Survey spotlights expected rise in R&D spending

For the second year running, Withers & Rogers, patent and trade mark attorneys, found 77 per cent of companies saying their R&D spend had increased or stayed the same despite the uncertain economic conditions, and the majority (53 per cent) are expecting to spend more on R&D in the year ahead.

A third of businesses are also expecting to increase the volume of intellectual property (IP) activity next year. Only 13 per cent of companies said they expect to spend less on R&D in 2011.
 
Karl Barnfather, partner and patent attorney at Withers & Rogers, said: ‘Our poll suggests businesses are feeling quietly confident about the year ahead, despite concerns about the impact of public-sector spending cuts and continuing global economic uncertainty. This is evident in their intention to increase spend on R&D in 2011 and to extend their IP protection.

‘UK businesses also know how critical innovation is to maintaining and growing market share – by bringing new value-added products and services to market they stand to gain by differentiating their offer and increasing volumes.