Numerique
Protect and capitalise on your creations: trademarks, copyright, designs and know-how. From filing strategy to defence against infringement.
Context
Brand name, logo, graphic creations, content, databases, know-how: intangible assets now represent a major share of a company's value. Yet they still need to be properly protected. Intellectual property covers distinct regimes, trademark law, copyright, designs, each with its own conditions, formalities and terms of protection.
A well-designed intellectual property strategy makes it possible to secure your distinctive signs, protect your creations against copying, capitalise on these assets during financial transactions and have effective means of action against infringements.
Problem
The most costly mistake is to develop a business under a trademark that has never been registered, or registered without a prior-rights search. The day a third party claims earlier rights, all the reputation you have built can collapse, together with the obligation to change names.
The other vulnerabilities are numerous: creations by service providers used without an assignment of rights, content reused without verification, strategic know-how left unprotected, an absence of monitoring that allows competitors to register similar signs. These blind spots come at a high price in the event of a dispute, a sale or a fundraising round, when the strength of the rights is closely scrutinised.
Solutions
I support you throughout the entire life cycle of your intellectual property rights, from protection strategy to defence.
I begin by auditing your intangible assets to identify what should be protected as a priority, then I build your filing strategy: prior-rights searches, choice of classes and territories, trademark and design filings. I secure the exploitation of your rights through tailored assignments, licences and confidentiality agreements.
Finally, I set up the monitoring of your signs and organise the defence of your rights in the event of infringement: opposition, formal notice, infringement seizure and infringement or unfair competition proceedings. The aim is to turn your intellectual property into a solid and defensible asset.
I assess your intangible assets: trademarks, creations, content, know-how, domain names. This audit identifies what is protected, what is not yet protected and any gaps in your chain of rights, in order to define priorities.
I build your protection strategy: prior-rights searches, choice of classes and territories, filing schedule. I manage trademark and design filings with the INPI, the EUIPO or WIPO depending on your markets.
I secure the exploitation and circulation of your rights: assignments, licences, confidentiality agreements, intellectual property clauses in your contracts. You exploit your assets securely and can capitalise on them during your transactions.
I set up monitoring and organise the defence of your rights: opposition to competing filings, formal notice, infringement seizure, infringement or unfair competition proceedings. Your rights are actively protected against infringements.
FAQ
A trademark protects a distinctive sign (name, logo) that identifies your products or services, once registered. Copyright protects original works (texts, graphics, code) automatically as soon as they are created. A design protects the appearance of a product (shape, ornamentation) once registered. These forms of protection often overlap: a logo can be both a trademark and a work protected by copyright.
A trademark is registered with the INPI for France, the EUIPO for the European Union, or via WIPO for international protection. Registration requires choosing the relevant classes of goods and services and checking the availability of the sign beforehand. The cost depends on the number of classes and the territory concerned. A prior-rights search beforehand is strongly recommended to avoid a registration that could be challenged.
Registering a trademark that is identical or similar to an earlier trademark exposes you to an opposition, or even to infringement proceedings. The prior-rights search verifies that no similar sign already exists in your classes. It is a decisive step: it avoids building a reputation on a trademark that you might be forced to abandon, with all the commercial consequences that this entails.
A trademark is protected for ten years from the filing date, indefinitely renewable for ten-year periods. Beware, however: a trademark that is not used for five years may be revoked for lack of genuine use. Protection therefore requires actual use and monitoring to react to competing filings.
The first step is often a formal notice to stop the infringement. If it has no effect, infringement proceedings make it possible to obtain a halt to the infringement and compensation for the harm suffered. The infringement seizure makes it possible to establish evidence. Depending on the case, an unfair competition action may supplement or replace the infringement action, particularly in the absence of a registered right.
Original texts, photos, videos and graphics are protected by copyright as soon as they are created. But beware in both directions: you must ensure that you hold the rights to the content you publish (particularly content created by service providers or found online), and you can take action if your own content is reused without authorisation. Managing rights over content is a point that is often overlooked.
Know-how, a method or undisclosed strategic information can be protected by trade secrets. This protection requires concrete measures: identification of sensitive information, confidentiality agreements, clauses in employment contracts and with partners, security measures. When well organised, it provides an effective complement to registered intellectual property rights.
Yes, it is often a central point of due diligence. Investors and acquirers verify that the company does indeed hold its trademarks, its domain names, its creations and its technology, with no gap in the chain of rights. A well-built and secured intellectual property portfolio enhances the company's value; poorly protected rights, on the contrary, can lower the valuation or block the transaction.
Nous accompagnons les entreprises de la tech et du commerce avec une double compétence juridique et technique, de l'analyse à la mise en œuvre.
Ressources
Need to secure a contract, manage compliance, or anticipate a dispute? Our first meeting is designed to understand your needs and clearly explain how we can help.
Digital and Distribution Law Attorney, Paris Bar. We secure your contracts, data, and business.
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