mur16 Feb 2013 22:32
Keith Young, chief executive, says the reason behind the rising profitability is that Murgitroyd is getting more work done by its own patent attorneys. This reduces the amount they have to spend on costly external advisors in so-called disbursements, which go into the cost of sales. Encouragingly for investors, Murgitroyd increased its number of qualified attorneys during the first half from 64 to 67.
True, there is some uncertainty on the horizon. The European Union recently reached agreement on the Unified Patent Court. This could greatly reduce the number of patent filings. There will no longer be a requirement to file patents in each EU country, as only one EU-wide filing will be required. Mr Young is unfazed. He says the new court will not open until 2014 at the earliest and, even when it does, it is unclear whether multi-nationals will prefer EU-wide patents to the existing tried-and-tested system. He doesnt anticipate a significant hit on revenues.