Building a global industrial business requires more than technical expertise. It demands long-term thinking, clear values and a well-considered strategy to protect what creates business value. For the Polykemi Group, this has been a natural part of the journey from a small family business in Ystad to an international group – while remaining family-owned.

The company was founded by Hugo Jönsson and was subsequently run by his sons, Ola and Lars. Today, they have handed over the operational responsibility and instead act as senior advisors, while the next generation – Oscar, Herman, Gustav, Johan and Vendela – leads the company forward. With operations across several continents and a clear focus on customised polymer solutions, recycled materials and sustainable development, the company has grown together with the business and the responsibilities.

A New Chapter in IP Management

Three years ago, Hansson Thyresson took over the role asintellectual property (IP) partner to Polykemi. The need was clear: reliable and efficient support in an international IP landscape, where the company’s strong trademark portfolio required updated and strengthened protection.

“What struck us right away was the simplicity. The transition from our old IP firm was smooth, and a lot happens automatically in the background now. This allows us to focus on our core business,” says Polykemi.

The collaboration has centred on creating structure and stability in the company’s IP management – ensuring the right protection is in place without becoming an obstacle to innovation or business development. In this way, IP becomes an natural part of operations rather than a standalone question.

IP as a Driver of Sustainable Development

Polykemi’s investments in recycled materials and sustainable innovation place high demands on structure, transparency and the protection of know-how. Intellectual property plays an important role here – both in safeguarding investments and in creating strategic freedom in a global market.

For us at Hansson Thyresson, our job is about being a partner who is straightforward to work with, while also contributing strategic expertise where it matters.

We are proud to work alongside Polykemi and to be part of their continued development.

Would you like to learn how we can help you take a more strategic approach to IP?
Contact us at info@hanssonthyresson.se

Hansson Thyresson strengthens its legal practice by recruiting Claes Almberg as new Head of Legal. Claes will have overall responsibility for the firm’s legal matters and will lead the legal department in its day-to-day work.

In this role, Claes will work both strategically and operationally with matters across the entire field of intellectual property law, including applications, disputes, and litigation, as well as contracts and agreements. With his experience from the judiciary, a law firm, and a patent office, and following his legislative work and international negotiations and assignments, he brings a broad perspective and deep specialist expertise to the table. His insights into the European Patent Convention (EPC), and the Unitary Patent Protection and the Unified Patent Court (UPP/UPC) in particular, together with a technology interest, further contribute to his holistic view of complex IP issues.

Claes Almberg has a long and distinguished background in intellectual property law. He recently resigned as a European patent judge (reappointed) at the Boards of Appeal of the European Patent Office (EPO) and has previously been specialist counsel at the intellectual property unit of a leading Swedish law firm, and a patent law expert at the Ministry of Justice in Sweden. He has also worked as a judge in the intellectual property divisions of the Svea Court of Appeal and Stockholm District Court.

– What attracted me to Hansson Thyresson was the closeness to inventors and entrepreneurs, and the opportunity to work holistically and interdisciplinary within intellectual property law. The combination of specialist expertise, short decision-making processes and an international outlook makes the firm a very exciting environment, says Claes Almberg.

The recruitment is an important step in Hansson Thyresson’s continued development as a boutique firm within intellectual property law.

– Claes has unusually strong and broad experience from across the entire IP system, from courts and public authorities to advising on complex commercial issues. His expertise and viewpoint enhance our ability to help clients in strategically crucial intellectual property matters, says Jakob Broman, European Patent Attorney and Partner at Hansson Thyresson.

Claes Almberg studied law in Sweden, Canada, and France, with additional studies in England, and completed the EPO’s month-long judicial internship in Munich.

– He is and will continue to be a sought-after attorney in patent disputes thanks to his impressive career at the EPO and his many years of work on setting up the unitary patent system (UPP/UPC). It feels great to bring in another talented colleague, and to be able to continue to offer our clients the best expertise, says CEO Maja Modigh.

This year’s trademark congress INTA Annual Meeting is an important and large forum for attorneys with five days of training, business strategy, meetings and networking with representatives from all over the world. The meeting will be held in Atlanta in May and our attorney Maria Foskolos will be there to represent Hansson Thyresson.

Please get in touch to book a meeting directly with Maria here, or email us at inta@hanssonthyresson.se

We look forward to many fruitful meetings!

The so-called “10-day rule”, a quirk of European patent practice, is soon only a memory. The 10-day rule introduced the long-standing notion that an official communication from the European Patent Office (EPO) is deemed to be notified 10 days after the date of the communication. Hence, as many of the deadlines set by the EPO are calculated from notification of the relevant communication, the 10-day rule has played an important role in how deadlines are calculated. However, this will no longer be the case.

As of today, the 1 November 2023, official communications from the European Patent Office will be deemed to be notified on the same day as they are dated. For example, an official action dated 4 November 2023 and setting a 4-month term from notification for response, will thus have a due date for response on 4 March 2024, rather than on 14 March as would have been the case had the 10-day rule still applied.

Notably, the change only affects communications dated on or after 1 November 2023. That is, for communications dated before 1 November 2023, the 10-day rule still applies. Thus, for a communication dated on, for example, 29 October 2023 and setting a 4-month term from notification of the communication, the 10-day rule would still apply resulting in a due date of 8 March 2024.

Clients used to the 10-day rule are urged to take notice of this change, and to take extra care when calculating deadlines and providing instructions close to said deadlines.

OMotion AB is the company behind the creation in the picture. They make electric vehicles that combine the best of two worlds – the freedom of a motorcycle with the stability of a car. So cool huh!

Hansson Thyresson has helped OMotion AB by conducting an IP scan. Ola Svensson, founder and CEO of OMotion, says:

“There were mainly two things that I thought were good about the IP scan. Firstly, we gained a better understanding of how we should act to protect our innovations and our brand, not least in an international perspective. Secondly, that we can use the IP scan in a dialogue with investors, it will be a confirmation that we have intellectual property rights in our mind when doing our work.”

Does this sound interesting for you and your company?

Do not hesitate to get in touch with any of our certified advisors for the IP-scan, Viveka Anderberg, Jakob Broman and Maja Modigh, and we’ll tell you more!

To be a patent proprietor has several advantages. One of them is that you may use your patent to prevent competitors from profiting on your invention. If you discover a product that seems to be similar to your patented idea, you should contact us immediately and tell us about your suspicions.

In such situation, it is important to carry out an infringement analysis as soon as possible. A patent infringement may have taken place if the competitor’s product is manufactured, marketed and/or sold in a market where your patent is in force. In this case it is important to act quickly and correctly!

An infringement assessment is roughly performed by the following steps:

1. In a best case scenario, we have access to the physical product, but depending on the technical field, and availability, our analysis and assessment can be performed using brochures or other marketing material, or website excerpts.
2. Your patent contains a number of claims which determine the patent’s scope of protection, i.e., what you have patented. Each claim contains in turn a number of features. During the infringement analysis, we compare the features of the claim with the potentially infringing product. If the product meets all the features of the claim, it is likely to infringe the patent.

3. If infringement seems to be at hand, the next step may be to send a warning letter to the competitor behind the product.

Please read more about disputes here > It is important to monitor what your competitors are doing and how their products are designed, but also where they are manufactured, marketed, and sold. If necessary, we are happy to assist you in preparing and sending warning letters. If you have any questions relating to potential infringement, you are most welcome to contact one of us >

The 18th of January is the International Winnie the Pooh Day. The well-renowned work about the honey-loving teddy bear Winnie the Pooh by A.A Milne is protected by copyright in Europe and was protected by copyright in the US until midnight on New Year’s Eve 2021-2022. At that time, the original book became older than 95 years meaning it entered the public domain according to US copyright law.

On the 15^th of February 2023, the film “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey” is set to premiere. It is a film in an ENTIRELY different spirit than what we are used to seeing of the beloved teddy bear. Even if the copyright to the original work has expired in the US, The Walt Disney Company (who is the holder of the rights to Winnie the Pooh) has registered trademarks for, among others, the name “WINNIE THE POOH”. The question we ask is therefore, what action has Disney taken? Will Disney try to stop the film? And how will the production company behind the film respond? Will they change the title of the film?

Contrary to copyright (which according to Swedish law is valid from the creation of the work until 70 years after the death of the author), a registered trademark offers indefinite protection for a trademark, as long as the trademark is used. Hence, Disney, as well as other film- and entertainment companies, does not rely solely on the finite copyright protection, but also on complementary trademark registrations for their well-known characters, including Winnie the Pooh, to ensure its exclusive right to these characters.

Do you think it is right to turn Winnie the Pooh into a horror film?

Which is your favourite character in the Winnie the Pooh-stories?

The start of the Unitary Patent System in Europe is approaching, which following the latest delay is set to launch on the 1 June 2023. Only patents which are granted by the European Patent Office (EPO) on or after this date are eligible for registration as a Unitary Patent (UP). To give more applicants the chance to register their patents as Unitary Patents (UP), the EPO will offer applicants an opportunity to delay the decision to grant in cases where the patent otherwise would have been granted before the start of the Unitary Patent System.

At the request of the applicant, the EPO will delay the decision to grant of a European patent application such that the patent is granted on or immediately after the start date of the Unitary Patent System, to allow the patent to be registered as a Unitary Patent (UP). Such a request may be filed as soon as the EPO has informed the applicant of the text intended for grant (i.e. the Rule 71(3) communication), but before this text has been approved by the applicant. This opportunity to delay the grant is available from the 1 January 2023 until the start date of the Unitary Patent System, when the measure no longer fulfills its purpose.

As of the 1 January 2023, applicants who have received the text intended for grant will also be given an opportunity to submit an early request to register the patent as a Unitary Patent (UP). This will ensure that the patent is registered as a Unitary Patent as soon as the new system starts.

Please contact one of our patent attorneys for further advice.

The Unified Patent Court (UPC) announced earlier today that the starting date of the new Court will be delayed by two months. This means that the new Court won’t open its doors until the 1 June 2023. The sunrise period, during which it will be possible to lodge opt-outs from the UPC, will be similarly delayed and will start on the 1 March 2023 at the earliest. The reason for the delay is that many users have had great difficulty in getting access to the digital authenticity and identification certificates that are required to use the Court’s digital case management system. Read the press release in full here.