Here’s an interesting question for you: what does the UK actually do?
The boring answer is that we do the stuff in the middle. About 78% of the British economy is made up by the ‘services sector’, that morass of work that doesn’t really result in a defined end product, but is awfully useful if you need something moving from A to B or fancy a really expensive chat with a lawyer.
The answer I prefer (even if it’s woefully inaccurate in GDP terms) is that we think of really clever things and make them happen. The UK has an incredibly long history of dreaming up things that didn’t exist and then shaping history so that they do exist.
Not convinced? Check out the Wikipedia list of inventions and innovations to originate in the British Isles.
It’s an embarrassment of riches. The fact that 70s-80s über-toy Spirograph only makes the ‘Miscellaneous’ section is testament to our rich creative history (though I’d like to have seen Jethro Tull draw a series of increasingly complex geometric shapes at the dining table using his revolutionary new seed drill).
A new breed of invention
Now, the cynics among you will point out that many of those inventions come from a time when Britain was a different country. Indeed, it’s easy to argue that our ingenuity seems to have been at its fiercest when the favourite national pastime was turning up on other continents in tall ships and telling the locals “congratulations, you’re now part of the British Empire.”
While our imperialistic tendencies may have waned however, our inventive spirit is well and truly alive. The annual British Invention Show gives out awards for the year’s best bit of ingenious thinking. This year’s winner was Don Morgan, who scooped first place for his cone-headed cycle helmet that helps protect their wearers better than standard guards.
The fact that Don hails from Yeronga, Queensland is neither here nor there. The British Invention Show isn’t the only kid on the block – it’s flanked by the Ideal Home Inventor of the Year Awards, the British Inventors Society, Nesta and more, not to mention the plucky hopefuls who turn up in the Den with a way of creating clean energy out of pipecleaners.
What’s that about a magic box?
We don’t just celebrate our inventors, we love them.
So does the government. In April next year, under HMRC’s Patent Box scheme, UK businesses will enjoy up to 10% off Corporate Tax on profits made from their patented inventions. This isn’t just good; it’s great – especially when we consider that more and more of us are catching the creative bug.
In an August survey conducted by the Big Bang – the UK and Young Scientists & Engineers Fair – one in ten of us said that we’ve looked into or applied for a patent in the past year. If true, that’s a genuinely incredible number.
And when the Patent Box surfaces, filing the next big idea will become an even more attractive proposition. It is hoped that the financial benefits resulting from the Patent Box relief may outweigh the cost of obtaining and maintaining patents.
It’s exactly the elbow to help nudge businesses and individuals towards further investment in research and development – an area that can boost any fast growth plan with a bit of weight behind it.
Right, now it’s time for you to start getting boxing clever. This is the modern age of invention in the UK and the government is offering to help. Take them up on that offer.