From e-commerce startup to IP tech founder In 2014, Katherine Hedley co-founded RenewalsDesk, a legal-tech platform designed to automate the business admin and cost of patent renewals. The move took her from the fast-paced world of digital retail startups — she had previously worked at companies including Fab.com, the design-focused e-commerce marketplace — into one of the more opaque corners of intellectual property (IP) management.
Hedley spotted that patent holders were often paying more than necessary simply to keep their rights alive. Annual renewal fees are due in every country where a patent is granted, and the rules, deadlines and costs change as a patent ages. FoFor small businesses, inventors and technology startups, the process is easy to overlook, expensive to outsource and full of jargon that discourages owners from taking control, starting with something as basic as what is a limited company.er experience in high-growth online businesses gave her a clear view of how software could strip away unnecessary manual work. Where traditional renewal services relied on spreadsheets, email reminders and intermediary mark-ups, she saw an opportunity to build a product that put the patent holder in charge.
Why patent renewals matter for UK businesses
A patent is only an asset while it remains in force. In the UK, the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) requires renewal fees from the fifth anniversary of the filing date, with charges rising as the patent gets older. As of 2024, UK patent renewal fees start at £70 and increase to £600 by year 20. If a deadline is missed, the patent can lapse; although a six-month grace period is available, allowing it to expire can destroy years of investment in research, development and market positioning.
The scale of the market is significant. Worldwide, there were around 16 million patents in force in 2022, according to WIPO. The UK IPO receives roughly 20,000 patent applications each year and maintains a register that includes thousands of live rights. For any business building value from innovation, renewals are not a back-office afterthought; they are a core part of IP strategy and cash-flow planning.
The gap Hedley saw in the market
Before RenewalsDesk, many patent holders relied on patent attorneys or renewal agents simply to pay fees they could often manage themselves. Hedley found that owners were “really in the dark about their renewal fees and exactly what they were paying for.” The result was inflated costs, poor visibility and a sense that the renewal process was out of their control.
Her response was to build a self-service platform. Users upload their patents, and the system calculates renewal dates and fees for each jurisdiction. It then sends alerts when payments are due and can connect to a payment system to automate renewals. The aim was to empower patent holders to take control of their IP rather than delegate it blindly to intermediaries.
What RenewalsDesk offers
The platform’s value proposition is straightforward: transparency, automation and lower costs. By centralising renewal data, it reduces the risk of a missed deadline and removes the need for manual spreadsheets or attorney-led payment routines for straightforward portfolios. For startups and SMEs with limited legal budgets, that can free up cash for product development, marketing or further patent filings.
Importantly, the service does not replace professional advice where it is genuinely needed. Complex portfolios, opposition proceedings or licensing negotiations still benefit from specialist input. But for the routine task of paying renewal fees, technology can handle much of the heavy lifting.
Lessons for women-led and technology startups
Hedley’s move into legal tech is a useful case study for any founder looking at regulated or legacy industries. Rather than competing on brand or price alone, she identified a process that was slow, manual and poorly understood, then used software to make it transparent. It is the kind of “unglamorous” problem — compliance, renewals, filing deadlines — that often creates the strongest opportunities for disruption.
For women founders in the UK, the context remains challenging. Female-led businesses still receive a minority of equity investment; according to the British Business Bank, all-female founder teams receive less than 2% of UK venture capital, while women remain underrepresented in technology and IP-heavy sectors. Yet the UK is one of Europe’s leading legal-tech markets, and platforms like RenewalsDesk show how founders can build scalable businesses by solving practical problems for other businesses.
Protecting your own IP: where to start
If you are building a business around an invention, brand or creative work, renewals should be part of your budget from the outset. Key steps include:
- Record renewal dates for every patent, trade mark or registered design you own.
- Understand the fee schedule in each territory; UK IPO fees are published openly and rise with the age of the patent.
- Decide whether to manage renewals in-house, use a platform, or instruct an attorney for complex portfolios.
- Set calendar alerts well ahead of deadlines and budget for currency fluctuations if paying overseas agents.
Automation tools can reduce risk and admin time, but they do not replace legal advice on strategy, enforcement or licensing. For an overview of IP rights, see our guide to intellectual property basics.
Conclusion
Katherine Hedley’s work with RenewalsDesk is a reminder that innovation in business does not always mean inventing a new product. Sometimes it means redesigning the processes that surround existing products — in this case, the costly, confusing world of patent renewals. For UK entrepreneurs managing IP on tight budgets, that kind of disruption is long overdue.
