The UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) updated its new patents service notice on 27 October: from 9 November, patents must be renewed through an IP account rather than the current renewal page on the UK government website, while trade mark and registered design renewals stay as they are. Web Filing, the legacy system due to close on 8 November, will stay open for now and is expected to retire in early December, with the exact date to be confirmed. On 29 October UKIPO added a submission receipt and other features to the new service and published its September filing statistics.
Patent renewals: log in from 9 November
The renewals service works almost exactly as before: you can still pay by card or deposit account and renew up to 1,500 patents in one transaction. The change is access. Owners without an account must sign up first, and from 9 November the current renewal page will direct users to log in to renew patents, while trade marks and designs can still be renewed there without an account. Patents can no longer be renewed in the same transaction as trade marks and designs.
Legacy systems retire in stages
- Web Filing will not close on 8 November; retirement is expected in early December, with the date to follow.
- UKIPO's dedicated email address for forms will remain available after Web Filing retires.
- A contingency document upload service will launch in the coming weeks as a back-up if the new patents service is unavailable, before Web Filing is switched off.
Live on 29 October: submission receipts
After filing a GB application, a PCT national phase (NP1) entry or a divisional application through the new Apply for a patent service, applicants can now download a submission receipt from the confirmation screen, with all application details and uploaded documents. The same release lets account administrators delete draft applications (previously only the draft's creator could), applies the correct translation fees to NP1 applications, and lets owners link the patents they own or manage to their account online instead of by phone.
September filing figures
UKIPO's monthly statistics, published on 29 October, show 2,695 patent applications in September 2026 (2,508 filed directly and 187 PCT applications), 17,381 trade mark applications (15,055 domestic and 2,326 Madrid) and 7,161 design applications (6,024 domestic and 1,137 Hague). UKIPO notes that recent months may be revised slightly for late entries and that the data should not be used to measure innovation.
J&C recommends that patent owners renewing in the UK set up an IP account and link their patents to it before 9 November, and stop bundling patent renewals with trade mark and design renewals in one transaction. Anyone still filing through Web Filing should get used to the new service before it retires in early December, and watch for the exact date the UK Intellectual Property Office announces.
Source: www.gov.uk | www.gov.uk | www.gov.uk
