Late-stage functionalisation has emerged as a valuable enabling tool within the arsenal of a medicinal chemist. As newer synthetic methods become developed for the generation of small molecules, so too has the chemical space that medicinal chemists will have access to. Of course, these methods are valuable to the R&D team – but did you know that late-stage functionalisation will also likely have an impact on the IP profession?

Each year the UKIPO publish facts and figures relating to the trade mark, patent and design filings of the previous calendar year. We have provided previous reports for TM activity 2021 and 2022. The UKIPO recently shared the figures for 2023 with us, and there are some intriguing patterns emerging - especially as regards examination of new TM applications.

Spiking Neural Networks (SNNs) represent the third generation of neural networks, offering a more brain-like approach to processing information. By utilising spiking neurons, SNNs promise energy efficiency and enhanced capabilities in time-dependent tasks, though challenges remain in training and applying them to conventional tasks.