The Intellectual Property Legal Profession - contributing to "UK PLC"

Intellectual Property Rights:

Intellectual property rights cover trade marks, patents, copyrights and designs. The intellectual property legal profession operates across the UK, European and world markets. In 2011, the UK intellectual property market had an estimated worth of £63.5 billion.

World leaders:

The specialist lawyers regulated by IPReg protect the ideas, inventions, designs and logos of world leading organisations such as:

  • BAE Systems
  • BP
  • British Telecoms
  • BBC
  • Jaguar Land Rover
  • Unilever

And the Ministry of Defence

“UK PLC”

Industries which invest heavily in IP assets play an important role in our economy.  The Taylor Wessing Global IP Index ranks the UK’s overall IP environment in the global top tier. A study in 2013 found that IPR-intensive industries generated an estimated 27% of UK employment and 37% of UK Gross Domestic Product (the total value of good produced and services provided during one year). In 2014, an estimated 38,000 UK firms applied for some form of IP right.

The size of the regulated profession:

The number of Attorneys as at 1 April 2024: 3,596

Comprising:

Patent Attorneys                                                 2,550

Trade Mark Attorneys                                            840

Patent & Trade Mark Attorneys                              206

The Number of Regulated Entities as at 31 December 2023:  257

Historic data on the number of regulated attorneys and entities can be found here