Business Secretary Vince Cable is expected to sign a European Union agreement in Brussels which will see businesses spend in the region of £600 to register a patent. Under the current rules, the cost of registering a patent across Europe can cost around £20,000.

Common sense

The Independent newspaper in London reports that Mr Cable said on Saturday: ‘No business should have to waste time and money registering their ideas across 25 countries. This agreement is just common sense.
‘It will mean inventors spend more time on research and development, coming up with new ideas and less time filling in forms and defending their cases in court.’

Wider protection

Although British companies can protect their products through the UK Intellectual Property Office, they would need to apply in each EU country separately to gain wider protection.
Under the new deal, which could be signed as early as tomorrow, businesses will only need to go to one court to defend their innovations.