AWA – Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) | Patents and Trademarks

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Intellectual Property from IP Law Experts.

From our offices across Europe and Asia, we provide clients with strategic advice and durable solutions to secure innovations, protect brands and develop solid intellectual property portfolios.

As industries and sectors become overcrowded, AWA helps innovators monetise on intangible assets. As markets become saturated, we help brands differentiate themselves and stand-out.

Patents, trademarks, IP legal, design, copyright and domain names

We identify the best combination of intellectual property rights to offer strong protection for our clients including patents, trademarks, IP legal, copyright, domain names and design rights.

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Capturing IP value

AWA focuses on the long-term – building a business is a journey that requires strategy throughout the corporate cycle to protect and enforce IP rights, but to also identity and capture the value of intellectual assets. This strategy is what will support your business as it navigates evolving marketplaces.

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Let’s Develop the Market Together

Let’s talk. AWA has over 400 employees across Belgium, China, Denmark, Hong Kong, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland offering strategic IP advice virtually or physically. There is no charge for this initial contact, so let’s talk to identify your intellectual property needs and start developing the market together.

Some initial questions clients come to us with:

  • How do I manage IP infringement on a global scale?
  • How do we implement a brand management strategy?
  • Is our trademark protected globally?
  • Can domains with my brand name be registered by others?
  • How does a patent stop competitors from stealing our ideas?
  • How do I know if someone else has patented my innovation?
  • What intellectual property rights do my competitors own?
  • How can I renew an expired design, patent or trademark?
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Digital IP Tools

In the digital era, AWA is innovating the intellectual property software tools of the future that reduce workload and save time for our clients. This leaves them with more time to create intellectual property rights (IPR) including patents, trademarks and design registrations for us to protect, enforce and monetise to ultimately get – and stay ahead – of the competition.

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Dispute Resolution and Litigation

Protecting IP during infringement cases shields your valuable investments. Through AWA IP legal services we will pursue and defend claims for preliminary injunctions and other security measures. Litigations are rarely restricted to a single jurisdiction, we coordinate and employ our extensive but selective network of professionals to secure rights and interests globally. We manage costs and budget effectively to ensure that resources are allocated appropriately.

Latest from AWA Point

  • China’s amended Trademark Law brings stronger protection

    By the end of 2025, the number of valid registered trademarks in mainland China (excluding Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan) had reached 49.877 million. Meanwhile, malicious trademark registration activities remained high, with over 200,000 enforcement actions against bad-faith trademark filings recorded nationwide in both the first halves of 2023 and 2024. The revision of the…

  • Three Years of the Unitary Patent and UPC: What the Data Reveals

    Three years after the Unified Patent Court opened its doors, the unitary patent system is taking shape in practice. This article looks at how the new options are used, where opt-outs are declining, and what the first wave of UPC activity reveals about Europe’s evolving patent landscape. The Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (2013/C 175/01)…

  • China’s Trademark Law Overhaul Forces a Strategic Reset for Pharma and Medtech Brand Owners

    China’s draft fifth revision of the Trademark Law shifts from a registration-focused to a use- and governance-driven model, curbing bad-faith filings, unlocking idle trademark resources, and strengthening enforcement. This will significantly affect pharma and MedTech firms’ brand strategy, portfolio governance and enforcement planning in China’s key healthcare market. Life sciences companies rely on trademarks for…

  • Patagonia vs. Pattie Gonia: Trademark Questions Behind a Viral Dispute

    The trademark dispute between outdoor giant Patagonia and environmental activist and drag artist Pattie Gonia has made headlines across the globe. Without commenting on the merits of the pending US proceedings, the case has triggered a wave of genuinely interesting trademark questions in the public conversation. In this article, we take a closer look at…

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We have worked with AWA for over thirty years, entrusting them with much of our European IP matters. This long standing relationship is testament to their work and simply we could not manage our IP matters without them

ABD Safegate

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We are continually impressed with AWA, handling our patent prosecution and portfolio management matters for many years. AWA recently assisted us with transactional patent due diligence and their input was invaluable throughout the acquisition.

Cellavision

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AWA acts as our in-house department and they are our trusted advisor for all matters relating to intellectual property all over the world.

Skanska