In Scotland trade mark applications have risen by a quarter in the last year with a particularly strong showing in the food and drink sector.
When you set up a new business, you may have to apply for a patent or trade mark to safeguard your products and you might need to employ a firm such as Marks & Clerk the patent attorneys who have an office in Edinburgh.
Campbell Newell, a partner in Marks & Clerk’s Edinburgh office, notes that the spike in applications – including a recent upsurge of craft brewers and distillers – indicates that the Scottish food and drink sector is continuing to thrive despite Brexit concerns.
Campbell said: “Scotland has always punched above its weight when it has come to producing ambitious entrepreneurs making their mark both nationally and internationally and our food and drink and tourism sectors are the envy of the world. These sectors have been carefully grown through hard work and innovation, however, and protecting this is crucial.
“It’s therefore great to see that Scottish businesses are continuing to recognise the importance of protecting and investing in their intellectual property – something we are seeing repeated across our Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen offices.
“The results of this savvy approach to protecting innovation and value is clear to see. The Scottish brewery sector for example has grown massively since 2010 thanks to an explosion in the popularity of craft beers with 115 breweries operating in 2018, compared to just 35 eight years ago.
“Likewise there are now 128 malt and grain distilleries in Scotland, giving the country the largest concentration of whisky producers in the world, and buy local initiatives are reaping dividends.
“It all serves to reaffirm Scotland’s status as a leading marketplace for ambitious young businesses looking to make their mark.”
Scotland has done better than Wales and Northern Ireland with more trade marks and patents registered here.
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
