Advising a Cleantech or Energy Business: A Practitioner's Guide to Green Patents, Environmental Claims, Certification Marks, and Carbon Assets
By Casey Scott McKay ·
This guide sets out how to run the legal side of a cleantech or energy business across its two very different exposures: the technology, which needs a patent and trade secret strategy built for a fast-moving and rapidly standardising field, and the marketing, which is the most heavily contested advertising category there is. It starts with the claim review process, because environmental claims fail through process rather than intent and the fix is cheap. It then covers substantiation, the qualification rule that decides most cases, certification mark licensing from both sides, and the chain-of-custody accounting that determines which sentence a recycled or sustainable input actually supports. The later sections address carbon credit purchase terms and retirement records, patent strategy in a standardising field, trade secret protection for process know-how, and the consistency between consumer and investor communications that regulators increasingly examine together.
IP and Technology > General IP | Guide | Published 19 March 2025 - Updated 18 October 2025 | Casey Scott McKay - marksy.us
Summary. This guide sets out how to run the legal side of a cleantech or energy business across its two very different exposures: the technology, which needs a patent and trade secret strategy built for a fast-moving and rapidly standardising field, and the marketing, which is the most heavily contested advertising category there is. It starts with the claim review process, because environmental claims fail through process rather than intent and the fix is cheap. It then covers substantiation, the qualification rule that decides most cases, certification mark licensing from both sides, and the chain-of-custody accounting that determines which sentence a recycled or sustainable input actually supports. The later sections address carbon credit purchase terms and retirement records, patent strategy in a standardising field, trade secret protection for process know-how, and the consistency between consumer and investor communications that regulators increasingly examine together.
Keywords: cleantech IP programme · accelerated examination · energy storage patents · standards essential exposure · trade secret process protection · environmental claim review · claim register · substantiation file · certification mark licensing · eco label diligence · chain of custody accounting · carbon credit purchase terms · retirement records · offset disclosure duties · supplier evidence contracts · investor disclosure consistency · green brand clearance · technology naming · regulated category labelling · self regulatory challenges
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