Insights

Articles Jan192026

Patent Prosecution Highway – speeding towards patent grant

The road to getting a patent can be quite long and winding. This can be advantageous for some patent applicants, particularly start-ups and spin-outs, because it spreads out the costs for patent prosecution over a number of years. However, there are times when it may be desirable to speed-up the patent prosecution process. In this article, we explain a popular way to speed-up the process to getting a patent: the aptly named Patent Prosecution Highway.

Directors and IP – getting up close and personal - part 2

Articles Jan122026

Increases in APHA fees for plant breeders’ rights

The APHA has announced increases for a number of fees relating to the filing of applications for plant breeders’ rights and Great Britain and Northern Ireland variety listings, which will take effect from 1 February 2026. Our experts break down the fee changes.

Articles Jan092026

EU reaches a provisional agreement on NGT plants – what’s the impact on protecting plant innovation in Europe?

In December 2025, the EU Council and Parliament reached a provisional deal to create a new legal framework for New Genomic Techniques (NGTs) in plant breeding. Signalling a major shift for EU agri-food innovation - our experts break down everything you need to know about the potential new agreement.

Articles Oct172025

Updated: broccoli, tomatoes, peppers, plant patents, and the European Parliament

Can you get patent protection for a new engineered plant? As long as the plant is not produced by essentially biological processes then yes. However, change might be on the way. In this article we discuss the proposed EU regulation for the release of plants produced by new genomic technologies and specifically how this regulation might affect the previously established Biotech Patent Directive and the protection available for new plants.

Articles Sep032024

The rise of UK wine: why intellectual property protection is a vintage necessity

As the UK wine industry continues to grow, the need to protect the unique characteristics and reputations of British wines has never been more critical. In this article, Trade Mark Attorney, Claire Bothma, explores why the UK wine industry is at a pivotal moment when it comes to IP, and details how a UK wine producer can protect a brand’s identity and competitive edge.

Articles May162024

Biological deposits for patents, the Five “W”s: Why, What, Where, When and Who?

Rachel Mercer discusses how biological deposits can be used to fulfil the requirements of a sufficient disclosure for patent applications involving biological material.

Articles Feb142024

Plant varieties: Italian Court offers seed of hope to those that fail to claim priority

The mere thought of missing a priority deadline is likely to bring a patent attorney out in a cold sweat but fortunately the world of plant varieties is slightly more lenient as two decisions in Italy highlighted recently.

Articles Jan252023

Retained EU Plant Variety Rights Holders in the UK require a UK agent before March 2024

Following contact made with Retained EU Plant Variety Rights holders last year, the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) have now started to send final letters to holders of Retained EU Plant Variety Rights indicating that if the UK rights are to be retained a UK address for service must be appointed by 29 February 2024. After this deadline the Controller may proceed to terminate these rights.

Articles Jul272023

UK registered trade mark and design holders must have a UK address for service

On 25 January 2023, the UK IPO issued a notice with immediate effect to say that the registrar will require a UK address for service (AFS) before any documents are considered formally served.

Fashion trade marks and registered designs

Articles Oct112022

Centralised European patent protection and enforcement is coming

The Unitary Patent (UP) and the Unified Patent Court (UPC) will enter into force on 1 June 2023, when the UPC Agreement (UPCA) is planned to enter into force. These new systems will centralise patent protection and enforcement within many EU countries.

Articles Sep132022

The Unitary Patent

This is the second article in our UP/UPC series and we discuss issues to consider when deciding whether to obtain a Unitary Patent (UP).

Agritech

Patent Prosecution Highway – speeding towards patent grant

Increases in APHA fees for plant breeders’ rights

EU reaches a provisional agreement on NGT plants – what’s the impact on protecting plant innovation in Europe?

Updated: broccoli, tomatoes, peppers, plant patents, and the European Parliament

The rise of UK wine: why intellectual property protection is a vintage necessity

Biological deposits for patents, the Five “W”s: Why, What, Where, When and Who?

Plant varieties: Italian Court offers seed of hope to those that fail to claim priority

Retained EU Plant Variety Rights Holders in the UK require a UK agent before March 2024

UK registered trade mark and design holders must have a UK address for service

Centralised European patent protection and enforcement is coming

The Unitary Patent