Trade marks registered plummeted in lockdown

The backlog meant a huge increase in August

TRADE mark applications soared as lockdown eased, despite registrations grinding to a halt. Around 12,000 requests were made on average each month between May and August this year, according to new data released by the Intellectual Property Office (IPO).

This is an increase of around 33 per cent from the months prior, as the average amount of requests made between January and April this year was just over 9,000.

Experts have put this down to half of small businesses changing an aspect of their business in a response to the Covid-19 crisis, requiring new trade marks.

However, although applications surged during that time, the Covid19 pandemic put a halt to all but a few being accepted.

The IPO registered 7,622 trade marks in March 2020, but in April that had plummeted to just 190.

This is due to the organisation declaring “interrupted days” for that period, extending deadlines for trade mark, patent and other applications.

The downturn lasted four months until August when 32,107 trade marks were issued, a huge increase from the pre-covid norm.

This is largely due to registrations that were delayed during lockdown being finally registered.

National chair of the Federation of Small Business Mike Cherry said: “It has been an extraordinary year full of economic downturn, with thousands furlough plunged into a state of mass uncertainty.

“But our workforce is highly skilled, and after finding itself in an unprecedented situation, it began to adapt. FSB research shows that half of small firms have changed some aspect of their business offering in response to the Covid-19 crisis.

“Trade marks and patents spiking are a testament to their resilience.

“However, it is important that smaller businesses have a clear understanding of how to access and maximise these new ownership opportunities.

“With the unemployment rate continuing to rise, we have to encourage more of those who are out of work to consider the sole trader route – the self-employed community was fundamental to our recovery from the last recession.

“Policymakers should also be looking at building on the success of the New Enterprise Allowance and Start-up Loans programmes with the launch of a Kickstart Start-up initiative, modelled on the Kickstart employment scheme, allowing them to focus on the future.

“This will give many a source of income at a time where hope is low and fear for the future is high.

“Job losses are something we are desperate not to witness, so we must work with the Government to harness that entrepreneurial spirit, converting it into the creation of new sole trades, businesses and jobs to repair the economy for future generations.

“It’s precisely this type of ingenuity that will help keep businesses afloat during these testing times.”

Although the number of trade marks being registered plummeted during lockdown, the number of patents granted rose during the same period.

In March there were 622 patents registered by the IPO, under the average of 691 for the January to March period.

But by April it had risen to 1,143, an increase of 84 per cent in one month.

This is also despite patent applications having decreased by around nine per cent during the same period, from 1,820 to 1,658.