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Patents

Patents protect the features and process that make things work. A patent can only be granted for something that is new and inventive. A patent has to be renewed every year but can last for up to 20 years.

Hornit’s story: the SME who used IP to combat the counterfeiters

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Business, Copyright, Design, Design right, Enforcement, Innovation, Patents, Trade marks
Hornit's bike rack, CLUG, holding several bikes upright in garage with person onlooking

Wheeling their way into the future, are Hornit - an innovative and creative British business that produces a wide range of cycling products. We spoke to their CEO Tom de Pelet about how Hornit has grown and how intellectual property …

One IPO Transformation: first glimpse of the new patent application service

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Digital, Patents, Transformation, User research
Transformation branding

It’s just over a year since we launched our ground-breaking, five-year ‘One IPO’ Transformation programme – a complete modernisation of our IP rights services. Emma Ford, Project Lead, brings us a preview of our new patent application service.

Levelling Up: how we’re helping UK businesses to build through IP 

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Business, Copyright, Design, Design right, Innovation, Levelling Up, Patents, Trade marks
Hand of engineer playing a blocks wood tower game (jenga)

Intellectual property (IP) is crucial to the UK’s future prosperity, so supporting innovation and economic growth is at the heart of the work we do at the IPO. IPO CEO Tim Moss takes a look at how IP plays a major role in the UK’s Levelling Up agenda.

Crowdsourcing brings gender neutrality to a legacy manual.

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Inclusion and diversity, Patents

A team of more than 40 ‘crowdsourced’ patent examiners took on the task of upgrading all 1,028 pages of the IPO’s 35-year-old Manual of Patent Practice, aiming to refresh its dated language and make it inclusive. Senior Patent Examiner Phil Lawrence tells us more.