Securing a patent to claim Patent Box tax relief

Delta Balustrades approached Adamson Jones with the goal of obtaining a quick patent for their pre-installed balustrade system so that they could start taking advantage of the UK Patent Box tax relief.

About Delta Balustrades

Delta Balustrades are a family-run business with over 35-years of experience in the design, manufacture and installation of high quality, bespoke balustrades and handrail systems across the UK. The company operate within a wide range of public sectors including apartments, commercial, education, healthcare, retail and leisure. With an in-house design team, a UK-based production facility, and an on-site project management team, Delta ensures consistent quality throughout each stage of the project. Recent projects include a 14-storey residential development in Sheffield and the Barking Town centre Crown House development of 169 homes over 20 storeys.

Focus on safety

Falls from heights are the greatest cause of fatalities in the construction industry. Delta Balustrades have a strong commitment not just to quality but also to safety and compliance throughout the whole design, manufacture and installation process. It was this focus on safety that led to the development of Konnekt®, a revolutionary solution for precast staircases. The Konnekt® offsite balustrade system allows for the installation of instant safe stair use in large commercial and high-rise buildings. Using a precast stair with a handrail already fitted reduces installation time by 80% as the stair is dropped straight into place. It is also almost instantly available to use, which improves access and safety around the site, and eliminates the need for expensive temporary edge protection.

UK Patent Box tax relief

Konnekt’s offsite installation of the balustrade to the staircase makes it unique to the construction industry and therefore patentable. The main aim was to obtain a quick turnaround on a patent for Konnekt® to secure protection and thus prevent copying by competitors. In addition to the protection provided, having UK patent protection for Konnekt® would also enable Delta to claim Patent Box tax relief on profits generated by the system. The UK Patent Box scheme provides corporation tax relief on profits generated by a product or service that is covered by a UK patent. Adamson Jones filed the patent application for the Konnekt® pre-installed balustrades system in May 2020 and as there was no prior art and no objections, it went straight to grant in May 2021. This was particularly quick as the patent application can typically take between 3 to 5 years to be granted.

Exploiting innovation

Working closely with Delta at the beginning of the process ensured that technical matters were discussed in advance with Adamson Jones, and elements that would not be useful to the patent application were filtered out. Having a thorough understanding of Delta’s objectives for the patent meant that drafting the application was simpler and more straightforward. This also meant that processes could be streamlined, and the patent could be offered at a fixed cost upfront, making it easier for Delta to budget.

1. Adamson Jones streamlined our processes to manage timings and keep things simple so that we were able to obtain a patent for our client within a year of filing.
2. This pragmatic approach also meant that we were able to pass cost savings onto our client.
3. By offering a patent at a fixed price Delta were able to better manage the costs.

The outcome

With the Konnekt® patent, Delta can claim a reduction in the corporation tax they pay against profits generated by the Konnekt® to around 10% (dependent on certain criteria) for the lifetime of the patent, which is 20 years. Once the new Konnekt® product is generating profit, the Patent Box tax relief obtained for Konnekt® can very quickly offset the cost of obtaining the patent and then enable the shareholders to retain a greater proportion of the profit (after tax) derived from the invention into the future. Alongside this, Delta has a granted patent that allows them to stop would-be competitors from copying their invention.