UK Innovation API — IP & Research Score
Venture capital firms screening deal flow need to know whether a target company has genuine IP. Patent attorneys need to map competitors' filing strategies. Government innovation agencies need to identify R&D-active companies for support programmes. But this data lives in three separate systems — the European Patent Office for patents, UKRI Gateway to Research for public grants, and Companies House for SIC code classification. The Innovation Intelligence endpoint unifies them behind a single company identifier with a proprietary Innovation Score.
What You Get
- •Innovation Score (0-100): proprietary composite of patent portfolio, research funding, R&D sector alignment
- •Patent portfolio: patents from the EPO database with publication numbers, filing dates, and countries
- •Research grants: UKRI-funded research projects with funder, status, and value
- •R&D indicators: SIC code analysis for technology and research sector alignment
- •Company context: company name, number, and SIC codes from Companies House
Data Sources
European Patent Office (EPO)
Open Patent Services providing access to 130M+ patent documents worldwide. Covers UK, European, and international patents filed by UK companies. OAuth2 authenticated.
UKRI Gateway to Research
UK Research and Innovation's database of funded projects across all seven research councils plus Innovate UK. Covers grants, fellowships, and innovation funding.
Companies House
Company profile and SIC code classification for R&D sector alignment analysis.
Scoring Algorithm
Innovation Score
Weighted composite: patent portfolio size (30%), patent recency (20%), research grants (25%), active research projects (15%), R&D SIC code alignment (10%). Designed for VC screening, M&A IP assessment, and innovation benchmarking.
Use Cases
VC Deal Flow Screening
Venture capital firms screen target companies for innovation signals. The Innovation Score, combined with patent data and UKRI grants, provides an instant R&D health check that would otherwise require expensive patent searches.
M&A IP Assessment
Acquiring companies need to assess the target's IP portfolio. The endpoint reveals patent holdings, active research, and public grant funding — key indicators of innovation value and risk.
Government Innovation Policy
Innovation agencies (Innovate UK, British Business Bank) identify R&D-active companies for support programmes. Batch calls across sectors map the UK's innovation landscape.
Competitive Patent Intelligence
Patent attorneys and corporate IP teams monitor competitors' filing activity. The EPO data shows recent filings and portfolio size without navigating Espacenet manually.
Example
Request
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \ "https://www.ukdatapi.com/api/v1/innovation/00000006?depth=standard"
Response
{
"data": {
"entity": { "company_number": "00000006", "name": "ARM LIMITED", "sic_codes": ["62012"] },
"innovation_score": {
"score": 88,
"rating": "LEADING",
"signals": [
{ "factor": "patent_portfolio", "contribution": 29, "weight": 0.30, "detail": "150+ patents found in EPO database" },
{ "factor": "research_grants", "contribution": 23, "weight": 0.25, "detail": "25 UKRI-funded research projects" }
],
"recommendation": "Leading innovator. Strong patent portfolio and active research funding."
},
"patents": { "total": 150 },
"research": { "total_projects": 25, "active_projects": 3 }
}
}Pricing
| Depth | Credits |
|---|---|
| Summary | 4 |
| Standard | 12 |
| Full | 24 |
Related Endpoints
GET /api/v1/entity/{identifier}
UK Company Intelligence API
Access 5M+ UK companies via API. Get officers, PSCs, filings, charges, regulatory status, and proprietary Corporate Distress Score (0-100). From £0.002/call.
GET /api/v1/director/{name_or_id}
UK Director API
Director intelligence API: full company portfolio, disqualification check, Gazette notices, and proprietary Director Risk Score (0-100). Person-centric due diligence. From £0.01/call.
GET /api/v1/funding/{query}
UK Funding API
Funding intelligence API: matching grants from 360Giving (200+ funders), UKRI research projects, government contracts, and proprietary Funding Opportunity Score (0-100). From £0.008/call.