A leading European IP firm

Our vision is to be Europe’s IP firm of choice, a goal that drives every aspect of our business.

For our clients, this means more than just providing services. We build strong personal relationships and assemble multi-disciplinary teams of experts who deeply understand, and often have firsthand experience in, the clients’ industry. This approach allows us to deliver tailored solutions that resonate with our clients’ unique needs. Our commitment to investing in our people is unwavering. We empower our team to be their authentic selves and to excel in everything they do. Through technology, strategic recruitment and confident leadership, we are cultivating an environment where innovation thrives and our people are positioned to lead the industry.

This is why we confidently deliver tangible and sustainable value to our clients’ businesses, ensuring their intellectual property is protected and optimized for success.

Latest updates

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PRESS RELEASE – HGF strengthens European presence with three new Partners in France and Germany

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ICELAND left out in the cold by the General Court

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Welcome to HGF Presents - New Video Series

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Three core areas for a complete service offering

Prepare

Our dedicated, specialist attorneys are skilled in maximising value at the vital early stages of a technical innovation, laying the foundations for powerful, long-term protection.

Select a service to find out more.

Protect

Our expertise in optimising IP to maximise our clients' business objectives. Our breadth and depth of experience and knowledge allows us to take-on complex challenges and provide protection.

Select a service to find out more.

Enforce & exploit

Our in-house litigation, oppositions and appeals teams are highly skilled with a proven track record in securing successful outcomes in some of the most contentious, high-profile cases in Europe.

Select a service to find out more.

Industries

By tapping into rich in-house experience, our attorneys truly understand the different business landscapes in which we specialise.

We work with a considerable number of creative, media and entertainment companies to guide and advise on protecting the intellectual property which they create.

From the sunny climes of Brazil to the tar sands of Canada, countries have different natural resources to generate energy, with varying government priorities and approaches to IP.

Our accomplished FemTech team are experts in patent drafting, prosecution, appeals, FTO and infringement opinions, and litigation for large corporate firms, SMEs, universities, and overseas associates

IP rights underpin a lot of value in the finance industry. They are all too often the unappreciated core of commercial or investment banking services, foreign exchange, investment services, research, fund and asset management, insurance, financial exports, stock exchanges and clearing houses, accountancy and audit, and every business allied to the sector.

Food and Drink is a diverse and innovative sector where businesses from global conglomerates to bio-tech based start-ups strive to meet the demands of a truly challenging market.

The healthcare sector has a long history of life-changing innovation, with new and evolving technology at its core.

Combining technical expertise and industry experience, our pharmaceuticals team provides comprehensive support and advice for every stage of a product’s development and lifespan.

From bricks and mortar to online retail, there are challenging times ahead, with technology and ethics driving developments across the sector.

Sector groups

Our attorneys combine impressive academic and industry experience with strong commercial acumen to deliver world-class, specialist IP support.

The chemical and pharmaceutical fields are constantly evolving as new chemicals, drugs, compositions, materials and processes are needed to meet the ever increasing demands of tomorrow’s world.

Law

Our law team provides services which complement those provided by HGF’s patent and trade mark attorneys, covering IP litigation, transactional IP, commercial law, data protection and privacy, due diligence and IP advisory work.

Technology specific legal issues abound in this sector, with route to market often involving rigorous regulation; factors to be understood when developing appropriate long-term patent strategies that maximise exclusivity and drive business success.

The Technology & Engineering landscape is evolving, with new innovations driving change across industries. Our team helps to protect and commercialise cutting-edge developments in this dynamic environment.

As businesses increasingly put 'brand' at the heart of their growth strategies, trade marks play a vital role in protecting equity and driving economic growth.

Latest updates

PRESS RELEASE – HGF strengthens European presence with three new Partners in France and Germany

HGF is pleased to announce the arrival of three new partners, further strengthening its European presence. Two partners will be joining the firm’s fast-growing French practice, and one will join …

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G1/23: The Enlarged Board of Appeal shift EPO practice towards an “on-sale” bar.

Last week, the EPO’s Enlarged Board of Appeal (EBA) issued its Decision that both a product put on the market before the date of filing of a European patent application, …

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The EPO Board of Appeal comments on the scope of the morality exclusion from patentability

The recent decision, T1553/22 of the Board of Appeal required the Board to consider the scope of the exclusions from patentability under Article 53(a) EPC. The invention in this case …

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Avoiding Legal Pitfalls: The Notting Hill Bag Company's Costly Mistake

[2025] EWHC 1793 (IPEC) – Natasha Courtenay-Smith and Notting Hill Bag Company Limited v The Notting Hill Shopping Bag Company Limited, Nangialai Takanai, The Notting Hill Shopper Bag Ltd, Ehsanullah …

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Event - 12th September 2025

Wolters Kluwer Breakfast Panel on AI & IP at AIPPI

Sofie McPherson, Patent Director at HGF, will be moderating a special breakfast panel session hosted by Wolters Kluwer at the AIPPI World Congress in Yokohama on 15 September 2025. Session …

Event details

T1465/23 – No Narrowing by Description—EPO Board Terminates Inventive Step Analysis for Arbitrary Modifications Citing G1/24 and G1/19

“The potential patentability of a specific narrow embodiment…cannot render a claim allowable which, due to its breadth, encompasses a multitude of other, non-inventive embodiments” – r. 3.5. Background EP3113515 was …

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Wrestling with G1/24 – How should the claims be interpreted in view of the description?

In G1/24, the Enlarged Board of Appeal (EBA) codified how claims should be interpreted for assessing patentability: in consultation with the description. However, the decision was light on how, in …

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