Exemplar 4: Renew a patent
Published 1 June 2013
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/gds-transformation-programme-2013-to-2015/exemplar-4-renew-a-patent
The Renew a patent exemplar aimed to process 380,000 patents being renewed online each year.
Department responsible
| Department | Permanent secretary | Digital leader |
|---|---|---|
| Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and Insolvency Service | Martin Donnelly | Tim Knighton |
Status
Service is live and being continuously improved.
Watch a short film about the live service, filmed June 2014:
Video: renew a patent online live service
Watch a description of the service, filmed December 2013:
Exemplar 4: Patent renewals - Background
Successes
Tested by the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Intellectual Property.
Positive user feedback from public beta, including the observation that completing the transaction was ‘a doddle’.
Live service released.
Challenges
Ensuring that the Intellectual Property Office takes ownership of the ongoing development of the service once live.
Next
Continuously improve live service based on user feedback.
Live service performance
Digital take-up is measured by the proportion of patent renewals made using the digital service](https://www.gov.uk/performance/renew-patent/digital-takeup).
The service’s user satisfaction data is also collected.
The completion rate is the proportion of users who start and complete their application using the digital service.
Digital strategy statement
From the ‘Department for Business Innovation & Skills digital strategy’, December 2012:
Companies, intermediaries and individuals will be able to apply for, track and manage their Patents, Trade Marks and Designs in a simple to use and integrated on-line service that is far easier and more convenient to use than the current paper based approach.
Scope of exemplar
The exemplar focuses on patent renewals, which is the highest volume transaction and the one most regularly demanded by the Intellectual Property Office’s users. Patent renewals is a pathfinder for a digital service that manages the lifecycle of an intellectual property right, from application to grant to renewal. The Intellectual Property Office has been using agile development for 2+ years and is currently considering a genuine agile business transformation programme to fully align its digital services with the improved business process.
Digital inclusion
GDS has mapped the exemplars against the digital inclusion scale to help show where these services may be difficult for some people to use. See the rating for Renew a patent.
Discovery
Completed: Discovery - July 2013.
Read about the discovery phase.
Alpha
Completed: Start alpha build - August 2013.
Beta
Completed: Private beta development and testing - August 2013 to March 2014.
Completed: Release public beta - March 2014.
Live
Completed: Service goes live (depending on user feedback) - July 2014.
Anticipated volume
380k renewals a year
Service Link
See the renew a patent service
For further information about this project please contact us.