Consider Patent Box for Maximising R&D Tax Relief

If you’re looking for alternative ways to optimise your tax relief for research and development (R&D), it’s worth considering Patent Box as an option. With the significant changes to the R&D Tax Credits scheme currently proposed by the UK government, understanding how the UK Intellectual Property Office examines the patentability of an invention can help you identify patentable subject matter within your R&D projects.

To qualify for R&D tax relief, your R&D projects must:

• Not be readily deducible by a competent professional, generate an advance in overall knowledge or capability in a field of science or technology
• Make or attempt to make an appreciable improvement to an existing process, material, device, product or service through scientific or technological changes.

* Note that not every R&D tax credit application is assessed, and an enquiry can be initiated if HMRC requires more information or evidence to substantiate the claim.

To proceed to grant, a UK patent application must:

• Be based on a full invention disclosure
• Drafted in a patent specification, and filed at the UK IPO.
• The invention must be new, inventive, and not already made public. The inventive step is assessed by a Person Skilled in the Art, who is a technical expert managed by a competent professional, and there are different approaches to assessing inventive step.

*Note that the prosecution of a patent application to grant can take up to 4 years and 6 months from the earliest filing date.*

At Visiativ, we have experienced consultants who can advise you on R&D tax credits and help you identify patentable subject matter in your R&D projects. We can also help you protect, optimise, and monetise your intellectual property (IP) with a bespoke plan tailored to your business and its specific goals. With our expertise in innovation funding and IP strategy, we can help you take advantage of tax relief and secure your competitive advantage. To learn more, please get in touch.