Boult is a leading European patent, design and trade mark firm recognised throughout the IP world for its commercial awareness and commitment to clients. The core principles of the firm are quality, market understanding and sound judgement – constant themes since it was founded in 1894. Our roots are in the UK but we have now evolved into a European firm with a global practice. Our team has an unparalleled ability to apply expert strategic and commercial thinking to any IP problem. Our British, German and Spanish offices work together both closely and collaboratively and our strong presence across jurisdictions both inside and outside of the EU means we can handle work at a national, European regional and international level.
What sets us apart from other firms is our approach to people. Externally, we work hard to develop close relationships with our clients, so that we can provide tailored advice, whether they are multinational corporations, universities and other research establishments, attorney firms, SMEs and private inventors, across Europe, the Far East, North America and elsewhere. We pride ourselves on our clear and relaxed communication style, and we work to demanding deadlines in the most complex areas of technology. As a team, we are friendly and personable, and we think that this is what drives clients to choose us and stay with us – some of our clients have been with us for decades.
“We are Boult – a leading European IP firm. We focus on quality, market understanding and sound judgement – constant themes since our founding in 1894.
We have our roots in the UK but have now evolved into an international firm with offices across Europe, although our practice is global facing. Our clients range from start-ups and entrepreneurs to international organisations and academic institutions. We pride ourselves on providing the right combination of expertise in an international team to support our clients’ IP needs globally.”
6 offices in 3 countries
Current turnover approaching £50M
We offer our support to clients in over 90 countries worldwide
90% of the trainees that qualify at our firm choose to stay with us
What sets Boult apart is not only the expertise of our staff but also our culture, demonstrated through our approach and values. Our firm’s values are a direct reflection of the kind of firm we want to be. A firm where everyone is committed to delivering world-class service in a working environment where they can bring their authentic self to the office. Our people are our most important and our greatest asset – without them, there is no Boult.
With around a hundred IP professionals in three countries, we are large enough to handle the most complex and interesting cases and small enough to provide a bespoke one-to-one service to clients and to provide support to our staff as individuals. We have an open culture where everyone is treated with respect and civility. Everyone is equally important and everyone’s views count. We have always had an inclusive working environment; it’s not new to this firm, it’s just who we are.
We are committed to providing the best possible service to our clients, and the best possible work environment for our people. Our approach to our work is underpinned by our values and they inform everything we do as an individual and as a firm.
“Fundamentally, we are a caring organisation. Getting that balance right between delivering great client service but also doing that in a way which is fulfilling and rewarding for our staff is key to our culture. We are making progress and will continue to make progress. We are a brilliant firm to work for and we want to make sure the firm is viewed as such by all our staff.”
Our values are:
Boult places great importance on information security, including cybersecurity, to protect against external threats. We continuously strive to meet or exceed the industry information security best practices and apply controls to protect our clients and the firm. We maintain a comprehensive set of information security and cybersecurity policies and procedures which align with ISO/IEC 27001 standard.
From trade secrets to patents, IP plays a vital role in protecting innovation across food science—covering recipes, packaging, and manufacturing in a booming £5.8bn industry.
Recent UPC decisions suggest a shift toward deleting embodiments not covered by amended claims. G 1/25 may confirm this as EPO seeks alignment. Read our analysis and what this means for drafters.
The Düsseldorf UPC rejected a late-filed argument on added matter, reaffirming its strict, front-loaded procedure and the importance of early, complete case preparation.
T 1846/23 shows how G 1/24 is being applied: the EPO rejects narrowing claims via the description alone. As G 1/25 is awaited, the importance of clear drafting is reinforced.
