United Kingdom: Licensing & Syndication

Developing effective crop protection patents in Europe requires navigating complex challenges involving chemistry, biology, regulation and commercial strategy. From establishing inventive step for novel active ingredients to protecting formulations and synergistic combinations, agrochemical innovators must consider multiple layers of patent protection that align with lengthy regulatory timelines and evolving market needs.

FIFA has launched three innovation challenges targeting fan experience enhancement, advanced player wearables for real-time physiological monitoring, and automated substitution board technology. The initiatives reveal the governing body's strategic priorities in modernizing football through technology while maintaining creator IP ownership and establishing structured pathways from prototype to global implementation.

M&S and Sephora have launched an exciting brand collaboration that brings together two highly recognisable retail names. Beyond the consumer appeal, this partnership raises important questions about trade mark licensing, co-branding arrangements, and how both parties maintain control over their valuable brand assets throughout the collaboration.

A UK court has ruled on the validity of Novartis's supplementary protection certificate for Entresto, examining whether the SPC product should be defined as the specific co-complex formulation or the broader...

Expanding into international markets requires more than product development and marketing strategy. Many businesses overlook critical trade mark protection, risking expensive rebranding, legal disputes, and delayed market entry when their brand names conflict with existing registrations or carry unintended meanings abroad. Understanding territorial trade mark rights and implementing proactive filing strategies can prevent these costly mistakes before they derail your global expansion plans.

For many years, counterfeits were viewed as a problem primarily affecting luxury brands. Typically associated with fake designer handbags sold in street markets, enforcement strategies focused on identifying and dismantling relatively limited networks of infringers.

Christopher Nolan's latest film, The Odyssey, raises an intriguing question: could the legendary Trojan Horse have been patented under modern UK or European patent law? This analysis explores the technical and legal challenges of protecting military inventions, from novelty requirements and publication restrictions to the tension between disclosure obligations and strategic secrecy.

The Madrid Protocol has long offered UK-based trademark holders automatic protection in Jersey through UK designations, but this convenient arrangement is about to end. Starting August 1, 2026, Jersey will become an independent designatable territory under the Madrid system, fundamentally changing how international trademark registrations must be structured and maintained for Channel Islands coverage.

A trade mark licensee is a person or business granted formal permission by a trade mark proprietor (the licensor) to use their registered trade mark.