Gaining a competitive advantage in the chemical industry often involves costly, long-term R&D that results in innovative processes, formulations and manufacturing methods which are difficult to reverse-engineer but easy to copy once disclosed. Obtaining robust IP rights enables businesses to secure exclusivity for their innovations in their chosen markets, allowing them to recoup development costs, attract further investment, and exploit commercial opportunities such as licensing, and joint ventures.
Why Gateley IP?
Our chemistry team include European patent attorneys with in-house experience in speciality chemicals and materials science companies, as well as several decades of private practice experience advising companies in this field. This experience brings a strong commercial focus to our work, ensuring effective patent protection for our clients’ important products and processes.
What do we do?
Our chemistry patent attorneys support businesses from the early stages of research, when R&D plans are being mapped out, to the achievement of commercial products and beyond. We advise on and implement strategies for securing patent protection and building an effective patent portfolio. Where third-party rights are of potential concern, we provide advice on levels of risk as well as practical options for dealing with any issues identified.
Who do we help?
We work with clients at all stages of development, from early stage innovators to established international businesses. Our clients in the chemical sector include:
- startups, universities and spinouts developing novel chemical technologies;
- SMEs scaling manufacturing processes or product lines;
- multinational companies managing large, complex patent portfolios; and
- in-house teams seeking additional technical or strategic support.
Whether you are protecting a first invention or managing a mature portfolio, we adapt our advice to your business, your sector and your appetite for risk and investment.
Technical specialisms
Our collective chemical technical experience includes:
- inorganic chemistry
- industrial chemicals
- metal alloy chemistry/ materials science
- process chemistry
- analytical chemistry
- speciality polymers
- nanoparticles
- semiochemical molecules and pest management solutions
- pesticides and pesticide-resistant compositions
Relevant sector experience
- Drafting and prosecuting patent applications across a wide range of industrial and small molecule chemistry fields, including catalysts, speciality polymers, nanoparticles, microbicidal compounds, pesticides and plant-derived chemical products. This work spans UK, European and international filings, with a strong track record of securing grant in technically demanding areas where inventive step is closely scrutinised. The team’s deep technical understanding allows them to pursue broad, yet defensible claim scope tailored to clients’ commercial objectives.
- Handling multiparty opposition proceedings before the European Patent Office (EPO) for multinational chemical corporations operating in highly-competitive industrial chemistry sectors, including speciality chemicals, polymers, coatings and construction materials. The team includes opposition specialists with more than 15 years’ experience working continuously on EPO oppositions.
- Established European patent case law for synergistic chemical combinations through a series of appeal cases, which overturned initial refusals. One of these appeal decisions was subsequently cited in the EPO’s published case law of the Boards of Appeal, reflecting its wider significance to the assessment of inventive step in chemistry-based inventions.