Trade mark applications surge

UK trade mark applications originating from Scotland have risen by a quarter in the past year with the food and drink sector making a healthy contribution, new figures reveal.

Intellectual property specialist Marks & Clerk said data from the Intellectual Property Office showed that trade mark applications from north of the Border rose by 24.8 per cent last year to 3,417, while registrations had increased 26 per cent to 2,883.

The data points to a healthy patenting picture, with Scottish applications rising 13.5 per cent to 855. A total of 157 Scottish patents were granted last year – marking a 21.7 per cent jump on the previous year’s result.

Campbell Newell, a partner in Marks & Clerk’s Edinburgh office, said the spike in applications – including a recent upsurge of craft brewers and distillers – showed that the foodanddrinksectorwascontinuing to thrive despite Brexit concerns.

He said: “Scotland has always punched above its weight when it has come to producing ambitious entrepreneurs making their mark both nationally and internationally and our food and drink and tourism sectors are the envy of the world.

“These sectors have been carefully grown through hard work and innovation, however, and protecting this is crucial.

“The Scottish brewery sector has grown massively since 2010 thanks to an explosion in the popularity of craft beers with 115 breweries operating in 2018, compared to just 35 eight years ago.

“Likewise, there are now 128 malt and grain distilleries in Scotland, giving the country the largest concentration of whisky producers in the world, and buy local initiatives are reaping dividends.”

The data also showed that Scotland had outperformed Wales and Northern Ireland in both trade mark and patenting areas in the past year.