Eastern European IP firm Petošević has merged with CWB Group, an IP service provider across the Middle East and North African region.

CWB is a portfolio company of GC Capital, a private equity firm investing from the Gulf Cooperation Council to south-east Asia.

The new company creates a ‘super regional’ firm managing the IP portfolios of global clients across the Middle East, North Africa, Eastern Europe and Central Asia. In total, it will have 24 offices providing IP services in more that 52 countries.

Petošević began life in the 1960s advising on IP protection in the Western Balkans; now headquartered in Luxembourg, it provides services primarily across Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

Founder of Petošević Group Slobodan Petošević said: “This marks a major milestone for us at Petošević after more than 60 years in IP, the last 30 developing a focused network of IP firms. As a unique, multi-regional specialised IP firm, we are confident to offer our clients an enhanced and seamless service experience for all their intellectual property needs across the 52 countries we cover.”

CWB Group, which was acquired by Gulf Capital in 2020, provides patent and trademark services including counselling, clearing, filing, prosecution, maintenance and enforcement services to Fortune 500 companies across the Middle East and North Africa region. CWB’s service offering also extends to anti-counterfeiting and commercialisation of IP. 

The chief executive officer and founder of the CWB Group, Halim Shehadeh, said: “This merger will deliver the resources we require to invest in new technologies, grow our operations and transform the way we deliver our services. It will enable us to build an unrivalled IP firm, with local presence and expertise in complex regions that operates as a single unit to deliver a consistent level of quality service despite all the challenges posed by the jurisdictions we operate in.”

Managing director of Gulf Capital Mohammad Madani added: "We are particularly proud to establish this new super-regional IP firm out of the vibrant Abu Dhabi Global Markets (ADGM), which is quickly becoming the jurisdiction of choice for fast growing global companies operating across emerging markets.” ADGM  is an international financial centre and free zone located in Abu Dhabi.