We can thank Alexander Graham Bell for inventing the telephone back in 1876 but today’s telecommunication technology is unrecognisable from the early days of telephone exchanges and switchboards. For decades, the traditional telephone network in the UK was visible for us all to see; every street was lined with telegraph poles, and copper cables stretched…
The World Cup is the biggest tournament in world football and one of the most exciting and anticipated events for football fans around the World. However, in recent years, one feature of the modern game has sparked almost as much conversation as the football itself: Yes, you guessed it, VAR. Love it or hate it,…
You wouldn’t give it a thought when you grab your re-usable drink bottle in the morning but behind the bottle’s cool exterior lies a hidden story of intellectual property. Years of scientific research and development, numerous prototypes, experiments on different materials and production methods eventually come together and what was once a concept on paper…
It’s that time of year where many of us will be buying Christmas gifts for our friends and family to celebrate the festive season, and naturally, we want the best deals for our hard-earned cash. However, this is also the busiest time of year for counterfeiters flooding the market with fake products, which can not…
If you are considering registering any type of intellectual property in the UK, you might want to act sooner rather than later as the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO) will be increasing its fees for patents, trademarks and designs on 1 April 2026, subject to parliamentary approval, with fees increasing on average by 25%.This…
Packaging is probably not something you spend too much time thinking about. We pick up a product from the shelf at the supermarket and toss it into the trolley without considering the journey this item went on before it reached you. Innovations in food manufacturing processes affect us all. Take the humble tin of beans…
With rising energy costs throughout the world, soaring food prices, global warming and the continuing conflict in Ukraine, the impact on agriculture and food production is profound. As food production is so fundamentally important, mankind has for centuries sought to improve farming methods and increase yields. For example, the invention of the hydroponic system (a…
For some Brexit might seem like a distant memory. It was something that featured in our vocabulary on a daily basis from the referendum in June 2016 right up until the UK left the European Union on 31 December 2020 but then COVID came along. Brexit, for many, took a back seat. But the effects…
It’s that time of the year again when thoughts turn to all things Christmas. And boy do we all need some festive cheer to brighten up our moods as we approach the end of 2020. Although we are not aware of it, we are surrounded by all forms of intellectual property when we go…
As scientists across the globe are frantically trying to devise a vaccine to protect us against COVID-19, we thought we would take a brief look back at the development of vaccines over history. As far back as 1796 the first Smallpox vaccine was developed by physician Edward Jenner. He discovered that by applying a small…
