Advanced Materials

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Balancing innovation, protection and commercialisation is a constant challenge in advanced materials. Our specialist team provides the legal and technical expertise to protect your intellectual property (IP) and realise its full commercial value.

Advanced materials are being used in more ways, and in more complex products, than ever before. As these materials move through the supply chain, others may be developing their own IP around them, making it harder to define ownership and protect your innovation.

That's why you need to strike the right balance between innovation, protection, and commercialisation. Your IP must map to your business model and give you the protection you need to deliver it.

That strategy will look different for every business. The way you manufacture your material may be novel, but that doesn't always mean a patent is the best option. And because your materials may be used long after any patent expires, your strategy should also help you build a trusted brand, ensure it's supported by the right licences, and prevent it from becoming generic or difficult to enforce.

Without the right strategy in place, your ability to commercialise what you've created is at risk.

Want to discuss the protection and commercialisation of your advanced materials? Contact our team.

How We Help Protect and Commercialise Your Advanced Materials Innovation

We build a fully integrated, multidisciplinary team for you - bringing together patent attorneys, IP solicitors and trade mark attorneys with the technical background and client experience most relevant to your technology.

This means you get coordinated legal and technical advice from a single source. We'll not only protect your IP rights, but also put the commercial agreements and licensing arrangements you need in place, and, if necessary, steer you through the international litigation process if your position is challenged.

We support clients working across a wide range of advanced materials, including:

Graphene and 2D materials. We advise on innovations across electronics, composites, membranes, coatings, biotechnology, and energy. We also work closely with the Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre and the Graphene Council to help members maximise the value of their IP.
Polymers. We help protect polymer technologies across a range of uses, with expertise in European Patent Office (EPO) strategies including novel parameters, product-by-process, and use claims.
Metallurgy. We support companies developing advanced steels and medical-grade alloys. Our understanding of the technical field and relevant case law helps you protect and commercialise these technologies.
Conductive materials. We have expertise in protecting technologies using novel conductive materials, including solar cells, printed circuit boards, battery membranes and electrodes, electrolytes, graphene, and nanotechnologies. We can create a team with the technical capabilities to understand your innovations, and the legal expertise to help you protect and exploit them.
Biomaterials. These materials fall at the intersection between biology, materials science, and engineering. We build bespoke teams with attorneys who have deep technical and practical scientific expertise in these areas. We also build the regulatory process into your IP strategy so you can bring your product to market.

Strategic IP Support

Our advanced materials team also provides the broader commercial insight you need to build and scale your business.

This includes:

Due diligence. More companies are recognising the value of mergers, acquisitions, or divestments to support long-term growth. We provide the IP due diligence needed for a successful restructure and help secure freedom to operate (FTO) post-completion.
Portfolio management. We have extensive experience developing IP portfolios for businesses of all sizes, from start-ups to multinationals. While patents are often central, we also help protect the trade secrets and brands associated with your innovations.
Commercial strategy. Advanced materials are often used in composite products, which means your IP strategy must account for what your competitors and customers are doing. We help monitor IP developments in your market and carry out FTO analyses where needed.

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