The thought of protecting Intellectual Property (IP) can be intimidating for many businesses as it sounds complicated and costly. As a result, many businesses have neither protected their IP or realised full commercial value from it. This means that they are missing out on a tax incentive called Patent Box which rewards patented innovation and reduces the corporation tax rate to 10%.
It may be that the patented element that qualifies is minor and it doesn't have to be rocket science to be patentable but could simply be small technical improvements on existing products or processes. Bournemouth consultancy, Business Cash Enabler, provides a service to help demystify the jargon around IP to help advise a business if they may be able to realise commercial gain from their hard work in developing IP.
Consultant Rob Sowden explains “looking for commercial value in IP is a natural extension of the research and development (R&D) tax credits scheme that many innovative companies benefit from, or could benefit from. Claiming R&D tax credits is only part of the financial reward for innovation. Many companies have not realised the commercial potential of their intellectual property (IP), often seeing IP as merely something to protect; however there are considerable financial gains to be derived from IP.
With a simple patent found in the R&D that a business performs, there could be big savings on corporation tax, under the government’s Patent Box relief scheme. You don’t need a whole product to be patented. Even if a minor element is patented then you can qualify with 100% of a company’s worldwide profits from that product qualifying for 10% corporation tax. A simple quick and inexpensive IP assessment can be carried out to determine if a business has something worth patenting. This often overlooked process could put a business on course for a massive boost to intangible IP asset value resulting in a much higher company valuation.
A few key considerations for any business to which this may apply are:
- Have you made an R&D claim but never considered patents?
- Are you put off because of legal costs?
- Are you looking to raise funds?
- Do you want to maximise opportunities overseas?
- Could a patent look good for funding or exit purposes?
- Can you reduce your tax payment thanks to IP?
Business Cash Enabler works with experts that combine scientific and technical knowledge along with IP specialists and tax experts, which ensures that a business is fully benefiting from innovation tax incentives as well as greatly improving company value.
This service may be especially beneficial for businesses who have previously claimed under the R&D tax credits scheme but not realised the wider, more valuable potential to create intangible IP asset value, increasing financial reward and long term security for business owners.”
For further information go to:
www.businesscashenabler.co.uk
or call Rob Sowden on 07732 627085