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After an exceptionally warm week across Europe, sunscreen has once again taken center stage. What used to be a product reserved for holidays or beach days is now something many of us reach for daily. At the same time, expectations have changed. Sunscreens must offer strong protection but also feel pleasant on the skin and fit easily into daily routines. This shift has driven innovation not only in how sunscreens are used, but also in how they are formulated and delivered. New formats such as sprays, sticks, and powder-based sunscreens reflect this evolution.
At their core, sunscreens rely on UV filters. These fall into two categories: “chemical” filters that absorb UV radiation, and “physical” filters that reflect or scatter it. Many well-known filters are already off-patent or close to expiry. Still, innovation remains very active. Rather than focusing only on entirely new filters, companies increasingly improve existing ones through smarter formulations and combinations. They optimise how filters spread across the skin, improve how long they remain effective, enhance their water resistance and reduce their environmental impact. They also work on cosmetic properties such as transparency and skin feel. For example, they reduce the white cast associated with mineral sunscreens.
Patent trends in sunscreen innovation
In Europe, regulation strongly shapes these innovation strategies. New UV filters must undergo extensive regulatory approval before they can enter the market. This process slows down the introduction of new actives. As a result, companies focus more on developing new delivery systems and refining formulations using already approved filters. Competition therefore centers on formulation expertise rather than on the filters themselves.
The patent landscape reflects these trends (see Figures A & B). Filings have increased steadily in recent years. Large players such as L’Oréal, BASF, and Symrise dominate the field. Activity also clusters in key markets, with particularly strong momentum in Asia, especially in China, Japan, and Korea. These regions mirror broader developments in both skincare and sun care innovation. A closer look at the patent landscape also highlights how formulation strategies are evolving, as discussed in more detail below.
Bio-based and eco-friendly ingredients
When exploring combinations, there has also been an increased interest in bio-based and more eco-friendly ingredients. For example, the invention underlying EP2736482B1 (“Eco-compatible sunscreen compositions”) combines organic UV filters with antioxidants extracted from green tea. Notably, the claim also excludes presence of certain ingredients such as parabens, certain types of fragrances and UV filters in the protected composition – all of which are known to be harmful to the environment.
Fermentation biotechnology has also found its way into our sunscreens, where certain cosmetic ingredients are derived from fermentation of various microorganisms. For example, sophorolipids are produced by fermentation with certain yeasts. These have gained traction in the cosmetics industry due to their reduced toxicity, biodegradability, and environment-friendly nature.
Of course, it has to be noted that a product with improved biodegradability can still be harmful to the environment, since biodegradation refers only to decomposition time rather than to the absence of ecotoxicity. Further innovation in eco-friendly alternatives has been triggered by additional regulations, such as Annex VI of Regulation (EC) No. 1223/2009, and Hawaii’s Reef Act 104. For example, EU Regulation 2022/1176 amending the Annex VI sets stricter concentration limits on certain chemical UV filters due to their endocrine disrupting properties, and Hawaii’s Reef Act 104 outrightly prohibits use of sunscreens comprising oxybenzones and octinoxates, due to their harmful effects on coral reefs and marine life. At the finished-product level, formulators are now combining such actives with reef-safe, non-nano mineral filters, such as non-nano zinc and titanium dioxide as the active UV filters.
AI-driven innovation
Another wave of innovation concerns the use of computational and machine-learning tools to design sunscreen formulations, rather than relying on manual trial and error. For example, an EP patent application concerns a computer-implemented method that takes a sunscreen performance target and optimization parameters, then runs a multi-objective optimization to generate efficient compositions that meet the target. Notably, the application drops a nod to Annex VI of Regulation (EC) No. 1223/2009, acknowledging that UV filter selection must often be dictated by geographical regulations. As noted in the application, such a method may help formulators exchange substances blocked by competitive IP rights, regulatory issues, or scarcity. This illustrates how computational design can be used to design around third-party patents.
From a European patent practice perspective, this patent application raises classic computer-implemented-invention issues under the EPO’s approach to Art. 52(2)/(3) EPC: the claims appear to survive eligibility scrutiny precisely because they are tied to a concrete technical effect, i.e. generating an actual UV-filter composition that can guide production of an actual sunscreen product, rather than merely claiming an abstract optimization algorithm.
Key takeaways
Sunscreen may appear to be a straightforward product, but its development reflects a complex interplay of formulation science and regulatory constraints. Much of today’s innovation lies in optimising how existing UV filters are combined to achieve improved performance while minimizing its ecological impact. In practice, this raises concrete IP questions. Reformulating around existing filters may require freedom-to-operate analyses. Small formulation changes can impact patentability or scope of protection. An AI algorithm on its own, without a real-world effect, may face patent-eligibility objections. If your project is facing any of these challenges, it is worth taking a closer look at the IP strategy behind it.
