Corporation Tax Act 2010 section 357BD

Meaning of "qualifying development"

Section 357BD defines what counts as "qualifying development" in relation to a patent or intellectual property right, for the purposes of the Patent Box regime.

• A company carries out qualifying development if it creates, or significantly contributes to creating, the invention covered by the right.
• Qualifying development also includes performing a significant amount of activity to develop the invention, or any item or process that incorporates it.
• Developing an invention includes finding new ways in which the invention may be used or applied, not just improving the invention itself.
• It does not matter whether the qualifying development was carried out before or after the company (or any member of its group) acquired the right or an exclusive licence over it.