THE Ipswich office of accountants and business advisers PKF and Martlesham Heath-based patent attorneys Dummett Copp have teamed up to run a joint seminar.

The event, focused on the Government’s “Patent Box” changes, explained how to go about getting patent protection, including how it is possible to get protection for parts of a business that were not patent protected before.

Guests were also told how, if companies get patent protection for a new product, or a product improvement, some of the resulting profit will effectively be taxed at a lower rate under the new system.

Peter Harrup from PKF said: “The Patent Box will probably be the biggest change to the Corporation Tax regime next year.

“The key change is a reduction in the tax rate applied to certain types of income charge -down to 10% over a five-year period.

“This will offer a very welcome cash boost for businesses during difficult times and companies will need to make sure they are ready for the changes in order to maximise the relief and reduce undue administrative burden.”

Jacqueline Holmes of Dummett Copp added: “The UK Patent Box system starts on April 1 2013 and provides a reduced Corporation Tax rate for companies.

“It is an optional regime into which companies can elect, so long as they hold a qualifying itellectual property right.

“The scheme will allow businesses, who may have a UK patent covering a product, to pay a reduced tax rate of 10% on at least a part of their worldwide income from that product.”