As technological developments, as well as macro-political and economic trends, continue to shape research, product development and commercial strategy, many organisations are rethinking how they protect the information that makes innovations valuable.
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Matthew Webster explains how UK courts handle common‑law acquiescence in trade‑mark disputes, how it differs from statutory rules, and how the Marussia EU‑law principle affects UK cases post‑Brexit.
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The UK Supreme Court delivered their long-awaited judgment in the Emotional Perception AI case. Applicants, innovators and patent attorneys working in the AI space can finally breathe a sigh of relief - it is now much clearer that AI innovations can be patented in the UK.
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The law around interim licences in SEP/(F)RAND disputes has garnered a lot of coverage lately and, in an interesting development, the UK court has for the first time set the terms of an interim licence with the consent of the net licensor.
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From 1 April 2026, official patent office fees at the UK IPO are set to rise, coinciding with the rollout of the IPO’s new digital patent filing and management platform.
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The arrival of the new US Patent and Trademark office (USPTO) Director, John A. Squires towards the end of 2025 has led to a flurry of activity from the USPTO in relation to patent eligibility.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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In this episode of the Green Shoots Podcast, Appleyard Lees patent attorneys James Myatt and Jack Braithwaite explore the plant-based meat industry through the lens of patent data.
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In this episode of the Greenshoots Podcast, Appleyard Lees attorneys Kate Hickinson and Richard Maclennan sit down with Prof Aline Miller, Director of the Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Catalyst (IBIC) - a £5 million EPSRC initiative to accelerate knowledge exchange, skills development, and innovation in the industrial biotechnology community.
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