Celebrating 50 Years of Expertise

In 2025, Advokatbyrån Gulliksson and Ström & Gulliksson proudly celebrate 50 years of successfully shaping and supporting innovation. Since 1975, our firms have been dedicated to safeguarding ideas, driving commercialization, and providing strategic counsel for businesses, entrepreneurs, creators and partners alike.

Ström & Gulliksson is the go-to leading patent firm devoted to protecting and promoting progress by developing value-driven patent strategies and maintaining valuable patent protection.

Advokatbyrån Gulliksson is the firm of choice for knowledge-intensive and idea-driven companies and our collaborations and working methods are characterized by openness and strategic advice with the client’s business needs in focus. In other words – The fine art of business and intellectual property law.

Discover the story of how it all began through the interview with Christina Cedergren (daughter of the late Tore Ström and former HR manager for 22 years) and Jonas Gulliksson.

Ström & Gulliksson was founded – a Swedish patent firm focused on intellectual property rights

Ström & Gulliksson was founded by Tore Ström and Jonas Gulliksson. The business idea from the start was to integrate business law and intellectual property law with patent law, in order to offer a comprehensive and distinctly business-oriented service. In November 1975, Kerstin Jonsson became the company’s very first secretary, and the following year, Christina Cedergren (formerly Ström), daughter of the founder Tore Ström, was hired.

It all started in the house in the picture but pretty soon that year, larger premises were needed and the company moved to Rundelsgatan in Malmö.

Patent Cooperation Treaty and European Patent Convention - Simplified European and International Patent Applications

The European Patent Convention (EPC) is a multilateral treaty that established the European Patent Office (EPO) and set out procedures for applying for European patents. The convention was first signed on October 5, 1973, and came into force on October 7, 1977. The EPC provides a unified patent system for its member states, enabling inventors to protect their inventions in multiple European countries with a single patent application. This eliminates the need to apply for patents individually in each country. The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) is an international patent law treaty, concluded in 1970 and effective from 1978. It provides a unified procedure for filing patent applications to protect inventions in all its contracting states. A patent application filed under the PCT is referred to as an international application or PCT application.

SEPAF is founded

SEPAF is the industry organization for Swedish intellectual property companies. The members of SEPAF create business benefit for their clients through protection of innovation, mainly in the form of patents, trademark protection and design protection. The purpose of SEPAF is to maintain good ethics and a high level of professionalism in the industry. Jonas Gulliksson authored the statutes for the Association of Swedish Patent Agencies and convened the founding meeting in Stockholm. The original member agencies were Svenska Patentagenturen, Andy Andersson, Sture Moberg Patentbyrå, Omming & Uusitalo, Ström & Gulliksson, as well as Raymond Swensson and his partner. The history of SEPAF (in Swedish).

Office in central Malmö

Ström & Gulliksson needed more office space and moved to Hansacompagniet (formerly NK), on Stora Nygatan in central Malmö. These premises remained Ström & Gulliksson’s headquarters throughout 2015.

New Head of Patents

Stellan Petri assumed the role of Head of Patents (later succeeded by Leif Jörgensson), replacing Tore Ström, who had reached retirement age, but continued to work for many more years. Tore officially retired in 2006 at the age of 80.

World Trade Organization, WTO

Two major events for Sweden occurred this year: the joining of the EU and the formation of the World Trade Organization, WTO. The former brought new pan-European opportunities for Ström & Gulliksson's clients through EU trademark registrations and, a few years later, EU design registrations. With the WTO came extended opportunities to claim so-called priority from more countries, of importance particularly to our patent clients.

Office in Helsingborg

We opened an office in Helsingborg, which was later integrated into our office in Lund. Per Svärd, who is still active at the law firm Gulliksson, was responsible for this establishment.

Jonas Gulliksson was granted admission to the Swedish Bar Association

This year Jonas Gulliksson applied for and was granted admission to the Swedish Bar Association. A consequence of the membership was that the company came to be called Advokatbyrån Ström & Gulliksson. As the only law firm in Sweden with both lawyers and patent attorneys within the same company, this meant a unique offer in the area of ​​intellectual property law to the Swedish market.

From Paperwork to Digital Submissions

The very first electronic filing of a European patent application was received on 8 December 2000, the day on which the service was launched (version 1.01). The application was filed in the name of HAUNI Maschinenbau AG Hamburg, represented by Dieter K. Speiser of Bremen, Germany, and was given the application number EP00000001.8.

Ström & Gulliksson became a specialized patent firm

Ström & Gulliksson was acquired by Danish owners, and in connection with this, the operations were divided. The legal practice was transferred to a separate company, Advokatbyrån Gulliksson. Ström & Gulliksson and Advokatbyrån Gulliksson continued to operate with shared office space and close collaboration, which has persisted ever since.

As a client of Ström & Gulliksson or Advokatbyrån Gulliksson, you can benefit from our longstanding collaboration, complementary expertise, and roles.

We are establishing an office in Lund

Ström & Gulliksson opened an office in the Ideon area in the northeastern Lund. Initially, we had premises in Edison Park before moving to greater heights on the 17th and 18th floors of Ideon Gateway in 2013. The establishment of the patent department at the Lund office was led by Jan Nilsson.

We are opening an office in Stockholm!

Today, Ström & Gulliksson is an established and strong player in Stockholm, with a clear position in the market. Year by year, we have strengthened our presence and our offering. Since 2011, Christian Arkelius has been the office manager in Stockholm.

Sweden joins the London Agreement

On May 1, 2008, Sweden joined the London Agreement, an agreement that reduces the translation requirements for European patents to be valid in Sweden. The changes to Swedish law meant, among other things, that the majority of a European patent intended to be in force in Sweden no longer needed to be translated into Swedish. However, the patent claims still need to be translated into Swedish.

Ström & Gulliksson becomes partner-owned and partner-led

A number of employees, including Björn Andersson and Rikard Roos, made a management buy-out of Ström & Gulliksson from the Danish ownership. As a result, Ström & Gulliksson, like Advokatbyrån Gulliksson, becomes partner-owned and owner-led. In connection with the buy-out, Magnus Berglund and Erik Bolmsjö, among others, were also offered partnership.

First to file in the USA

First to file and first to invent are legal concepts that define who has the right to the grant of a patent for an invention. Since March 16, 2013, after the United States adopted the American Inventors Act and abandoned its "first to invent/document" system, all countries have operated under the "first-to-file" patent priority requirement.

We are launching our first trainee program!

Ström & Gulliksson has always prioritized recruiting young talent and training them into fully qualified patent attorneys through the guidance and mentorship of experienced professionals. In preparation for 2014, a strategic decision was made to launch a formal trainee program, bringing on board several young engineers at the same time and offering them shared training over a two-year period. Among this cohort of trainees was Malin Ahlgren, who is now one of our partners.

Rikard Roos assumes the role of CEO

The current CEO, Rikard Roos, takes office, and the organizational structure Ström & Gulliksson operates under today is established. It features smaller operational units where each team leader is heavily involved in client work on daily basis.

Patent applications in Sweden can be filed in English

Until 2014, it was required that patent applications be submitted in Swedish, which often involved extensive translation work. However, from 2014 onwards, it became possible to submit applications for Swedish patents directly in English. The purpose of this decision was to reduce translation costs and simplify the process for those applying for patents.

New special courts for patent cases in Sweden

In 2016, two new special courts, the Patent and Market Court and the Patent and Market Appeal Court, became operational to handle Swedish patent court cases. Those kinds of cases can be complicated both technically and legally, and special courts were introduced to achieve greater efficiency and flexibility. With a more concentrated and uniform court system, shorter processing times and a high quality can be expected from the court proceedings. The jurisdiction of these special courts allows them to try other types of intellectual property cases as well, as opposed to having to divide such cases between different courts.

Key Recruitment and Trainee Programs

During these years, several key recruitments were made, including Fredrik Carlsson and Albin Persson, who are now both partners in the firm. Further, additional trainee programs were completed. Our trainee program spans three terms and covers various elements, ranging from the fundamentals of patent law to the challenges of complex patent disputes. Our trainees also have the opportunity to attend external courses beneficial for passing the European Qualifying Examination.

Establishment in Gothenburg

Ström & Gulliksson begins establishment on the Swedish West Coast. As always, we place great emphasis on recruiting individuals with both technical expertise and a genuine commitment to client relationships. With a strong team and a local presence, we aim to become a natural choice for innovative companies in the region. With this expansion, Ström & Gulliksson now has offices in Malmö, Lund, Stockholm, Linköping, and Gothenburg. In all these locations, except for Linköping, we share offices with Advokatbyrån Gulliksson.

A New Era for Intellectual Property Protection: Introducing the Unified Patent Court

June 1, 2023 marks a momentous occasion in the European patent landscape as the Unified Patent Court (UPC) opens its doors, offering a platform for individuals to file central claims against potential patent infringers in several countries or centrally seek for revocation of European patents. At Ström & Gulliksson, we have expert European Patent Attorneys in all major technical disciplines, including European Patent Litigators who will be able to represent clients at the UPC. We stand ready to continue supporting our clients in enforcing and protecting their intellectual property rights across Europe together with our sister law firm, Advokatbyrån Gulliksson AB.

Awards and mentions

Ström & Gulliksson has been recommended by several independent ranking institutes as a leading patent firm. We are proud to have been named Sweden’s “Patent Prosecution Firm of the Year” by MIP in both 2021 and 2024, and by IAM in 2023.

50 years of Expertise - Shaping Tomorrow Together

In 2025, Advokatbyrån Gulliksson and Ström & Gulliksson proudly celebrate 50 years of successfully shaping and supporting innovation. Since 1975, our firms have been dedicated to safeguarding ideas, driving commercialization, and providing strategic counsel for businesses, entrepreneurs, creators and partners alike. The expertise, dedication, and personal qualities of our employees are our most valuable resource and form the foundation for our successful, often long-standing, collaborations.

Sweden's new patent law comes into effect

On January 1, Sweden's new patent law came into effect, replacing the previous patentlaw from 1967. The most noticeable change is that the new law has been made more accessible with a linguistic modernization, clear section headings, and a structure with separate paragraph numbering for each chapter. Furthermore, the term inventive step is introduced into the text of the law.

Yesterday, today, and tomorrow - Sweden is and remains an innovative country

Over the years, Sweden has constantly achieved top rankings in the annual Global Innovation Index by the UN's intellectual property organization, WIPO, which evaluates the world's most innovative countries. We have both well-known and lesser-known innovators. For those who want to delve deeper into this, the Swedish Intellectual Property Office has compiled a selection of Swedish inventors and their patents in full here - Inventors from Sweden (in Swedish).