Edinburgh office said the firm was proud to be one of the UK and Europe’s top filers of both patent and trademark applications – and said Scotland in particular was a hotbed of innovation.

He said: “That we are again recognised as the UK’s top filer of PCT applications is testament not only to the expertise of our team, but also to the dynamism of the Scottish economy and that of the wider UK.

“Scotland is a global leader in industries as diverse as energy, food and drink and biotechnology. It is great to be part of this innovation, providing businesses across Scotland with the international intellectual property protection they need to continue growing and investing.”

Marks & Clerk’s Scottish offices alone have also filed more than 200 European Patent applications – distinct from PCT applications in that they are filed at the EU Intellectual Property Office rather than the WIPO – since October 2016.

The most popular patent application categories in Scotland include those relating to oil and gas drilling, medical science and materials analysis.

Scotland is at the forefront of a boom in innovation in a bid to tackle issues faced by the aquaculture industry, according to leading intellectual property (IP) specialists.

The sector fights a constant battle to maintain the health and quality of farmed produce. The control of sea lice alone is thought to cost the salmon farming industry in the region of £30million a year.

However IP experts Marks & Clerk said the issues are driving the country’s academics and producers to find new and innovative solutions to fight back.

Patent Attorney in the firm’s Glasgow office, Richard Gibbs, said he is now dealing with more aquaculture patents than ever before.

He explained: “As fish farming and aquaculture evolve, the technology employed to overcome problems – and the IP which protects that technology– becomes all the more innovative and important.

“Scotland’s natural resources and farming expertise ensure that Scotland excels in this industry and we are now at the forefront of those innovations which are providing solutions to major problems.

“Scottish food brands have a worldwide reputation which depends on quality. Whether we are exporting Scottish salmon or whisky, the nation’s producers have to maintain that reputation and invest in the innovation necessary to protect it and those standards. It was only a matter of time before an industry built up around that.”

A report published this month by the Scottish Salmon Producers Organisation, (SSPO) showed employment in the Scottish salmon farming industry is up by 13 per cent.

Capital investment is sitting at a healthy £63million with over £390million being spent last year in the Scottish supply chain.

The boost is being particularly felt in the Highlands and Islands – where the SSPO said £164million was spent with local businesses, while wages increased by five per cent to a total of almost £75million.

It was also recently announced that a consortium led by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) is conducting a science and innovation audit to look at the potential of the region to become a major player in the UK marine economy

Richard said Scottish solutions and technologies are already being exported to fish-farming countries across the globe.

He said: “Scotland is an absolute hub for innovation and research.

“Solutions developed here are being pushed out to famers all over the world – to South America, Asia and Scandinavia.

“We have expertise in aquaculture, vaccines, anti-parasitic compounds and hatcheries. As a firm we represent almost every discipline. It is a buoyant industry, and Intellectual Property is prevalent throughout.”

Intellectual property specialist Marks & Clerk has hailed a consistent rise in the number of UK trade mark applications originating from Scotland – citing it as evidence of the country’s “strong and sustained entrepreneurial spirit”, particularly in the food and drink sector.

Recent data from the Intellectual Property Office[1] shows that trade mark applications from north of the border rose from 2,448 in 2015 to 2,736 in 2016 (11.7%), while registrations increased from 2,013 to 2,288 (13.6%) in the same period.

Campbell Newell, a partner in Marks & Clerk’s Edinburgh office, notes that the spike in applications particularly from Scotland’s food and drink makers – including a recent upsurge of craft brewers and distillers – indicates that the Scottish food and drink sector is thriving.

Campbell said: “Scotland has a long and proud tradition of producing ambitious entrepreneurs, and we continue to punch above our weight in so many sectors – be it food and drink or tourism. Despite a climate of economic and political uncertainty, we’re seeing a very healthy Scottish picture, and businesses are recognising the importance of protecting and investing in their trade marks.

“We’re seeing this replicated across our Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen offices, so there is every reason to be encouraged.

“It’s a huge tribute to Scotland’s entrepreneurial spirit, particularly in the Scottish brewery sector which has doubled since 2010 with 115 breweries operating in 2016, compared to just 55 in 2010. Start-up breweries have played a major role in that.

“It also further serves to reaffirm the country’s status as a leading marketplace for ambitious young businesses looking to make their mark.”

The data also shows Scotland has outperformed Wales and Northern Ireland in both areas.

Wales filed 1,372 applications in 2015, rising to 1,431 in 2016 (4%), and made 1,128 registrations, rising to 1,201 (6.5%) across the same period.

Meanwhile, Northern Ireland’s applications increased from 508 to 565 (11.2%), and its registrations rose from 409 to 447 (9.3%).

UK-wide, the trade marks picture has remained buoyant with IPO data showing applications have risen consistently, growing from 41,044 in 2011 to 65,710 in 2016. Likewise, UK trade mark registrations have risen from 33,172 to 54,222 over that period.

The UK’s patent filing meanwhile has remained largely steady across the past five years, with applications fluctuating only slightly from 22,256 in 2011 to 22,055 in 2016.

The event brings a network of over 50,000 industry specialists together in some of the most challenging times the sector has faced.

Exhibitor – intellectual property specialist Marks & Clerk – is at the frontline of developing technologies and has seen first-hand how companies are coping with these stormy times.

Here Andrew Docherty, Aberdeen Office Managing Partner and oil and gas expert for Marks & Clerk looks at how the industry is still fighting despite its much publicised challenges:

“In the public sphere we often hear about job losses and sustained low oil prices as a methodology for measuring the health of the industry. And while, on the face of it, we are undoubtedly seeing an unprecedented downturn, we are still seeing key-players investing in innovation, and importantly protecting their investment through the use of the patent system, both domestically and internationally.

“That innovation may not seem obvious as businesses struggle to commit to anything against a backdrop of cutbacks and redundancies, but industry numbers and patent numbers don’t necessarily follow the same trajectory.

“Firstly, the Scottish industry maintains its significant international focus, with much of the Research and Development (R&D) efforts looking to address problems and issues in fields throughout the world. Such issues are diverse, as are the technical solutions.

“Also, while the maturity of the north-sea might hint at a decline in innovation in this region, assets still have significant reserves, and the challenges to access these reserves cost effectively is a key innovation catalyst.

“We are also at the embryonic stages of decommissioning in the north-sea, which will be active whether the industry is on its knees or not. The modern narrative of the energy market dictates that this decommissioning must be done in way that is as environmentally sound as possible, and more often than not the latest technologies are required to do so.

“We are also very aware of the ways in which companies are approaching existing technologies and processes.

“In the past the big players may have been much less risk averse, largely due to the vast sums of money moving through the sector, but now companies are looking at new and innovative ways to maximise their efficiencies.

“One cost effective way of doing this is by returning to designs, products and methods which have worked particularly well and exploring new ways to improve and prolong the life of them. It’s a traditional ‘Scots make do and mend’ kind of mentality.

“Technology driven companies are also becoming far more aware as to what constitutes a patentable invention, which has to some extent changed attitudes on where R&D and patent budgets are focussed.

“Technologies associated with computer implemented processes, such as autonomous systems, and even computational simulation techniques are becoming more and more commonplace, with many companies adopting a gold-rush attitude to protecting their intellectual property (IP) in these types of technologies.

“All of this drives innovation and of course, at its heart, we have the latest buzzword – collaboration – which, by its nature, drives the sector in a strategically forward direction and requires careful thought around shared IP.

“Companies are much more willing to work together as they are acutely aware of the position they are in. Businesses are still very precious about their patents but are more likely to share together.

“Another interesting point is the way companies employ Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

“When times are tough businesses quite often employ KPIs as a way of trying to force the narrative in an upward trajectory. And what we have noticed is that many companies are actually employing patent filings as an important KPI.

“Such a KPI can indeed provide a measure of the output of R&D efforts, but it is still fundamentally important to ensure that any patent filings continue to support business strategies and objectives – otherwise patent KPIs may become a little artificial and a bit of a numbers game.

“Finally, the downturn has made an already fiercely competitive industry even more so, and informed stakeholders in the industry view the IP system as a critical business tool in maintaining competitive advantage. IP protection therefore continues to sit very highly on the business agenda in the current climate.

“Scotland’s oil and gas industry draws from a talented and importantly active pool – despite the downturn – and as OE descends on Aberdeen this year we are sure there will be plenty of others looking to do so also.”