Should I Get a Patent When Applying for an Innovate UK Smart Grant?

When applying for an Innovate UK Smart Grant, one question that often arises is whether securing a patent would improve your chances of success. While a patent is not an explicit requirement for the grant, having one (or a pending patent application) can significantly strengthen your application. Here's why:

1. Demonstrating Innovation: A key criterion for Innovate UK Smart Grants is that your project is truly innovative and goes beyond the current state-of-the-art. A patent provides compelling evidence of this. The technical and legal language in a patent application can be used to prove the cutting-edge nature of your technology. Referencing a patent application number early in your grant application can persuade evaluators that yours is a serious proposition.

2. Enhancing Commercial Potential: Innovate UK wants to fund projects with strong commercial potential and a clear route to market. A patent enhances the commercial value of your innovation by providing a competitive advantage and a degree of market exclusivity. It shows you have considered how to protect and exploit your innovation, which is viewed positively by grant assessors.

3. Developing an IP Strategy: Innovate UK encourages applicants to have a clear IP strategy outlining how they will manage, protect, and exploit the intellectual property generated by the project. A patent (or plans to file one) forms a critical part of this strategy. It shows you have thought strategically about safeguarding your innovation. Innovate UK, in collaboration with the Intellectual Property Office (IPO), even offers IP Audit grants to help businesses better understand and strategize their IP.

4. Strengthening Credibility: Securing a patent involves an independent assessment of your innovation's novelty and inventive step by the patent office. This provides an objective validation of your technology's uniqueness, adding credibility to your grant application.

5. Protecting Your Assets: Ultimately, a patent provides a legal mechanism to stop others from copying, manufacturing, selling, or importing your invention without permission. This is crucial to safeguard your market share and ensure you reap the commercial rewards from your innovation. Applying for a Smart Grant shows you are serious about developing your technology - a patent shows you are equally serious about protecting it.

In conclusion, while a patent is not mandatory for an Innovate UK Smart Grant application, it can significantly enhance your chances of success. A patent provides strong evidence of innovation, enhances your commercial potential, forms part of a robust IP strategy, strengthens your credibility, and helps protect your market advantage. However, if you don't have a patent, you should still apply. The grant can support you for all the reasons stated, and having a compelling, innovative project can still lead to success.

Of course, patenting decisions should always be made in the context of your overall business strategy and with professional IP advice. But if you are considering a Smart Grant application, it's definitely worth exploring how a patent could bolster your case.