Patents service updates and improvements

What we’re working on

We’ve published a roadmap we’re working on over the next 12 months. These are the highest priority improvements that we’re working on now. We expect these to be done in summer / autumn 2026.

• patent application improvements 
  - changes to make it easier to select the correct representative for the account
  - when you submit a patent application you will get an immediate receipt of what you submitted. This ‘submission receipt’ will give you all the information you’d have in your official filing receipt and more, including any documents
  - improvements to ‘check your answers’ page to include fee details and to prompt further checks

• respond to an examination improvements
  - additional documents upload option, allowing response letter in PDF format and option to add your reference to the response 

• improvements to account sign up
  - introduce a better process for linking your account to your patents when you sign up

What we’ve already done

Release notes: 2622 AugustJuly 2026

Service improvements

Apply for a patent

We have made the following improvements to the Apply for a patent service: 

• you will now be able to add representative details more easily when applying for a GB patent. On the ’Assign representation’ screen you arewill applyingnow forbe presented with three options if your account is linked to an organisation:
  
  - the organisation your account is linked to
  
  - the applicant
  
  - a different attorney or individual 
  
  This means that you will only need to search for an attorney or representative if the representative is not you / your organisation. This update has not yet been applied to national phase applications

• when you file a national phase application email notifications are now automated wherever it is possible to automate them

• when you remove an applicant from your patent andapplication addingit will now also remove them as the inventor. Previously if you removed an applicant, they would be retained as the inventor

• when orupdating representativean application you details,will now see a change on the fullfinal addressconfirmation page or ‘green screen’. That screen will nownow contain a belink saying ‘View displayedthis request in searchyour results.application Thishistory’. This will givetake you greaterto confidencethe thatrelevant patent details in your account

• you arewill find a selectinglink to updated guidance on the correct‘Upload addressthe detailsclaims’ page

• you will see updated content if you receive any error messages when filing a national phase application, so it is consistent with other parts of the service

SearchManage for intellectual propertyproperty 

We /have Checkmade the patentsfollowing journalimprovements to the Manage intellectual property service: 

• when creating an account for the first time, you will have a better experience. We have introduced improvements to how patent owners and representatives link their account to their patents. It removes steps from the process and makes it easier to verify who you are, with less manual intervention from IPO staff. This is the first in a series of updates on this theme. 

Service-wide improvements 

We have made the following improvements to the Searchthe for intellectualwhole propertyservice: 

• you will see changes to improve /the Checkaccessibility of invoice PDF files, including appropriate alt-text and document titles

• we’re making ongoing enhancements to platform performance and security

Release notes: 11 June 2026

Service improvements

Apply for a patent

We’ve made the patentsfollowing journalupdates services:to the apply for a patent service:

• whenyou viewingwill casenow detailssee consistent content when applying for adivisional nationalapplications phaseand GB patent applications,applications. Specifically:
  
  - when submitting a ‘File only’ divisional application you will nowno findlonger see excess fees reference for descriptions over 35 pages
  
  - when submitting a direct‘File link& tosearch’ divisional application you will now see the relevant patentexcess infees

Manage WIPO’sintellectual Patentscopeproperty

We’ve database
made the following updates to the Manage intellectual property service:

• you will nowsee bechanges ableto the ‘enter numbers’ screen to seeimprove applicantusability and ownerconsistency detailswhen andsubmitting searcha forChange themof inrepresentative. bothThis included changing the patentsize journalof the headers, changes to spacing and SPCtweaks Journal
  to language used

Service-wide improvements

We have made the following improvements to the whole service:

• youwe canmade nowa searchsecurity update to address an isolated incident on 5 June. This resulted in a period of maintenance while the patentsroot registercause was identified and journalfixed

Bug byfixes

Apply justfor enteringa ‘GB’patent

We’ve orfixed ‘EP’.the Previouslyfollowing bugs in the Apply for a fullpatents applicationservice:

• you orwill publicationno numberlonger hadsee tolong names dragging across the screen on the inventor permissions screen. Text will now be entered
  contained to the correct margins for the page format

Manage intellectual property

We’ve fixed the following bugs in the Manage intellectual property service:

• you will no longer see improvementsformatting toissues causing unexpected hyperlinks and characters on specific pages in the presentationManage intellectual property service
  
• you will no longer encounter an error when selecting certain owner options when transferring ownership of patents thatand arechanging taggedrepresentative. asThis ‘SPCs’occurred inon searchthe results.‘Check Ityour willanswers’ makepage informationif easieryou toadded readtwo ofowners users ___________________________and then also selected the first owner (with a newly added address) as the representative

Release notes: 2228 JulyMay 2026

Service improvements

Apply for a patent

WeWe’ve have mademade the following improvementsthe to the Applyfollowing for aupdates patent service: to the apply for a patent service.

You will now see accurate fees when:

• yourequesting will nowa beSearch ableafter toa addfiling representativedate detailsonly more easilyapplication whenhas applyingbeen for a GBsubmitted patent. Onand the ’Assignthe representation’application screenfee youhas willbeen nowpaid
  

• requesting bea presentedSearch with& threeExamination, options if yourafter accounta is linkedfiling to andate organisation:
  
  -only application has been submitted and the organisationapplication your account isfee linked to
  
  -has the applicant
  
  -been a differentpaid

The attorneyapplication or individual 

This means thatfee you will onlyis neednow to search for an attorneynot orincluded representativein if thethe representativefees is not you / your organisation. Thisif update hasthe notcustomer yethas been appliedalready topaid national phasethe applicationsapplication fee.

• you will now see updated fee information when youselecting filethe atype nationalof phasedivisional application emailyou notificationswish areto nowmake. automatedThe whereverupdated itinformation isreflects possibleour latest fees as of 1 April 2026

Manage intellectual property

We’ve made the following updates to automatethe themManage intellectual property service:

• when you removewill ansee applicantminor fromupdates yourto patentthe applicationaccount ithome willpage nowto alsomake removenavigation themeasier

Bug asfixes

We’ve fixed the inventor.following Previouslybugs ifin the Apply for a patents service:

• you removedwill annow applicant,see theythe wouldtransaction be retained asnumber displayed on the inventorconfirmation screen when requesting a patent examination

• when updating an application youinventor details for a patent, you will nowalways be able to see awhen changeyou onhave selected ‘other’ as the finalreason confirmationthat pagethe orapplicant ‘greenhas screen’. Thatderived screenthe willright now contain ato link saying ‘Viewapply thisfor requestthe inpatent yourfrom applicationthe history’. Thisinventor. willPreviously, takethis youwasn’t tovisible if the relevant‘other’ patentoption detailswas inselected yourwhen accountthe application was originally submitted

• you

Release will find anotes: link7 toMay updated2026

Service guidanceimprovements

Apply onfor a patent

We’ve made the ‘Uploadfollowing updates to the claims’apply pagefor a patent service:

• you will seenow updatedreceive content ifan youemail receiveconfirming any errorreceipt messagesof whenyour payment immediately after filing a nationalpatent. phaseThe application,IPO sowill itstill isneed consistentto withcomplete otherchecks partsto ofconfirm the service

  correct fees have been paid before the invoice is issued

ManageService-wide intellectual property updates

WeWe’ve have made the following improvements to the Manage intellectualthe property service: whole service:

• whenyou creatingwill annow account forsee the firstcustomer time,name you willadded haveto a better experience. We haveinvoices

Bug introduced improvementsfixes

We’ve to how patent ownersfixed and representativesthe linkfollowing theirbugs account toin their patents.the It removes stepsApply fromfor thea processpatents andservice:

• you makeswill itno easierlonger see a value of ‘0’ returned in the ‘fee to verifypay’ who youfield are,on with lessexcess manualclaims intervention fromor IPO staff. Thisexcess pages. The correct fee is thenow firstdisplayed
  
• you will no longer encounter an issue where you cannot file new documents or update documents to progress your application when responding to an examination report
  
• fixed an issue related to filenames which would result in a seriessmall number of updatestransactions onnot thisprogressing theme. through our internal systems in the usual way

Release notes: 16 April 2026

Service improvements

Service-wideApply improvements for a patent

WeWe’ve have made the following improvementsupdates to the wholeapply service: for a patent service:

• you will see changes to improveyou will no longer see an error in the accessibilitycontent of invoice PDF files,of includingthe appropriate alt-text and‘Title documentof titlesthe invention’ page

• we’re makingyou ongoingwill enhancementssee updated text on the ‘Add applicants’ page that is easier to platformunderstand

Service-wide performanceupdates

We’ve andmade securitythe following updates to the whole service:

• you will now see links to provide feedback on all submission confirmation pages

Archive

When this page is updated old content will be removed so it remains current. You can find details of past release notes by viewing the archive timeline of this page, which can be searched by calendar date. You can also view ‘Show all updates’ at the bottom of this page to see when the page was updated.