LAW IN NOVATION

Their core work

Law in Novation (operating as Bochon & Partners) is a Brussels-based innovation law firm that provides legal, regulatory, and governance expertise to EU research consortia working on advanced nanomaterials and bio-based composites. Their core contribution is translating complex scientific outputs into compliant, governable frameworks — particularly around safety-by-design mandates that nanomaterial developers must satisfy before European market entry. In SABYDOMA, they contributed to the governance and communication dimension of a safety-by-design initiative for nano-coatings used in industrial manufacturing. In BIONANOPOLYS, they supported an open innovation test bed covering bio-based polymer nanocomposites across packaging, textile, and automotive applications.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Their earliest H2020 work centered on the governance architecture of nanomaterial safety: stage-gate methodologies, on-line screening protocols, and feedback control systems as regulatory checkpoints in production (SABYDOMA, 2020). By 2021, their involvement shifted toward application-sector compliance — packaging, textiles, non-woven materials, and automotive — reflecting a broadening from regulatory framework design to sector-specific implementation guidance. The trajectory suggests they are building a practice that moves from governance theory toward end-market regulatory strategy for nano-enabled products.

Law in Novation appears to be deepening its niche in nano-regulatory compliance across manufacturing end-markets, making them increasingly relevant to companies commercializing bio-based or nano-enabled materials in regulated sectors such as packaging and automotive.

How they like to work

Law in Novation has participated exclusively as a consortium partner — never as project coordinator — across both H2020 projects. Despite only two projects, they engaged with 47 unique partners across 21 countries, indicating they operate in large, internationally diverse consortia where specialist legal input is one component among many technical contributors. This profile is typical of expert advisory firms brought in by scientific coordinators to cover governance, IP, and regulatory compliance rather than to drive the scientific agenda.

With 47 unique partners across 21 countries from only 2 projects, Law in Novation operates within unusually large and internationally distributed consortia. Their Brussels location provides natural proximity to EU regulatory bodies, policy networks, and the institutions that shape nanomaterial governance across Europe.

What sets them apart

Law in Novation occupies a rare niche as a legal and governance specialist embedded directly inside EU research projects — integrated into the consortium from day one, not advising from the outside after the science is done. For scientific coordinators building consortia around nanomaterials or bio-based composites, they bring the regulatory and IP infrastructure that prevents costly legal issues at the exploitation stage. Their Brussels base and EU project track record make them a credible partner for consortia that need legal compliance built into the research process itself.

Highlights from their portfolio

• SABYDOMA
  The project's explicit focus on governance and communication in nanomaterial safety-by-design is the clearest signal of Law in Novation's core role — translating nano-safety science into enforceable industrial frameworks with stage-gate compliance checkpoints.
• BIONANOPOLYS
  As the larger-funded project (EUR 262,740) covering an open innovation test bed for bio-based nanocomposites across four industrial sectors, this demonstrates Law in Novation's ability to operate within complex multi-sector R&D environments requiring cross-market regulatory coordination.