A recent study from Source Advisors has revealed that the UK ranks 8th globally in “telecommunication innovation” with 1.85% of telecom patents filings since 2010. But it also calls on the UK government to improve this by adopting an intellectual property strategy to compete with global telecoms leaders.

The report analysed filings that are either granted and active or currently patent pending, therefore excluding any expired or lapsed patents or patent applications. Patents (and patent applications) are often seen as a “useful indicator of the R&D direction for a given sector“, which offers an insight into the density of innovative activity.

NOTE: Over 150 million patent applications have been published worldwide and the telecoms industry has seen particularly high growth, with patent filings increasing by 382% in the past decade, and projected to continue to grow by another 34% by 2026.

However, the UK’s 1.85% share of telecoms related patent filings since 2010 could be improved, particularly with neighbouring Germany delivering 4.08%. But the US and China continue to dominate the space, with over three-fifths of global telecoms patent filings.

The fear is that a lack of action from the UK government on closing the above gap could increase the risk of being overtaken in telecoms technology patents by close neighbours, such as France (1.62% of global patent filings) and Italy (1.13%).

Luke Hamm, Managing Director at Source Advisors, said:

“Now the election is over and the new government gets down to business, the headline-grabbing commitment to economic growth now must take shape in actual policy. There are choices to be made on what we want to be famous for and how the legal, and regulatory framework complements this, as well as how fiscal incentives will drive greater levels of investment.”

Top 10 Countries by Sector Based Patent Filings