Income Tax (Trading and Other Income) Act 2005 section 599

Sums paid for Crown use etc. treated as paid under licence

Section 599 deals with the tax treatment of payments made when a patented invention is used by the Crown or a foreign government, ensuring such payments are taxed as if they were licence payments.

• Where a patented invention is used by or for the service of the Crown under the Patents Act 1977 (sections 55 to 59), or by a foreign government under equivalent laws, special tax rules apply
• The use of the patented invention is treated as though it took place under a licence for the purposes of the patent income tax rules in sections 587 to 596
• Any sums paid in respect of that use are likewise treated as if they had been paid under a licence
• This ensures that Crown and foreign government use of patented inventions is brought within the same income tax charging provisions that apply to commercial patent licence payments