The importance of Intellectual Property strategy; creating a foundation on which to build value...

Dr Emma Longland and Craig Thomson of HGF writing for the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys Most companies in the Biotech space appreciate the need for patent protection; after all, no company wants to bring...

EU-wide IP Expertise is essential to the life science industry post-Brexit

The UK is world-renowned for its progressive life science and healthcare sectors, which are at the forefront of technical innovation, research excellence, and pioneering treatments. Life science companies, research and development facilities, scientists and academics...

Access to Intellectual Property (IP) Rights in a Time of Emergency – Patent Pools...

Alex Bone, Patent Attorney, Partner,  AA Thornton The pharmaceutical and healthcare industry is often accused of misusing IP to extend exclusivity and delay reasonably priced access to life saving technologies. The recent pandemic has focussed attention...

How to protect your IP rights in Europe

Intellectual property rights are territorial rights, meaning that the protection afforded by a granted patent or a registered trademark is geographically limited. Many companies that protect their inventions, brands or product designs in their home...

Patenting aerospace medicines – the final frontier?

Research and development (R&D) into aerospace medicine can be viewed as falling into one of two camps: that aimed at adapting an existing ‘terrestrial’ medicine for use in the aerospace environment; and that which...

Preparations for AI patenting in Europe

The current era of rapid technological development requires industry to be quick to respond to challenges and opportunities, with many choosing to exploit new AI technologies rather than wait to be disrupted by competitors. Intellectual...

Are your innovations protected?

Innovation is something that defines the biosciences sector. The UK biotechnology and medical industries are among some of the most progressive in the world with billions invested annually on creating industry-leading drugs, techniques, therapies, and...

Plant patentability and the European Patent Office – what is the latest update?

Plant patentability has long been a contentious issue throughout intellectual property and scientific circles. The question as to whether plants or animals created through essentially biological processes, such as genetic or selective breeding, can be...

Freedom to Operate – Understanding the Risks

There are many factors to be considered for a project developing a new product or process, but the ability to carry out commercial plans without infringing third party patent rights (freedom to operate, or...

The SPC manufacturing waiver: curtailing protection or boosting competition?

Lucy O’Brien, Trainee Patent Attorney, A. A. Thornton & Co. Supplementary Protection Certificates (SPCs) are a valuable IP asset to most major life science businesses. The ability to extend the term of a patent relating to a...

How intellectual property can help 3D printing support, not harm, medtech

3D printing, or additive manufacturing, is frequently, and rightly, hailed as the next revolution in technology. Since its inception in 1986, 3D printing has transformed numerous sectors including aviation, manufacturing, and energy, and altered perceptions...