The European Patent Office (EPO) offers the chance to obtain European Patents – but why should an applicant consider this route versus the possibility of filing in each country or not filing at all?

Recent high-profile disputes involving family names and bran d ownership have brought renewed interest in protection of names. The question then arises: how does one really exercise control over a name?

In the second part of this two-part article, we take a deeper dive into the European Patent Office (EPO) Board of Appeal case law relating to inventions in the field of food technology.

The INTA Annual Meeting 2026 in London brought together the global intellectual property community to discuss the profession's evolving landscape. Three dominant themes emerged: the careful integration of AI into IP practice, mounting economic and geopolitical pressures reshaping client behavior, and the profession's ongoing operational adaptation to hybrid working models and changing market dynamics.

The recently published "Intellectual Property Rights and Firm Performance in the European Union" (2025) study from the European Union...

The EPO and IP Australia have announced a 2-year pilot programme whereby Australian applicants can designate the EPO as their International Search Authority (ISA) and/or International Preliminary Examination Authority (IPEA) under the PCT.

In the fifth of our IP for SME series, we look at the story of Velcro; from the idea generation to the practical invention - and how intellectual property protection has been crucial to Velcro's story and success.

The United Kingdom's departure from the European Union triggered the creation of a large number of trade mark registrations in the UK.

In 2021, Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. was granted a US patent (US10,926,179) for its "Nemesis system" - a gameplay mechanic featured prominently in the game Middle-earth...

If your pharmaceutical company operates in the UK, recent changes in the law regarding Supplementary Protection Certificates (SPCs) are likely to affect you. This article explains what these changes...

The £1.4bn sale of The Ivy Collection demonstrates that true value in luxury hospitality lies not in physical assets, but in brand protection and intellectual property. How can ambitious restaurant groups replicate this success by securing their trade marks, visual identity, and defensible market position before scaling?

The Unitary Patent system offers a revolutionary approach to securing intellectual property rights across Europe through a single, streamlined process.

Chappell Roan, Dua Lipa and Twenty One Pilots among spate of major music artists cracking down on counterfeit merchandise...

They are both viewed as having the potential to provide world-changing applications which will improve many lives. However, both technologies face an issue with public opinion, which will likely provide an obstacle...

The recently issued decision of the Supreme Court in Iconix Luxembourg Holdings SARL v Dream Pairs Europe Inc is big news in the world of trade marks and brand protection.

While the Emotional Perception case was about the patentability of an artificial neural network, the Justices took the opportunity to reject the Aerotel test laid down in 2006 by the Court of Appeal and used by the UK Intellectual Property Office ever since.

The HEVC Advance Patent Pool has become a focal point for standard-essential patent disputes, with major technology companies facing coordinated litigation across multiple jurisdictions. As licensors pursue enforcement through both the Unified Patent Court and national courts, questions arise about whether offered licensing terms truly meet FRAND obligations and how companies should navigate this complex multi-forum landscape.

When it comes to innovation, protecting your ideas can be just as important as creating them.

The New Regulation will enter into force at the European Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) in two phases: the first phase on 1 May 2025, and the second phase on 1 July 2026.

Filing new applications, seeking foreign protection, responding to examination reports, and paying renewal fees all require significant and sustained expenditure, alongside generating and harvesting the ‘next’ tranche...