Small companies are much smarter than their bigger brothers, if you go by the number of patents owned.
Data from the Office of National Statistics show that firms with fewer than 50 staff held 40% of all live patents between 2000 and 2008. Medium-sized businesses (50-250 staff) could only come up with 16% of patents, while larger businesses accounted for 44%.
In terms of geographical spread, the South East, London and East Wales were the most active, while the highest number of patents came from Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire. Overall, it seems the Home Counties and Wales hold sway in innovation.
The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) is responsible for granting patents in the UK, and it also oversees other aspects, such as trade mark registration. A trade mark is an important way of distinguishing a company's brand and protecting its product but, says the IPO, because of the recession, the number of companies and individuals registering trademarks has been falling.
Now the IPO has launched its RightStart service, designed to help smaller companies file trademark applications, and it has cut the fee for online applications by 30 pounds. If you have been thinking about registering a trade mark, get the details at http://www.ipo.gov.uk
But to come back to brain power and the small company, do you think that smaller companies offer greater flexibility for innovation? Drop us a line.
