Groth & Co is proud to be shortlisted in six prestigious categories:

Firm of the Year (Patent & Trademark Attorney Firms), Nordic
Trademark Disputes Firm of the Year, Sweden
Patent Prosecution Firm of the Year, Sweden
Trademark Prosecution Firm of the Year (for Patent & Trademark Attorney Firms), Sweden
Practitioner of the Year (for Patent & Trademark Attorney Firms), Sweden
Rising Star of the Year (for Patent & Trademark Attorney Firms), Sweden

We are especially pleased to share that Carl Wendt has been named Practitioner of the Year 2026. Carl’s strategic mindset, technical excellence and unwavering commitment to client success have made him a trusted advisor and a respected leader within the IP community. This recognition reflects both his individual achievements and the high professional standards we uphold at Groth & Co.

We are also very proud that Anton Persson has been recognised as a finalist in the Rising Star category. Anton’s dedication, sharp analytical skills and strong drive continue to make a significant impact. His recognition highlights both his impressive development and the exciting future ahead.

“These recognitions reflect the collective expertise, collaboration, and commitment of everyone at Groth & Co. They are the result of a shared ambition to deliver the highest quality in everything we do, and I am incredibly proud of the entire team and the work we accomplish together,” says Carolin Sundkvist, CEO of Groth & Co.

The awards ceremony will take place on 1 May 2026, and we look forward to celebrating the occasion.

The Act significantly strengthens the protection of technical trade secrets. Individuals who have had legitimate access to sensitive technical information – such as employees or consultants – may now be held criminally liable if they misuse or disclose that information without authorisation. The purpose of the Act is to better safeguard technical knowledge that is critical to innovation, industrial development and industrial competitiveness.

A more comprehensive framework for protecting trade secrets

The new law criminalises the unauthorised use or disclosure of technical trade secrets. The term technical trade secrets include, for example:

• research and development results
• technical drawings and specifications
• internal processes or methods
• technical know-how

The new criminal liability complements the existing Swedish Trade Secrets Act and contributes to a more comprehensive legal framework for protecting companies’ critical technical information.

What does the new law mean for businesses?

For both small and large companies, the new law provides a clearer and stronger legal tool for protecting valuable internal knowledge. In practice, this entails:

• improved opportunities to take legal action in cases of leakage or misuse of technical information
• a strengthened competitive position, particularly for technology-driven businesses
• increased requirements for internal procedures, such as documenting what constitutes a trade secret and ensuring clear confidentiality arrangements with employees and external partners

To benefit from the protection offered by the Act, however, companies must continue to actively manage their information and be able to demonstrate that it qualifies as a trade secret.

An important addition to intellectual property protection

The Act does not replace traditional intellectual property rights – such as patents, trade marks, designs or copyright – but complements them by protecting technical knowledge that companies choose not to disclose or register.

This strengthens the overall system of intellectual property protection and improves the conditions for innovation, particularly in industries where development work and know-how are key assets.

Groth & Co’s perspective

At Groth & Co, we continuously deepen our expertise in trade secrets and data access – two areas that are closely linked in practice. Technical data often falls within the legal definition of technical trade secrets, but companies also hold significant volumes of other sensitive information worthy of protection, such as customer data, commercial information and agreements with suppliers and customers.

Christian Hafner, Head of Patents at Groth & Co, emphasises the importance of identifying and categorising this information and then protecting it through concrete measures such as access controls, logging and clearly defined internal procedures, in close cooperation with IT departments.

“The Act only provides protection if the company has actually taken steps to keep the information confidential. A document that is openly accessible to everyone can hardly be considered a trade secret,” says Christian Hafner, Head of Patents at Groth & Co.

Summary

The new Act marks an important step towards stronger protection of technical trade secrets in Sweden, and it is encouraging to see that misconduct now carries clear consequences. For businesses, this means both enhanced opportunities to protect their operations and an increased need for well-defined internal processes for handling sensitive information.

Please contact us if you require practical or strategic support in relation to trade secrets – not only technical trade secrets, but also other forms of sensitive business information.

But with this new system comes an important question: how open should UPC proceedings be to the public?

How Access Works Today

At present, UPC decisions and orders are published as a matter of course. Access to written pleadings and evidence, however, is handled differently. Under Rule 262.1(b) of the UPC Rules of Procedure, anyone seeking access to written pleadings and evidence must submit a “reasoned request”. The judge-rapporteur then decides after consulting the parties.

In assessing requests for access to written pleadings and evidence, the UPC distinguishes between ongoing proceedings and concluded proceedings (see further details in the Court of Appeal decision on April 2024 (UPC_CoA_404/2023)).

Ongoing proceedings

For ongoing cases, the threshold for access is deliberately high. Access is generally granted only where the requester can demonstrate a direct legitimate interest, such as involvement in parallel EPO opposition proceedings. This stricter approach aims to protect the integrity and independence of ongoing proceedings and to prevent external influence.

Concluded proceedings

For concluded proceedings, however, the bar is significantly lower. Once a case has ended, the risk of interference is significantly reduced and the public interest—such as transparency, legal education and predictability—comes to the forefront. In principle, a general interest should be sufficient to justify access.

In practice, however, even access to concluded cases has proven far from straightforward.

The Main Practical Obstacles

Three issues stand out:

• Mandatory representation: Anyone requesting access must be represented by a UPC-qualified representative. Self-representation is not allowed, even for lawyers or patent attorneys (see further details in the Court of Appeal decision on February 2025 (UPC_CoA_563/2024)).
• Costs: While recent case law suggests applicants should not bear the parties’ legal costs concerning requests for access to written proceedings and evidence, the need for representation still creates a financial barrier that may discourage transparency.
• Delays: Access requests can take many months—and in some cases over a year—especially where parties object. This undermines the practical value of access, even in cases where it is ultimately granted.

The Proposal: Default Access for Concluded Cases

A more transparent and practical approach could be to grant public access by default to written pleadings and evidence in concluded cases—at least for UPC representatives. It might even be beneficial to allow public access to documents by default, without requiring formal representation.

Parties would retain the right to request confidentiality under Rule 262.2, provided they justify it and submit a redacted version for public disclosure.

The Court would continue to review confidentiality claims, but access to non-confidential material could be granted without delay.

This approach would reduce procedural disputes, ease the burden on judge-rapporteurs, and significantly improve transparency—without undermining legitimate confidentiality interests.

Why This Matters

Openness is key to trust in a new court system. Easier access to UPC case files would support legal certainty, education and informed decision-making for businesses navigating the European patent landscape.

As the UPC continues to evolve, greater transparency—especially for concluded cases—can be one effective way to strengthen confidence in the system.

Want to discuss UPC transparency or access to case files?

If you would like to know more about how UPC case file access works in practice, or how this may affect your business and litigation strategy, please feel free to reach out. Cao Cao and Mattias Forsblom at Groth & Co are happy to share their insights and help you navigate the UPC landscape.

Cao Cao
Partner
European Patent Litigator
European Patent Attorney

This means that UK clone trademarks that have not been used in the UK within the past five years may be subject to full or partial revocation for non-use. As a result, trademark owners could lose the ability to enforce their rights before UK courts or to rely on their registrations in opposition or invalidity proceedings before the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO).

What should trademark owners do?

We recommend that all trademark owners:

• Review their UK clone registrations and assess whether the marks have been used in the United Kingdom during the past five years.
• Evaluate their future plans for use of the marks in the UK market.
• Take timely action – if a mark has not been used but protection is still desired, it may be advisable to commence genuine use in the UK and/or consider filing new applications to safeguard future rights.

At Groth & Co, we are closely monitoring this development and are happy to assist with strategic advice on how to best protect and maintain your trademark rights – both in the United Kingdom and within the European Union.

The European Communities Trade Mark Association (ECTA) is a non-profit organisation that brings together more than 1,500 intellectual property professionals from across Europe. ECTA works to promote the development and harmonisation of European IP law and provides expert input on issues related to trademarks, designs, and other related rights.

As a member of the Design Committee, Emma will be involved in discussions and policy work on how industrial designs are protected and enforced in the EU and beyond. The committee plays an important role in analysing new legal developments, drafting position papers, and working with EU institutions on design law reform.

Emma joined Groth & Co in 2023 and has since specialized in design and trademark law. She supports clients across various industries in protecting their creative ideas – offering guidance on design registrations and strategic advice to strengthen their intellectual property portfolios. Her experience also includes representing clients in design-infringement disputes, providing her with practical insights into enforcement and conflict resolution within industrial design.

Even early in her career, Emma has shown a great interest in how design protection contributes to innovation and brand development. She looks forward to sharing her perspective and learning from other experts in the committee.

At Groth & Co, Emma continues to support clients in all kinds of design matters, combining her growing legal experience with a genuine curiosity for design-driven innovation and creative business development.

We are truly proud and delighted to announce that Anton Persson has been recognised as a Rising Star 2025 by MIP IP Stars!

At Groth & Co, we know the dedication, curiosity, and passion Anton brings to his work every day – qualities that make him such a valued colleague and trusted advisor to our clients. This recognition is a wonderful confirmation of his talent and the bright future ahead of him.

The International Trademark Association (INTA) is a global non-profit organisation dedicated to supporting and protecting trademarks and related intellectual property rights worldwide. Through his committee work, Carl will contribute to developing international policies and best practices that promote fair and balanced trademark protection.

Carl has extensive experience within the Life Science sector, specialising in intellectual property issues related to pharmaceuticals and biotechnology. His expertise includes regulatory aspects of IP in connection with authorities such as the FDA, EMA, and the Swedish Medical Products Agency.

Before joining Groth & Co, Carl gained valuable international experience from some of Sweden’s largest pharmaceutical corporations, including Pharmacia & Upjohn and AstraZeneca, where he developed a profound understanding of the complex IP challenges facing the global pharmaceutical industry.

Beyond Life Science, Carl has broad experience in strategic IP management within technology-driven industries such as telecommunications and home electronics, having worked with leading global companies including Ericsson and Electrolux.

At Groth & Co, Carl provides strategic advice and manages international trademark and domain name portfolios, including monitoring, naming, brand development, risk analysis, and actions against counterfeiting and infringements.

“I am very pleased to share that our group of Partners at Groth is expanding with yet another valued colleague. From today, we welcome Mattias Forsblom as a new Partner at Groth & Co. With his broad professional experience and sharp analytical skills, Mattias contributes not only to our clients’ success but also to the continued growth and development of our firm.”
– Carolin Sundkvist, CEO, Groth & Co

Mattias is a highly experienced patent attorney with in-depth knowledge across a wide range of technological fields. His expertise spans electronics, power transmission systems, telecommunications, high-pressure processing equipment, energy and automation, information and communication technology, as well as lighting for both residential and professional use.

Holding a PhD in Theoretical Physics (2005), with research focused on computational materials science, Mattias has developed particular expertise in materials science. He has also completed the CEIPI Diploma in European Patent Litigation and brings extensive experience in successfully representing clients in opposition and appeal proceedings before the European Patent Office.

In addition to his litigation work, Mattias has worked broadly with drafting and prosecuting patent applications and advising on a wide variety of patent and IP-related matters. His deep knowledge and analytical ability make him a valuable asset for both our clients and the ongoing development of Groth & Co.

What comes first?
‍But what comes first? For an SME it is the question “What are our trade secrets?” Often SME’s and even big corporations are not even aware of their trade secrets, and they do not have a system in place to categorize and identify/manage them. But which aspects or items can actually be trade secrets? Usually, trade secrets are part of each company and organisation at least in some form. Further down below you see a definition and a non-exhaustive list of potential trade secrets and a general definition.

What are trade secrets?
‍The general definition is “information that (a) is secret, (b) has commercial value because it’s secret, and (c) is subject to “reasonable steps” to keep it secret.”

Examples may be:
Technical and Scientific Information: This is often the most readily recognized category of trade secrets and may include:

• Recipes and Formulas: Encompassing not just food and beverages, but also pharmaceuticals and chemical compounds.
• Manufacturing Processes and Methods: The unique steps and techniques that give you a competitive edge in production.
• Materials: Specialized or uniquely sourced materials that are integral to your products.
• Software and Tools (Algorithms and Source code): Both the proprietary software you develop and the unique ways you utilize commercially available tools.
• Technical Solutions and Innovations: Novel solutions to technical problems and the pipeline of future innovations.

Commercial Information: This category pertains to the operational and customer-facing aspects of your business and may include:

• Client Portfolios and Customer Lists: Detailed information about your clients, their needs, relationships and their history with your business.
• Distribution Networks and Strategies: The “how” and “where” of getting your product or service to market.
• Supplier and Vendor Information: Including not just names, but also negotiated pricing, terms, and relationship details.
• Client requests and feedback: Requests and Feedback from clients gives you a hint where your product/service/process should go from here and is therewith to be treated as a trade secret.

Internal Business Information: This category focuses on the inner workings and human capital of your organization and may include:

• Employee Training and related Documentation: The specialized knowledge and skills you impart to your workforce.
• Recruitment Strategies and Candidate Attributes: Your unique methods for identifying and attracting top talent.

Financial and Strategic aspects: This type of information, while less tangible than a formula or a machine, is often what provides a significant long-term competitive advantage. It may include:

• Financial Data and Projections: This encompasses more than just raw revenue figures. It includes your pricing strategies, cost structures, profit margins, internal financial forecasts, and detailed budget information.
• Business Plans and Corporate Strategies: Your long-term business plans, marketing strategies, expansion plans, and research and development roadmaps are invaluable.
• Marketing and Advertising Strategies: Beyond just distribution networks, the creative concepts, target audience analysis, and specific tactics of your marketing and advertising campaigns can be a trade secret.

Example of its own: “Negative Trade secrets”
‍“Negative” Know-How and Research Dead Ends: The knowledge of what does not work can be just as valuable as knowing what does. Documenting failed experiments, unsuccessful marketing campaigns, or abandoned product designs can save significant time and resources in the future. This “negative” knowledge is a protectable trade secret that prevents your competitors from learning from your mistakes BUT even negative trade secrets need to be treated as such (see paragraph below).

Further, depending on the industry you are working in there may exist trade secrets related to regulatory, and risk related procedures and other industry specific trade secrets.

Identifying your Trade secrets
‍If you are not aware of the trade secrets in your organisation, a workshop or harvesting session with key stakeholders and staff is advisable. Typically, this will require to conduct interviews with key stakeholders and staff and documenting the findings. Then a group consisting of individuals having internal and potentially external expertise evaluate and categorize the findings. This will give your organisation a starting point for trade secret management.

What is next after you are aware of your Trade secrets?
‍“Treat them as such and protect them”

If your trade secret is publicly available as a leaflet in your cafeteria or on your website, you might want to consider a serious walk over your trade secrets. The law and legislation states that trade secrets must be subject to reasonable steps to keep them safe and secret. These reasonable steps may include:

• Access controls
• Audit trails
• Employee training
• Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) in place for and prior to critical conversations with third parties (preferable: NO discussions with third parties about trade secrets but not always possible)
• Exit-interview protocols, and so on.

Management and Access
‍This means you will need to catalogue, access-protect and regulate your trade secrets carefully. So, after you identified your trade secrets, it is time to categorize them, identify who should have access and to make sure that they are treated as trade secrets, with proper physical and electronic access control. There is specific software for managing trade secrets but generally a proper simple and safe setup can get you a long way, this can even be a carefully maintained and safeguarded database table. Many traditional tools or cloud-based solutions, such as for example salesforce, dynamics, sharepoint or other enterprise grade cloud solutions also allow granular access controls. In case you use such cloud suppliers, regular supplier safety audits may be advisable. So, a clear and long-term vision of safeguarding and properly managing your trade secrets is key. This also includes continuous trade secret harvesting within your organisation for establishing future trade secrets.

Documentation of Trade secrets
‍Once the management and safeguarding is in place, preparing documentation that identifies how you manage trade secrets and briefly explains what each of the managed trade secrets is about without revealing trade secret details, is advisable. Such documentation that does not disclose your trade secrets but gives the receiver, which may be a potential investor, a basic idea about your trade secrets underlines the value that your trade secrets generate in your organisation.

Employees and staff vs Trade secrets
‍Another aspect is the people risk lifecycle for staff who has or had access to sensitive information and trade secrets. On-boarding, ongoing training and off-boarding of your staff is needed. Typically, most leaks happen when employees are somehow involved and this will issue will only increase with a generation that has grown up with a “everything is always available and for free, especially information” – attitude entering the work force. The return of devices and strict management of such devices as well as reminding staff of obligations relating to these is of importance. In addition, recent changes in non-compete clauses, which face bans in the US and growing antitrust scrutiny in the EU, SMEs need airtight confidentiality and trade-secret practices instead of relying on post-employment restraints. Be proactive instead of reactive when it comes to trade secrets.

Trade secrets vs Patenting
‍For trade secrets of technical nature, it is important to consider whether to:

1. keeping a technical innovation a secret or,
2. patenting the technical innovation.

A lot comes down to the probability of “reverse-engineering” of the technical innovation. If it is easy to reverse-engineer the technical innovation then patent protection is advisable. If it is not easy to reverse-engineer the technical innovation then keeping it a secret may be a more economic and long term-value-building solution. Keeping a technical innovation a secret comes however with the risk that a third party may come up with the same technical innovation and patent protect it, which then means you need to be able to document and proof that you were aware of this technical innovation earlier, used it and kept it as a trade secret. Such proof may avoid a lawsuit or royalty payments down the road.

Collaboration, vendors and suppliers
‍Be careful when collaborating with various parties, especially from different jurisdictions; – different standards may apply. Often such collaboration includes the exchange of material and information, which can contain at least partial trade secrets. This material and information need to be treated carefully and preferably hidden in “black boxes” when material or information is exchanged between your organisation and a third party. As mentioned above, also regarding this aspect employee training can be of high importance. For contracts relating to collaborations, especially when the collaborations comprise sensitive and secretive aspects, it is of great importance to have proper contracts in place with such collaborative parties. In general trade secret law is not that strong these contracts should be drafted by specialised attorneys to make sure that they cover sensitive material and knowledge for the client.

What happens if a trade secret is leaked?
‍In case that, despite your safeguarding, a trade secret has been leaked you can request the return of information, claim damages or pursue criminal penalties (fines and imprisonment); seek an interim injunction (vitesförbud) to quickly stop further spread before the final ruling (SE); engage IT-forensic expertise to trace and secure evidence (important for all jurisdictions); and, in cases involving information protected by copyright, apply for an intrusion investigation (the civil-law equivalent of a search warrant), search damages and request the destruction of infringing goods (EU) or enforce injunctions and ex-parte seizures (US).

Final comment
‍All in all, trade secrets are a tool to protect the competitive advantage and edge of your organisation It needs to be carefully managed and require specialised knowledge. Do not forget trade secrets; -proper intellectual property management includes the management and leveraging of trade secrets.

If you would like guidance on building or auditing a trade-secret programme, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Christian Hafner
Managing Partner
Head of Patent Department
European Patent Attorney

In short, I’m stepping into this new role with humility but also with a strong “let’s do it” attitude and great confidence in my colleagues here at Groth & Co.

What drives you in your work with intellectual property and patent matters?
Curiosity about innovation. I’ve worked in the industry for over ten years and I’m still just as fascinated when I see an invention for the very first time or collaborate with a passionate inventor or entrepreneur. Being able to help the inventor or company – whether it’s a start-up team or a global enterprise – to protect their idea or keep it confidential, and thereby contribute to societal progress and innovation, is a powerful motivator.

You have a strong background in AI – how did your interest in that area begin?
‍It really took off when I worked with some highly skilled colleagues at RightHub on AI solutions for the IP sector. There, I saw how machine learning and Large Language Models (LLMs) can improve efficiency while enhancing quality, ultimately delivering greater value to clients.

My father was always deeply curious about new technology, and I think I’ve inherited that from him. You need to embrace technology and keep learning throughout life, which also means staying curious and flexible in your thinking – that’s how you end up exploring new tools like LLMs.

What opportunities do you see for AI to contribute to the patent field and intellectual property in general?
As a consultant, you must always think from the client’s perspective, not from the habits of old-school patent consultants from the 1980s. What does the client want? Can I create added value by providing an AI-generated report instead of producing a complex document full of patent jargon? Or can I enhance the way I deliver information using AI? (The answer is yes!) At the same time, there are some important ground rules when working with AI, such as “Think for yourself first before asking an LLM.”

Are there any risks with AI that you think the IP industry should pay special attention to?
‍Yes, two areas stand out. The first is data integrity: if you train models on confidential material, you must know exactly where that data goes. Generally, data is considered “publicly disclosed” if it is used for model training. The second is “hallucinations” – AI’s tendency to sometimes make up sources or answers. This requires clear processes and human quality control; otherwise, we risk compromising client confidentiality, legal certainty and quality. That said, hallucinations are becoming less of an issue with the latest models.

As Head of Patents, what do you hope to bring to Groth & Co’s clients?
‍My aim is to work as closely as possible with clients and actively drive the changes that are needed. Our industry today is slow, traditional and expensive – and I doubt that will be sustainable in the long run. By working closely with clients and really understanding their challenges, we can continuously develop and improve our services. Younger entrepreneurs in particular – and their numbers are growing – are no longer willing to pay high fees for ‘standard services’ in our field.

Finally – what do you enjoy doing when you’re not thinking about patents, IP and AI?
Then I’m just a normal person who enjoys spending time outdoors with my partner and daughter, being with friends, reading and keeping active.