“I always say that this is a challenge; it's a new way and I will learn something more"

29 September 2026

Peggy Bengtsson’s reflections on her career within patents

In the patent field, there are no shortcuts to what matters most: the deep experience required to exercise sound judgement in any situation, especially when some issues might arise only once in a career, if at all. Zacco’s Senior Executive Partner and Director of Portfolio Outsourcing Peggy Bengtsson is approaching retirement, so we asked her to reflect on the key developments she has witnessed over more than four decades, and the future challenges she foresees. Peggy has made a significant impression on the Scandinavian IP industry throughout her career, and her expertise and insight is highly valued by both colleagues and clients alike.

Career tips for young patent professionals

Just like many other patent professionals, Peggy’s career started with a job ad. Her first employment was as a trainee at another large Scandinavian IP firm and she never looked back. Over the years, she has developed a keen sense of what makes a good patent attorney: a high-level of technical education, a genuine interest in how language is formulated (as it is one of your main work tools), and finding enjoyment digging into legal questions on IP law and how to apply it. Peggy herself graduated in 1983 with a Master of Science in mechanical engineering from Lund University, and she became a European Patent Attorney in 1996. The European authorisation is a goal she would recommend all young patent professionals pursue in order to build their career.

If you have all the prerequisites in place, you should try to find a trainee program or entry position in private practice that encourages client interaction early on, under the mentorship of a senior attorney, of course. “I think that it’s important for patent attorneys to see if this is something for them? Because in order to be a great consultant, you should also enjoy interacting with the client and building a collaborative relationship with them. Otherwise maybe you are better off with an in-house position, which of course has its own challenges”. This touches on another point Peggy has found particularly valuable for her own career, which is to switch ‘sides’ between in-house and private practice, to get a better overall understanding of the business. Peggy has held various managerial positions in Swedish companies, including global leaders such as ABB, Ericsson and later Sony Ericsson (now Sony Mobile). She has always enjoyed working with large clients who have extensive portfolios, and her tenure at Zacco has benefitted from her business savviness in her role as Key Account Manager.

Seize the opportunities coming your way

Recapping her long career, Peggy has found many crossroads, and she has always embraced any opportunity to learn something new, or to develop new skills: “I always say that this is a challenge; it’s a new way and I will learn something more. My colleagues tell me that I am always motivated.”

She was joining Albihns in 2004 to become the CEO of Albihns Malmö. After the merger with Zacco in 2009, Peggy became Country Manager for Sweden, before taking over responsibility for Group Sales. She then became Director for Denmark and Sweden South between 2014-2018. One of her most consequential impacts was the successful establishment of Zacco’s operations in India in 2017 in connection with a large outsourcing order from a big player within the telecommunication area. Working with local colleagues, she set up the offices and teams almost entirely from scratch, quickly identifying the value and expertise our Indian colleagues could bring to our global operations. She was able to scale our presence there fast, which required her complete focus as Director Portfolio Outsourcing. Our colleagues in India could not have a better advocate than Peggy, she has become a regular at our local offices in India, always finding the culture and talent to be both inspiring and impressive. Peggy has seen how European and Indian teams can collaborate in a good way and the global filing and prosecution portfolio and the outsourcing models she built continues to be appreciated by the clients who use it and continues to increase the volume of cases and today around 9000 cases have been handled in these models.

Where is the profession heading?

Peggy predicts international competition will increase, especially from emerging firms within the APAC region, factoring in the effects of AI use on consultants’ day to day tasks, and potentially even drafting work. Client expectations, and what they are willing to pay for, are shifting rapidly accompanying a decrease in margins and an increase in pricing pressure. Competitive setups with cross-border client teams and a focus on relevant technology competence, while leveraging AI tools, will be crucial for success in private practice over the coming years.

But AI is not everything. As a former lead of the UPC expert project team, Peggy also underlined the importance of developing expertise in Unitary Patent proceedings and high-level patent litigation, especially if a firm wants to competently represent clients without depending on outside counsel. Her recommendation would be to follow case law, as well as opinion through newsletters and other resources, and to stay up to date with legal developments in the field to ensure that all advice to clients is accurate and useful.

When talking to Peggy, it is not easy to imagine her stepping away from Zacco, considering the significant impact that she has made here. However, we have no doubt she will find new projects into which she can direct all of her positive energy. She has undeniably left her mark on Zacco, on our clients and on our colleagues, as we could see from the stream of appreciative comments accompanying her retirement announcement. We wish you all the very best with everything Peggy, and we thank you for sharing your profound insight!