Significant rise in UK trade mark and design registrations
A significant increase in UK trade mark and design registrations were overseen by the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) in 2016, including large increases from international organisations.
According to data from the IPO released today, there was an 8% increase in trade mark registrations and a 50% increase in design registrations during 2016. Trade mark registrations rose from 50,079 in 2015 to 54,222 last year and registered designs from 5,690 to 8,481.
The increase wasn’t just from UK businesses, international organisations looking to protect their intellectual property in the UK feature prominently. There were significant increases in trade mark registrations from the US (up 45%), China (up 70%) and Australia (65%).
European neighbours Ireland and Germany also saw increases, while Switzerland and France were among only a handful of countries that saw a drop off in UK trade mark registrations.
Country |
2016 TM registrations |
% change from 2015 |
United Kingdom |
45,115 |
8% |
United States of America |
1,629 |
45% |
China (People's Republic) |
978 |
70% |
Australia |
308 |
65% |
Republic of Ireland |
217 |
18% |
Channel Islands |
209 |
14% |
Hong Kong |
205 |
11% |
Germany |
202 |
64% |
Switzerland |
178 |
-21% |
France |
156 |
-7% |
Canada |
138 |
66% |
Glaxo Group Limited led the way in individual organisation’s trade mark registrations, maintaining its position at the top of the trade mark registrations table.
Ranking 2015 |
Ranking 2016 |
Organisation |
Country |
Registrations in 2016 |
1 |
1 |
Glaxo Group Limited |
UK |
189 |
* |
2 |
Sky plc |
UK |
120 |
6 |
3 |
Topps Tiles IP Company Limited |
UK |
77 |
* |
4 |
Realistic Games Limited |
UK |
61 |
* |
5 |
Dallas Burston Ethitronix Ltd |
UK |
57 |
25 |
6 |
Independent Vetcare Limited |
UK |
50 |
20 |
7 |
Aggregate Industries UK Limited |
UK |
49 |
* |
8 |
Hyundai Motor Company |
South Korea |
48 |
* |
9 |
Orion Corporation |
South Korea |
48 |
11 |
10 |
Aldi Stores Limited |
UK |
44 |
* |
11 |
BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED |
Australia |
43 |
7 |
12 |
Unilever Plc |
UK |
38 |
* |
13 |
DuluxGroup (Australia) Pty Ltd |
Australia |
37 |
* |
14 |
H.Bull & Son (Textiles) Limited |
UK |
37 |
14 |
15 |
British Telecommunications plc |
UK |
36 |
* |
16 |
EVORIN PHARMA LIMITED |
UK |
36 |
* |
17 |
VaperCrew Eliquids Ltd |
UK |
36 |
* |
18 |
Anish Patel |
UK |
35 |
13 |
19 |
Dignity Funerals Ltd |
UK |
35 |
* |
20 |
Mikesh Patel |
UK |
35 |
Click here to find a Chartered Trade Mark Attorney, who will be able to offer you advice on trade mark and design matters.
Full year-on-year summary:
Intellectual property right |
|
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
2016 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Patents |
Applications |
22,256 |
23,229 |
22,936 |
23,040 |
22,801 |
22,055 |
|
Publications |
10,043 |
10,653 |
11,021 |
12,227 |
11,939 |
12,065 |
|
Grant |
7,173 |
6,864 |
5,235 |
4,986 |
5,464 |
5,602 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Trade marks |
Applications |
41,044 |
43,873 |
50,331 |
54,498 |
58,627 |
65,710 |
|
Registrations |
33,172 |
36,755 |
43,548 |
45,123 |
50,079 |
54,222 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Designs |
Applications |
4,730 |
5,231 |
5,210 |
5,084 |
6,472 |
10,030 |
|
Registrations |
3,423 |
5,144 |
4,671 |
4,901 |
5,690 |
8,481 |