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With artists seeking to expand their influence beyond music, trade mark protection plays an increasingly important role.

As record sales sink in the face of streaming and touring costs rise, musicians are more reliant on merchandise and offshoot brands as crucial revenue streams. Artist-branded fashion and beauty lines, as well as collaborations, are becoming powerful tools for income generation and audience engagement.

The value of trade marks for music artists

Gone are the days of simply listening to what is on the radio. As the competition among artists multiplies, artist branding has become vital in the battle to stand out. Whilst copyright protects music,  artists rely on trade mark protection to secure the exclusive rights to not only their name but album names, song titles, key lyrics and various other aspects of their personal brand.

This allows control over the sale of unauthorised merchandise or the use of an artist’s name in a way that would imply false endorsement, both of which could affect consumer and fanbase trust.

Trade mark protection can also be a key part of a PR strategy. We can see this with Taylor Swift and her push to re-record her back catalogue following a dispute with her previous record label that retained ownership of the original recordings. The musician released each re-recorded album using the moniker and registered trade mark “Taylor’s Version”. In doing so, she effectively distinguished between her new and original recordings, and encouraged fans to stream and purchase the former, from which she herself will profit.

In addition, as the industry shifts away from physical record sales and traditional revenue models, artists are looking to lend their name and likeness to products via licensing or side businesses. The massive success of Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty and Savage X Fenty lines, for example, is the reason for Rihanna’s billionaire status, rather than the royalties she receives from her music. Rihanna is now worth $1.4 billion, making her the richest female musician in the world.

Best practices for artist-brand collaborations

An artist’s trade marks must be clearly owned and licensed appropriately. This includes obtaining trade mark protection in relation to all goods and services of interest, including performances, entertainment services and merchandise lines, but also any separate goods for which the artists’ name and brand will be licensed. This allows for cleaner transactions and ensures the artist’s long-term control over their brand.

Collaborations, particularly between music and fashion brands, have flooded the market in recent years. Collaborations maximise audience reach and elevate brand visibility, but bringing two brands together can cause complications for intellectual property ownership. For brands and artists entering into commercial collaborations, clearly defined agreements are vital. A well-structured contract will specify the use of each party’s trademarks, ensuring that logos, names, and designs are used in line with brand guidelines.

The content of effective licensing agreements

The breakdown of Adidas and Kanye West’s ongoing partnership in 2022 is a stark reminder that brands must retain the ability to walk away if values no longer align. Following anti-semitic comments made by Kanye on Twitter, Adidas were able to terminate their agreements relating to the Yeezy line of shoes and other goods, leaving them with Yeezy stock worth over a billion. Adidas has since been selling the stock in batches and donating the proceeds to NGOs.

The risk of confusion and misrepresentation

Given the increasing prevalence of collaborations and licensing arrangements, there is also a need to factor this into a likelihood of confusion analysis in infringement and opposition matters, or the likelihood that a link will be made to a reputable trade mark.

For example, artists may find it easier to argue that the unauthorised use of their name or a similar name on entirely unrelated products would lead to confusion, harm to repute or a misrepresentation to consumers that they endorsed the product.

There have been several clashes over graphic t-shirts bearing a design that implies an artist’s endorsement. Back in 2013, Rihanna was successful in a passing off action against Topshop who used her image on a t-shirt. Despite it being acknowledged that there were no free-standing image rights in the UK, it was thought that this created a false impression of an endorsement or promotion.

Fast fashion brands are often being called out online for taking heavy inspiration from tour merchandise for their ranges, which can include terms and designs relating to an artist’s music. This explains why artists such as Taylor Swift have begun to expand trade mark portfolios to not just artist names, but terms and phrases that have meaning relative to their music and fan base.

What’s next: Fortnite and future fashion

The latest frontier between music and fashion is digital. Platforms like Fortnite are leading the charge in merging gaming, music and fashion into one immersive experience. Virtual concerts and artist avatars provide fans with interactive ways to engage with music—often dressed in digital skins that reflect the artist’s real-world outfits.

For example, Sabrina Carpenter recently made her debut as a playable character on Fortnite with outfits inspired by her tour wardrobe and animated dance moves choreographed to her in-game music. It is also possible for players to buy in-game Sabrina-inspired products, such as guitars, purses and a mic.

Like Taylor, Sabrina Carpenter has protected her brand through a series of trade mark registrations, ensuring that her name and branding are not used without her permission, and allowing this to be licensed out to Fortnite as part of this deal.

As music, fashion and the digital landscape become more interwoven, and new collaborative opportunities arise, artists, brand owners and intellectual property lawyers alike must remain aware of the implications for ownership and licensing arrangements, as well as the increased risk of disputes.

For World IP Day 2025, we published a series of articles exploring the interplay of the evolving music industry and intellectual property, including a journey through musical patents and the implications of using AI to generate music.

We are honoured to share that Mathys & Squire is a Gold sponsor of Life Sciences Patent Network (LSPN) 2025, taking place on May 6-7 in Boston. Partners Hazel Ford, Alexander Robinson, Philippa Griffin and Managing Associate Sarah Turp will be attending the event in person.

The Life Sciences IP Review is the principal online publication for professionals in the IP industry across the areas of pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and medical technology.

Every year, The Life Sciences IP Review organise LSPN to connect top patent experts and pioneers in innovative technology from around the globe. The event provides a pivotal opportunity to engage with industry leaders and discover cutting-edge advice in protecting and leveraging innovation in the fields of life sciences.

The program offers expert-led sessions and interactive panels, designed to share a wide range of expertise in the latest legal rulings, legislative changings and strategic approaches in the life sciences IP landscape. On 6 May, Partners Hazel Ford and Alex Robinson will be speaking about the changing landscape within the EPO and recent decisions on granted European patents from the newly formed UPC. They will be sharing their in-depth knowledge on how the approach of the EPO Boards of Appeal is shifting and the implications for a pan-European patent strategy.

You can learn more about the event here.

When we think of music, we think of melodies, lyrics, rhythms, and genres that define eras and shape culture. From Britpop and Post-Punk to Drum and Bass and Grime, musical expression has continually evolved over previous centuries. But behind the sound lies a parallel story of innovation: the development of the tools and technologies that shape how music comes to life and reaches its audience.

The crescendo of musical patents

From synthesizers to streaming platforms, technological breakthroughs have revolutionised the music landscape. At the heart of this transformation is intellectual property, as patents protect the innovations that drive the music industry forward. What began with relatively simple mechanical inventions has grown into a diverse and rapidly expanding field, reflecting the pace of technological progress in how music is composed, performed, recorded, shared and experienced.

In this article, Associate Clare Pratt highlights a selection of intriguing and pioneering music patents which illustrate the breadth of innovation within the industry.

Instrumental Inventions

In the 19th century, as renowned composers penned melodies still celebrated today, inventors were crafting the instruments that would become fundamental to creating music. Among them was Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax. In 1846, he patented a woodwind instrument with a tapered barrel that combined the projection of brass with the agility of woodwinds. He called it the saxophone.

A few decades later, Thomas Edison created the first device capable of recording and reproducing sound, named the phonograph. This enabled music to move from live performance into private spaces, to be enjoyed wherever and whenever. The American inventor patented the phonograph in 1878. Seeking improvements to the phonograph and the graphophone, which Chichester A. Bell and Charles S. Tainter developed, Emile Berliner introduced the flat disc format. In 1887, he patented the gramophone which offered a more practical alternative.

Technological breakthroughs continued into the 20th century. A key moment came in 1932 with the granting of U.S. Patent No. 1,885,001 to H.F. Olson for an “apparatus for converting sound vibrations into electric variations.” This patent marked a pivotal step in the development of the modern microphone.

Together in Electric Dreams

Although experiments with electrically powered instruments date back to the 18th century, it was the widespread adoption of electronics in the late 1900s that truly redefined music. Innovations such as electric guitars and synthesizers fuelled the emergence of entirely new genres, such as rock, disco, and techno, while amplified sound systems allowed musicians to perform in front of huge crowds.

One of the earliest and most influential patents came in 1937, when George Beauchamp secured protection for an “electrical stringed musical instrument”, the first commercially marketed electric guitar. This paved the way for the modern electric guitar. Another pioneer in electric guitars was Ted McCarty, who, as president of Gibson, played a pivotal role in advancing electric guitar design. He oversaw the development of Gibson’s first solid-body models and patented innovations like the “Tune-O-Matic” bridge in 1956, which became a standard feature on Gibson models, and one of his unique guitar designs in 1958.

In addition, some of the most creative contributions to music technology have come from artists themselves. Guitar legend Eddie Van Halen received a patent in 1987 for a body-mounted support that allowed him to play his guitar face-up, “to create new techniques and sounds previously unknown to any player.” Similarly, Michael Jackson left his mark not only on pop music but on stagecraft. In 1993, the US Patent and Trademark Office awarded him patent for a shoe with a heel mechanism that latched onto stage pegs. The invention allowed him to lean ‘impossibly’ far forward in his iconic Smooth Criminal move, aptly titled the “Method and means for creating anti-gravity illusion.”

The Digital Turn of the Century

The late 20th and early 21st centuries ushered in a further wave of digital innovations that reshaped how music is made and experienced.

One of the most transformative (and controversial) developments was Auto-Tune. Created by geophysical engineer Andy Hildebrand, Auto-Tune applied techniques used in seismic data analysis to audio processing, enabling automatic pitch correction in real-time vocal and instrumental performances. Hildebrand’s software is protected by U.S. Patents No. 5,727,074 (“Method and apparatus for digital filtering of audio signals”, issued in 1998) and No. 5,973,252 (“Pitch detection and intonation correction apparatus and method,” issued in 1999). While initially conceived as a subtle corrective tool, Auto-Tune became a defining effect in its own right, famously debuting in Cher’s 1998 hit Believe and later revolutionising pop, hip-hop and beyond.

Transforming how we identify music, Shazam, an audio-processor app, was developed in the early 2000s. The app can recognise songs within seconds, even in noisy environments, by comparing audio fingerprints, based on time-frequency peaks, against a vast database. Developer Avery Li-Chun Wang secured patents for the underlying technology, including a “system and methods for recognising sound and music signals in high noise and distortion” and a “method and system for content sampling and identification.”

The Future of Patents in Music

Looking ahead, the intersection of music and technology shows no signs of slowing. Emerging trends are already shaping the next frontier of musical innovation—and intellectual property will continue to play a central role in protecting and enabling this progress.

As music continues to evolve alongside technology, patents will remain crucial in protecting and encouraging the creative ingenuity that pushes the industry forward. From the early inventions of the 19th century to the digital breakthroughs of the 21st, each innovation has reshaped how we create, share, and experience music. With the rapid rise of AI, blockchain, and immersive technologies, the next era of music promises even more exciting opportunities, as well as presenting significant challenges for inventors, artists and intellectual property law.

Last week, on the 24th April, we hosted an incredible event at our London office in the Shard, a celebration marrying World IP Day, which took place on the 26th April, with our 115-year anniversary.

IP and Music: Feel the Beat of IP

As a firm committed to encouraging and protecting the expression of people’s ideas, we embraced this year’s theme for the 2025 World Intellectual Property Day campaign for our event: “IP and Music: Feel the Beat of IP.” Intellectual property underpins the very core of creativity, allowing ideas to blossom and people’s success to be sufficiently acknowledged – and music is an industry governed by creativity.

Patents are filed for innovative music tech, such as musical instruments or algorithms for generating or modifying music. Trademark registration protects branding, as applied for example to album covers or merchandise, to distinguish one artist from another. And, of course, music itself is an intellectual property asset, gaining copyright and allied rights once it is recorded in some material form.

To explore how intellectual property shapes, protects, and even inspires creative expression in music, we ran a panel discussion, led by Senior Partner Paul Cozens, where our panellists shared their fascinating experience and knowledge.

We heard from: Drew Ellis, Grammy-nominated graphic designer and photographer who created some of the most iconic album covers of all time; Dr Mark Gotham, whose work spans musical composition and computer science; Prof Simon Godsill, who is professor of Statistical Signal Processing in the Engineering Department at Cambridge University; and James St. Ville KC, who is a barrister with a significant music background. 

We also invited two of our own attorneys to the panel, Emma Pallister, Chartered trademark attorney, and Dani Kramer, UK & European patent attorney and UK design attorney.

AI: for good or for evil?

Although music has been a universal language since before the 1st century AD (the earliest fragment of musical notation was found on a 4,000-year-old Sumerian clay tablet), the industry is always undergoing change. The last 100 years has seen the most significant transformation with the conception of pop music and the use of electronics. Now the rise of AI begs the difficult questions: what determines music individuality? What makes music, or anything, human? And can intellectual property law balance protection and creative freedom?

At Mathys & Squire, we have many attorneys who specialise in AI and the complex range of implications for managing intellectual property which arise as a result. These span from the extent to which inventors can protect their AI-related inventions to how creations can be protected from unsolicited use by AI or for AI training. Our panellists discussed the broad implications of AI for the music industry and how they can be approached by intellectual property law.

“Good artists copy, great artists steal”

Although this was once said by Picasso, he may have thought differently had he known about AI. AI has transformed the traditional methods of obtaining information. Machine learning models mine information by web scraping huge quantities of data, which trains them to satisfy almost any request. But such capabilities present elaborate legal challenges, as information from human creators is often used without permission.

For example, AI can produce a piece of music almost instantaneously, drawing on sources of existing music to meet user prompts. Last year in the US, Universal Music Group, Sony Music and Warner Records sued an AI model called Suno which creates music described as “original” by the platform. These record companies claimed that the model re-created elements from recordings which they owned, infringing their copyright.

Infringement or inspiration?

A musical composition is an intricate tapestry of external influences. As Dr Mark Gotham illustrated during the panel discussion with his piano rendition of Pachelbel’s Canon (from the 1600s) and Oasis’ ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger’ (which builds on the same chord progression like many other recent pop songs), music composition often uses well-known phrases. Therefore, evaluating whether one composition infringes the copyright in another is complicated by the fact that they may both contain references to even earlier works.

But does the popular proverb “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery” still stand when it comes to AI-generated music? According to Damon Albarn, Annie Lennox, Kate Bush and a host of other artists, it does not. These musicians, among others, released an album on 25th February titled “Is this what we want” in protest at a proposed change in UK copyright law relating to AI. A similar sentiment was seen in the House of Lords, when the Peers voted for amendments to the UK Government’s Data (Use and Access) Bill, which were suggested by film director and peer, Baroness Beeban Tania Kidron. The amendments were proposed with the aim of protecting the intellectual property of creatives, ensuring that they are made aware how and when their work is used.

If AI-generated music is indeed an original work, another question follows: who owns it? But this is also a contentious topic, as the list of possible authors is long: the designer of the AI model, the individuals in charge of training the model, the individuals whose work is used to train the model or the individual who inputs prompts into the machine. Furthermore, musical creations consist of many different elements, including the lyrics, the melody and the beat. Licensing arrangements for music are already multi-faceted and, when AI is thrown into the mix, it becomes even more complicated. Copyright law cannot accommodate something which has no clear owner.

The patentability of AI

In addition, AI raises questions about the criteria for patent filing. For an invention to be patentable in the UK, it must: be novel, display an inventive step (i.e. not be obvious to a person skilled in the field), have an industrial application, and solve a technical problem. Pure mathematical method (and hence, sometimes “pure AI”) inventions are not patentable because they lack technical character, and merely specifying the technical nature of the parameters may not be sufficient on its own to remedy this. For an AI invention to be patentable it must have either a technical application or a technical implementation.

In practice, this means that unless the invention is a specific technical implementation of a machine learning algorithm that is particularly adapted to consider the internal functioning of a computer system or network it may be very hard to patent in this space. An argument that the provision of better music is a technical application would be unlikely to be met with success.

A new creative force

Paul Cozens ended the insightful panel discussion with a deciding question. Ultimately, all the panellists agreed that AI can be harnessed as a creative force rather than destroying creativity as whole. However, this is only possible if IP systems develop fast enough to accommodate all the issues which come with it.

In December of last year, the government published a consultation on copyright and artificial intelligence. The consultation presented a framework which would prioritise transparency, requiring AI developers to disclose the material used for training, and allow creators to reserve the rights of their work, opting out from use for data mining.

Just last week, a collective license was put forward by The Copyright Licensing Agency which would enable authors to receive remuneration when their content is used to train AI. The CLA portrayed this as a more viable alternative to the government’s current proposals.

We can stay hopeful that the government is able to develop a legal system which rewards rights holders and gives them control over their work, whilst also supporting the development of AI models by allowing access to high-quality data.

115 years of protecting creativity

World IP Day was also the perfect opportunity to celebrate our firm having been at the forefront of intellectual property law for 115 years. The event showcased our dedication as a firm to align our deep expertise with the cutting-edge of technology, as well as foster a culture of creativity and innovation.

Albert William Mathys founded Mathys & Co. in 1910 with a vision to protect the influx of revolutionary inventions in science, engineering and manufacturing at the start of the second Industrial Revolution. Our firm began in a small office in Chancery Lane, and has flourished into a global IP powerhouse, with hubs across Europe, China and Japan, adapting to every complex change in the legal landscape as we grew. 

From protecting internal combustion engines in the early twentieth century to working with AI and life-changing biotech in the present day, we are proud to have 115 years behind us of combining technical knowledge with entrepreneurial spirit and a commitment to immaculate client service, and many more to come.

Below is a recording of the panel discussion for a deeper insight into the fascinating intersection between music and intellectual property.

In the past couple of decades, the number of filed European patents related to defence has risen dramatically. 10,582 individual patent family applications were published between 2000 and 2004, whilst 28,307 were published in the last four years. The areas of “wireless communications” and “aircraft and helicopters” showed the largest jump, largely due to recent developments in drones and cyber security technologies.

UK Government’s Investment in Innovation

To encourage the development of these types of novel technologies in the UK, the Spring Statement, led by Rachel Reeves, included a substantial commitment towards innovation for military purposes. Specifically, Reeves has announced that the government will set aside £400 million for innovative technology and has promised to prioritise UK tech firms, in particular start-ups and SMEs. 

This funding arrives on the back of other initiatives already established in the UK government’s effort to drive innovation. In December, the Defence Secretary, John Healey, revealed plans to develop a new Defence Industrial Strategy, to be published in late Spring of this year. The strategy will outline the government’s efforts to prioritise defence as one of the eight “growth-driving” sectors. This includes a commitment to supporting UK businesses, creating new venture opportunities through partnerships with the Ministry of Defence, increasing jobs in the defence sector across the UK, and focusing on novel and early-stage technology. A scheme created specifically to link the Ministry of Defence with such technology is the Defence and Security Accelerator, which seeks out and funds innovation to aid UK defence and security.

But as the government calls for a defence ecosystem characterised by growth and innovation – and provides substantial funding to drive this growth – important considerations arise in how defence manufacturers can best manage their intellectual property.

Balancing Protection and Privacy

One obvious consideration is how to handle potentially sensitive, or secret, subject matter and how to protect inventions that might have national security implications. A common fear when pursuing patent applications for military technologies is the risk of Section 22 directions. This is where the UK Patent Office prevents the publication or dissemination of applications containing sensitive subject matter. Another consideration is how best to commercialise technology whose primary use will be by governments during times of conflict.

In practice, these sorts of Section 22 directions are often avoidable. The UK Patent Office’s 2023 filing data indicates that only 35 directions under Section 22 were issued in that year despite a large number of filings by defence companies (BAE Systems alone filed 116 new applications in 2023).

A large reason for this is that technologies originally intended for military applications often turn out to have substantial other, e.g. civilian, use cases. With careful consideration it is often possible to protect an underlying invention that can be applied to these other use cases without publishing any sensitive information. One example of such a technology is the GPS system, which started life as a purely military technology before being opened up to civilian use. By focusing on these alternative uses, it is often possible to obtain meaningful, and commercially valuable, protection, without risking a Section 22 direction.

Building A Strategy for Defence Tech Firms

To summarise, due to the increased funding being made available, the next few years offer the opportunity for substantial innovation in the defence sector. Companies involved in this innovation should be careful to protect their intellectual property while bearing in mind the unique complexities in this area.

Many of the potential pitfalls can be overcome with careful strategizing. If managed properly, the military technologies of this decade could well turn into ubiquitous civilian technologies in the next decade or even sooner. Companies with a strategy that effectively protects their intellectual property in the short term will be well placed to reap the benefits in the long term.

We are excited to share that our team in Oxford have moved to a new office at Blue Boar Court in the centre of the city. Along with six other science and tech companies, Mathys & Squire have relocated to The Oxford Trust’s new Oxford Centre for Innovation. The official address of our office is now Blue Boar Court, 9 Alfred Street, OX1 4EH.

Opening the office in 2019, Mathys & Squire’s presence in Oxford, an industry hotbed for startups, founders and global brands, reflects our commitment to supporting innovation. The office’s location in the new Centre for Innovation, which sits on the doorstep of University of Oxford’s key academic and research institutions, strengthens our relationship with existing and potential clients.

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into the digital landscape is enabling a fundamental shift in how organisations approach innovation and the commercialisation of intellectual property (IP). As AI technologies continue to advance at an exponential rate, understanding their impact on IP management and monetisation has become essential for maintaining a competitive advantage in the digital sector.

The Power of AI in Digital Innovation

AI technologies are a catalyst for digital transformation, revolutionising how companies process data, automate workflows and accelerate innovation. The applications of AI span from predictive analytics and machine learning algorithms to autonomous systems and intelligent automation platforms. These capabilities enable organisations to process vast quantities of data with unprecedented speed and accuracy, leading to more informed decision-making and accelerated innovation cycles. We also see regular advancements in AI coding abilities across all the major AI platforms, as well as in focused AI coding tools.

Economic analysis highlights AI’s dual role as both a facilitator  and disruptor  of innovation, challenging traditional IP frameworks to balance incentivisation with societal interests.

Just as the European Patent Office is integrating AI into its everyday tools as it examines patent applications, we recommend that IP owners also integrate AI into their everyday operations. For example, in biomedicine, AI-driven tools are now a key part of drug discovery. Within the university IP commercialisation function, teams, such as at Texas Tech, are finding value in using AI for tasks such as processing invention disclosures, prior art searches, market assessment and contract management.

Furthermore, emerging trends include AI-driven dynamic licensing models, AI agents used for IP commercialisation, finding potential infringers, and blockchain-powered IP transaction systems. We also observe an increase in the pace of advancements in the underlying AI technologies which support many AI-powered deployments within innovating companies.

Strategic IP Management and Optimising IP Commercialisation in the AI Age

At Mathys & Squire Consulting, we recommend organisations carefully consider how to protect and commercialise their innovations, particularly in areas such as proprietary algorithms, data processing methodologies, and novel digital solutions. AI-based technologies have created new opportunities in intellectual property management, and AI related filings continue to increase. However, new challenges have also arisen, as key issues such as ownership and patent eligibility remain contentious for AI-generated innovations.

Beyond filing, companies should consider data ownership, internal processes to avoid risk, staff training on IP and intangible assets, and most of all the company’s intellectual property commercialisation strategy. Success in this domain requires a sophisticated understanding of both technological advancement and how increased revenue can be delivered, whether through direct commercialisation, licensing or sale of unused or unwanted intangible assets.

Why Expert Guidance Matters

For organisations aiming to navigate this complex landscape, expert guidance is crucial. Mathys & Squire Consulting offers the expertise needed to unlock the full commercial potential of the intangible assets and intellectual property which arise from AI-based digital innovations. With a deep understanding of AI technologies, their implications and their commercial potential, our team collaborates with innovators and innovative organisations to recognise and manage your intangible assets, and to optimise your commercial success. Our strategic approach ensures that your organisation can capture and convert its innovative ideas into profitable outcomes.

AI and IP: Next Steps?

Reach out to Richard Nugent at Mathys & Squire Consulting today to discuss your intangible assets, your intellectual property, how you are using or plan to use AI, and your IP commercialisation strategy.

We look forward to collaborating with you to unlock the value in your AI based innovations.

We are excited to share that our German team have now moved to a new office in Munich. The official address of our Munich office is Theatinerstraβe 8, Munich 80333.

The office in Munich opened in 2019, strengthening Mathys & Squire’s already significant European presence. Now, almost six years later, our firm and clients still benefits from the team’s extensive experience and close proximity to the European Patent Office, the German Patent & Trade Mark Office and the German Federal Patent Court.

Following this move, we look forward to continuing to assist our current clients and welcome any opportunities to share our specialist knowledge and international awareness with new clients.

If you require our assistance, please feel free to contact us here.

Es freut uns, mitteilen zu können, dass unser Team in Deutschland in ein neues Büro in München umgezogen ist. Unsere neue Adresse in München ist die Theatinerstraβe 8, München 80333.

Das Büro in München wurde im Jahr 2019 eröffnet und die vorher schon starke europäische Präsenz von Mathys & Squire weiter verstärkt. Fast sechs Jahre später steht unsere Kanzlei und unseren Mandanten weiter mit der tiefgreifenden Sachkenntnis des Teams und der unmittelbarern Nähe zum Europäischen Patentamt, dem Deutsches Patent- und Markenamt und dem Bundespatentgericht zur Verfügung.

Nach diesem Umzug freuen wir uns darauf, unsere bestehenden Mandanten weiter zu unterstützen, und stehen mit unserem Fachwissen und unserer Erfahrung gerne auch neuen Mandanten zur Verfügung.

Wenn Sie unsere Unterstützung wünschen, können Sie uns hier kontaktieren.

Created in 2018 by the Global Recycling Foundation, March 18th is Global Recycling Day, when we are reminded that recycling is key to protecting our planet and ensuring our vital natural resources do not run out. Managing Associate Oliver Parish investigates the technology which has been developed in response to the need for sustainable recycling methods, looking particularly at e-waste.

Our soaring production of waste is one of the key culprits of the current environmental crisis. Electronics, from phones to household appliances to electric car batteries, are responsible for the fastest-growing category of waste, known as e-waste. Nearly 62 billion kg of e-waste was generated worldwide in 2022, a 24% increase from 2019, expected to rise to 82 billion kg in 2030.

We only recycle about one-fifth of e-waste every year and traditional recycling techniques, such as smelting, are damaging for the environment. They are also ineffective in yielding pure metals which are a key element in electronics. Believe it or not, a tonne of discarded mobile phones is richer in gold than a tonne of gold ore. Recovering these metals is key, as the rapidly accelerating demand for electrical items in the last decade means that we are at risk of running out of the necessary materials. It is particularly difficult to recycle these metals from electronics, however, as they are all mixed together in very small amounts.  

Consequently, novel recycling techniques which make the most out of scrapped electronics are still at the forefront of scientific innovation. There has been a significant increase in patent activity related to e-waste management in the past few years, rising from 220 to 787 applications per million between 2019 and 2022, yet few of these were for the recovery of raw materials. In particular, the need for innovation has created exciting opportunities for deep tech companies and start ups, as well as the collaboration between universities conducting insightful research and commercial companies.

The Royal Mint’s Gold Recovery

The Royal Mint, founded in 886AD, is the official maker of British coins. Hitting full capacity in February of this year, they built their Precious Metals Recovery Plant to retrieve precious metals from circuit boards, estimated to contain 7% of the world’s gold. The procedure, pioneered in collaboration with Excir, a Canadian cleantech company, uses patented technology involving a chemical solution to extract the gold from the boards. After the other metals, such as copper and silver, are removed, the extraction takes only four minutes, allowing the facility to process 4,000 tonnes of circuit boards and produce half a tonne of gold annually. Royal Mint’s factory is the first in the world dedicated to the sustainable retrieval of gold.

HyProMag’s Magnet Recycling

HyProMag was founded by Allan Walton and his colleagues, researchers at the University of Birmingham. Their technology enables magnets containing rare earth metals in hard-disk drives to be recycled into new magnets, and requires less processing and energy than other e-waste recycling methods. The waste is placed into a cylinder filled with hydrogen atoms which cause the magnets to crumble and separate from the other elements. The resulting product is sieved and grinded to create an alloy. A new, higher capacity plant in Birmingham will be ready to use in the second quarter of this year and there are plans for another in Pforzheim, Germany, allowing the company to hopefully reach a goal of extracting 350 tonnes of metal alloys a year.

Queen’s University Ionic Liquid Laboratories

Ionic liquids are low-melting salts which can be tailored at a molecular level to have special properties. They do not boil or burn, meaning they can be used safely for a range of purposes. Scientists at Queen’s University in Belfast saw the potential for ionic liquids to aid in the recovery of rare earth metals from magnets, developing recycling technology which they hope to apply to e-waste. The use of ionic liquids instead of strong acids or environmentally harmful solvents allows a cleaner and more efficient method of recycling, as well as producing metals at a very high purity level which can be turned into new magnets. Now taking steps to form the first full industrial-scale recycling plant in the UK, the startup company, Ionic Technologies, emerged from their research. They run a facility in Belfast for the processing of used magnets, where their plans to tackle e-waste will take place.

It turns out that the mountains of unwanted electronics which end up in landfill sites are a vital resource for tackling the climbing demand for electronics and fostering a circular economy. Transforming the way we deal with end-of-life electrical products will reduce the pile up of waste, limit the use of virgin materials, and reduce the emissions which are produced by ore extraction and the destruction of e-waste. It is important that we keep encouraging the innovation and dissemination of new technologies such as the ones above to help support our planet.

As we get ready to celebrate International Women’s Day this weekend, our Partners, Associates and Technical Assistants take a look at the women who have revolutionised the world of science and technology, spanning the sectors Mathys & Squire work with.

In these fields, women are disproportionately underrepresented. For years, women’s involvement in scientific breakthroughs went unacknowledged. Whilst huge progress has been made in the opportunities women have, they are still met with systematic barriers to entry, such as a lack of role models, limited support for a family-work balance, and unconscious bias, which can affect employability and funding possibilities, as well as more explicit sexism in the workplace.

Therefore, it is important to celebrate the achievements of the women who have made their mark on science, as well as raise awareness of the challenges women face, in the hope of deconstructing them.

AI & Machine Learning

Noor Shaker – by Caroline Warren, Partner

“Noor Shaker’s work is an inspiring case in point for how AI can have a real impact on improving people’s lives through its applications in the pharmaceutical industry. As co-founder of Generative Tensorial Networks Ltd, a UK-based startup, she developed an AI-driven model with the aim to reduce the time and costs entailed in the discovery of drugs and development of new medicines. Now she is the CEO of start-up Glamorous AI and has numerous patents, continuing to challenge what we think is possible in regards to AI helping to find life-changing cures for disease.”

Biotechnology

Dr. Helen Lee – by Anna Gregson, Partner

“Dr. Helen Lee has pioneered technologies in rapid diagnostic testing for infectious diseases, striving to make testing more affordable, accessible and accurate. She founded her company, Diagnostics for the Real World, with the goal of creating quick and portable testing kits for point-of-care (POC) diagnoses. She invented the SAMBA (Simple Amplification-Based Assay) device to simplify the execution of molecular diagnostic assays.

“The most recent version, named SAMBA II, was launched in 2018. SAMBA II has been used in Africa to improve the detection of HIV and, during COVID-29, was adapted for the pandemic and widely implemented in hospitals for rapid testing. Dr. Lee’s inventions, for which she has won several awards and been granted multiple patents, have improved lives in the UK and worldwide.”

Cleantech

Maria Telkes – by Jane Clark, Consultant Partner

“Maria Telkes, born in 1900, was one of the first scientists to focus exclusively on solar energy and became known as the “Sun Queen” on account of her ground-breaking creations. In the 1950s, she invented the first solar-powered heating system, a trailblazer for modern solar panels, and co-designed the first house heated entirely by solar energy. Another of her inventions was the solar desalination system which was used in WWII on lifeboats, enabling sailors and soldiers to survive by drinking seawater. She held more than 20 patents, including one for her “thermoelectric power generator,” which she was granted in 1958.”

IT & Software

Ada Lovelace – by Johannes Zweck, Associate

“Ada Lovelace, born 1815 in London, is considered a pioneer in the field of computer programming, at a time before computers even existed. She designed the first algorithm for Charles Babbage’s “Analytical Engine” (a digital mechanical general-purpose computer with an arithmetic logic unit, a control flow for branching and loops, and memory). Her algorithm was not too dissimilar from a code written today in assembly language, leading to today’s perception of her being the “first programmer.”

“Though her work was largely forgotten for a century, it was rediscovered in the 20th century and is now regarded as revolutionary. Ada Lovelace challenged the preconceptions of women at the time and her story demonstrates the importance of diversity in creating new inventions. “

Life Sciences & Chemistry

Dr. Henrietta Boyd – by Sophie Wilson, Technical Assistant

“As CEO and co-founder of Halocycle, a startup founded in 2020 and awarded the title of UK Tech Innovator in 2024, Dr Henrietta Boyd is one of the women beating the odds faced by female entrepreneurs.

Halocycle develops innovative chemical recycling processes to deal with plastic waste, in particular PVC. PVC poses a problem for both mechanical and chemical recycling due to its chlorine content, resulting in the production of hydrochloric acid when the plastic is broken down. However, Halocycle’s microwave processing technology, which involves a different type of heating than other chemical recycling techniques, can be used for the recycling of packaging containing chlorine and has a lower carbon footprint. Thanks to Dr. Henrietta Boyd’s work, the company is helping foster a more sustainable and circular economy.”

Manufacturing and Engineering

Erna Hamburger – by Andrea McShane, Partner and D&I Officer

“Erna Hamburger was the first woman to be appointed full professor at a Swiss Polytechnic university, becoming a professor of electrometry at EPFL in 1967. Her academic career included research in the fields of radio and high frequency engineering and heading the Laboratory of Electrometry and Electrical Machines, which became the Department of Electric Engineering of the EPFL.

“A patent was granted for her work as an electrical engineer at Paillard SA prior to her appointment to the EPFL (titled “Recording and reproducing of sound”). Beyond her academic focus she worked for a number of international commissions including the ISO in the fields of basic electrical standards and terminology of electrical engineering. Hamburger was engaged in promoting and supporting women in STEM and higher education, and an annual Erna Hamburger Prize recognizes exemplary female careers in science.”

Medical Devices

Patricia Bath – by Jessie Harrison, Associate

“Patricia Bath revolutionised eye care with her invention of a ‘Laserphaco Probe’ for cataract surgery in 1986. Before this invention, cataract surgery necessitated the manual removal of the cloudy lens, whereas Bath’s method uses a laser to break up the cataracts and a suction device to remove the debris, which is a lot less invasive and time-consuming. She was granted a patent for the Laserphaco Probe in 1988, paving the way for the use of lasers in medical surgery and becoming the first African American woman to receive a medical patent in the United States.”

Pharmaceuticals

Professor Dame Carol Robinson – by Maxwell Haughey, Associate

“Professor Dame Carol Robinson has made remarkable contributions to the pharmaceutical field through her work in mass spectrometry and structural biology. She developed innovative techniques using mass spectrometry to study proteins, improving our understanding of how drugs interact with the body. Her contributions have revolutionised drug discovery, and her research has helped pharmaceutical companies to design better targeted drugs.

“Her career also showcases important steps for women in STEM and academia: she was the first female Professor of Chemistry at both the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford, and was awarded a Damehood in 2013 for her impact on science. Last July, Professor Dame Carol Robinson was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the EPO.”

Tu Youyou – by Lindsay Pike, Associate

“Tu Youyou is a pharmaceutical scientist responsible for one of the greatest medical breakthroughs of the 20th century. She was appointed to lead Project 532 in 1967, a research project initiated to find a treatment for malaria, operating in secrecy during the Cultural Revolution in China. Through her study of traditional Chinese herbal remedies, she discovered that artemisinin (found in sweet wormwood) can kill the malaria parasite when isolated using specific extraction methods.

“Her discovery was life-changing, especially during a time when malaria was killing thousands of soldiers and civilians during the Vietnam War, and the drug has gone on to save millions of lives, reducing malaria deaths by 50% since 2000. Artemisinin-based combination therapies are still the most effective malaria treatment in the world, despite emerging drug-resistance in malaria parasites. Tu Youyou became the first Chinese woman to win a Nobel Price (Medicine, 2015), and has also been awarded the Order of the Republic, the highest civilian honour in China.”

Optics and Imaging

Janine Connes – by Louis Brosnan, Technical Assistant

“Janine Connes was a French astronomer and physicist who improved the resolution of imaging through Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy by several orders of magnitude, working on the method between 1961-1968. She regularly worked alongside NASA at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and later captured planetary spectra of Mars and Venus in far greater detail than previously possible. Thanks to her contributions, new uses for the imaging of spectra were developed in the fields of nanotechnology, microscopy and chromatography. She was appointed as a director of the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) in 1969, leading their electronic computing division.”

The examples above are just a small fraction of the many women that have helped advance what is possible within IT and Engineering, and Life Sciences and Chemistry. They demonstrate that overhauling the exclusion of women from these sectors will not only help women, but help our planet and the people on it.

We would like you all to join us in wishing a happy International Women’s Day to the women around us!