§ Mr. Gordon PrenticeTo ask the President of the Board of Trade how many proposals were patented in each year since 1990; and how many have been taken up. [15165]
§ Mr. Ian McCartneySince 1990 the United Kingdom Patent Office has granted patents as follows:
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Year Total UK applications 1990 9,396 3,265 1991 9,346 3,307 1992 9,421 3,331 1993 8,330 3,019 1994 9,530 3,517 1995 9,475 3,648 1996 7,132 2,737 During the same period, the European Patent Office granted the patents covering the United Kingdom under the European Patent Convention, to which the United Kingdom is a signatory, as follows:
Year Total UK applications 1990 22,783 1,096 1991 24,729 1,186 1992 28,407 1,311 1993 34,256 1,470 1994 39,242 1,705 1995 38,877 1,596 1996 37,203 1,585 Information on which of these has been commercially exploited is not available, and could not be compiled at reasonable cost. However, during this period the following total numbers of patents covering the UK were renewed, perhaps indicating commercial exploitation:
Year Total 1990 230,994 1991 227,220 1992 228,665 1993 222,897 1994 230,566 1995 243,732 1996 256,991 A breakdown of this table to cover UK applicants could be provided only at disproportionate cost.