Capital Allowances Act 2001

Chapter 1 Introduction

464 Patent allowances

(1) Allowances are available under this Part if a person incurs qualifying expenditure on the purchase of patent rights.

(2) In this Part “patent rights” means the right to do or authorise the doing of anything which would, but for that right, be an infringement of a patent.

465 Future patent rights

(1) References in this Part to expenditure incurred on the purchase of patent rights include expenditure incurred on obtaining a right to acquire future patent rights.

(2) If a person—

(a) incurs expenditure on obtaining a right to acquire future patent rights, and

(b) subsequently acquires those rights,

the expenditure is to be treated as having been expenditure on the purchase of those rights.

(3) “A right to acquire future patent rights” means a right to acquire in the future patent rights relating to an invention in respect of which the patent has not yet been granted.

(4) References in this Part to the proceeds of a sale of patent rights include a sum received from a person which is treated under this section as expenditure incurred by him on the purchase of patent rights.

466 Grant of licences

(1) The acquisition of a licence in respect of a patent is to be treated as the purchase of patent rights.

(2) The grant of a licence in respect of a patent is to be treated as a sale of part of patent rights.

(3) But the grant by a person entitled to patent rights of an exclusive licence is to be treated as a sale of the whole of those rights.

(4) “Exclusive licence” means a licence to exercise those rights to the exclusion of the grantor and all other persons for the period remaining until the rights come to an end.