Insights from Future IP UK Experts Vol.8: An Interview with Wise's Anastasiia Litvinenko
- Min Nguyen
- Sep 4
- 7 min read
Navigating the complex world of intellectual property can feel like a daunting task, especially with technology moving at lightning speed. But what if there was a way to build an IP strategy that's not only robust but also flexible and ready for whatever the future holds?
We're thrilled to have a conversation with Anastasiia Litvinenko, a true expert in the field and the Legal Counsel at Wise.
Having previously shared her insights at our Future Lawyer Europe event, Anastasiia is back to offer her expertise on a panel at the Future IP UK conference titled "Layered IP Strategies: Protecting Innovation Across Different IP Rights."
In this exclusive interview, she opens up about what a layered IP approach means to her, the common pitfalls she's seen companies face, and the exciting — and sometimes challenging — developments she's keeping a close eye on, from trade secret protection to the complexities of AI-generated content.
What does a “layered” IP strategy mean to you in the context of today’s fast-paced innovation cycles? How can trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets work together to create a more resilient IP protection strategy?
Think of intellectual property protection like securing your home – you wouldn't rely solely on a basic front door lock when you could also turn on an alarm system and security cameras on your property.
Just as you might layer multiple security measures to create robust protection of your house, IP safeguarding works most effectively when you employ a multi-faceted approach. As markets evolve rapidly and new challenges emerge, having a comprehensive suite of IP protection tools ensures you can respond effectively to changing circumstances while maintaining robust security for your company’s intellectual property.
For example, trademark and copyright protection work hand-in-hand to create complementary safeguards for your brand. While your trademark application moves through the registration process, you can still leverage copyright protection and unfair competition laws to defend your brand identity and visual elements.
In software development, the synergy becomes even more apparent. Copyright protects your source code, trade secrets safeguard your proprietary algorithms, while patents can protect novel technical innovations. Each protection type kicks in at different stages of development and covers distinct aspects of your intellectual property, creating a comprehensive shield around your innovation.
This multi-layered strategy offers enhanced resilience compared to relying on a single protection method, all while staying cost-effective. Rather than putting all your eggs in one basket, you're building a robust defense system where each layer reinforces the others. The result is comprehensive protection that actually strengthens and becomes more valuable over time, effectively closing potential gaps that competitors might otherwise exploit to their advantage.
What is the most common mistake you see companies make when trying to integrate IP into their business strategy?
The most common and critical pitfall I observe is the “we’ll deal with it later” mentality when it comes to intellectual property.
Many companies, especially startups, prioritise rapid technology creation to be first to market. In this rush, they often neglect foundational IP protection, such as conducting trademark searches before adopting company names and house brands, or establishing clear IP assignment and ownership agreements among founders or between the company and its employees.
This approach can end up being quite expensive in the end when companies discover that they don't actually own the technology they've been developing, or face costly legal disputes that could have been easily prevented with proper planning.
It is crucial to balance the rapid speed and agility of business development in today's competitive landscape with the necessity of building a solid legal foundation for securing and protecting IP. When it comes to IP protection, "we'll figure it out later" often translates to "we'll pay much more to fix it later" – if it can be fixed at all.
How do you ensure that IP strategy remains agile enough to respond to rapid shifts in technology or regulation?
The key is building flexibility into your IP strategy from the ground up. I find it helpful to structure IP strategy in two distinct layers:
the IP foundation – your structural constants: standard filing procedures, confidentiality protocols, and other fundamental protection principles and processes that provide stability and consistency across the organisation;
the strategic layer (or "adaptive component") – the dynamic component that evolves with your business. This includes tactical decisions about which innovations to protect, geographic priorities, and branding positioning that shift with market opportunities.
At Wise, for example, our foundation includes product naming protocols and trademark filing procedures. But our strategic layer adapts constantly – when we expand into new markets, we look at how our existing IP strategy would apply in the new jurisdiction and adjust it accordingly.
To be able to keep your IP strategy relevant and agile, you must stay up to date with new ideas and business plans in your organisation. Our team attends quarterly product planning sessions and maintains close relationships across business departments to learn about developments early. This helps us to do the legal groundwork, e.g. trademark clearances, ahead of new product launches.
Another thing to keep in mind is that IP strategy is not something you can silently keep in your drawer and hope that the rest of the organisation will remember about it. Business teams naturally focus on their immediate priorities and may overlook IP considerations. This is why it is important to educate the business on various aspects of IP protection regularly, while building friendly connections across departments. The IP team should be seen not as a formidable lawyer in a suit, but rather as a trusted and friendly colleague people want to share ideas with over coffee. The goal is making IP strategy feel seamless and supportive rather than bureaucratic or restrictive.
Do you think trade secrets are becoming a more relevant and valuable tool for protecting innovation in today’s fast-moving markets? If so, why?
Absolutely. In today's data-driven world of algorithms and AI, trade secret protection is becoming increasingly valuable. I believe the key reasons for this are:
Speed of innovation. Trade secrets offer immediate protection – this is crucial when new technologies evolve weekly and monthly rather than yearly. In contrast, patent protection often feels cumbersome due to the time and effort required for the patent registration. With technology changing so rapidly some patents applied for three years ago may no longer be relevant or monetizable.
Cost efficiency. No registration fees, maintenance costs, or geographic limitations make trade secrets particularly attractive for companies like Wise operating across multiple jurisdictions.
Competitive advantage preservation. Some technologies would immediately lose their market edge if publicly disclosed through patent filings, whereas trade secrets allow companies to maintain their competitive advantage indefinitely through confidentiality.
However, trade secret protection is not always an ideal choice. The downside is that trade secrets demand robust internal security measures and the protection can be lost if information leaks. Trade secrets also don’t prevent competitors from independently developing similar technology.
What upcoming developments in IP law or technology are you personally most excited about? Are there any emerging challenges in IP protection that you’re particularly eager to discuss at the conference?
AI-generated materials remain a hot topic in the IP world and I’m keen to discuss this with other panelists and participants to get their insights. Nowadays you cannot avoid AI-generated content – everyone is using it for all kinds of tasks, from contract drafting to creation of advertising materials.
What excites me is how this forces us to fundamentally rethink traditional IP frameworks. We're dealing with questions that didn't exist even two years ago: If our marketing team uses AI to generate campaign materials, who owns the copyright? How do we ensure proper ownership or licensing for training data in our machine learning models? How do we protect our proprietary AI models while using third-party AI services?
What I'm also eager to discuss is practical risk mitigation strategies for IP in an AI-driven world. As lawyers, we shouldn’t say “no” to innovation, but rather understand the risks and practical ways to minimise those.
The challenge that I see is that AI regulations around the world are inherently reactive and generic, but AI development moves exponentially fast. This isn't just a theoretical discussion anymore – it's affecting our daily legal decisions and business strategy. We need proactive frameworks in place that can adapt to ever-emerging technologies and the way to manage risks without clear legislation in place. I'm interested to hear how other companies are balancing innovation with IP protection in this rapidly evolving landscape.
What do you hope the audience will take away from your session at Future IP UK? How do events like this help drive collaboration and innovation in the IP community?
What I hope attendees will take away from the “Layered IP Strategies” session is a toolkit of actionable strategies they can implement in their organisation – whether that's building a more resilient multi-layered IP protection framework or developing practical approaches to AI-generated content challenges.
Beyond the practical takeaways, I want people to feel empowered and less isolated in tackling complex legal issues. I hope attendees leave with a renewed sense that we're part of a community working together to evolve IP practice for the modern world.
Events like Future IP UK are invaluable because they break down the silos we often work in and highlight the collective problem-solving aspect. We're all facing similar challenges – whether it's navigating AI ownership questions, building cost-effective IP strategies, or keeping up to date with regulatory changes – but we're often solving them in isolation. These events create a space where we can share our failures and successes openly, which accelerates learning for everyone and strengthens the legal community.
Anastasiia's insights remind us that in a world of constant change, a static approach to IP protection just won't cut it. Her panel will provide a practical toolkit for building a resilient, multi-layered IP strategy that protects your company's most valuable assets. Don't miss the chance to learn from Anastasiia and other leading experts at the Future IP UK!
Secure your spot today to join the conversation on building smarter, more agile IP strategies for the future.
Written by Min Nguyen, Content Executive
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