Patents and Know-how

We have extensive experience in providing legal advice on inventions (patents, utility models, supplementary protection certificates) and Know-how. Our advice covers all kinds of technical fields: mechanical, chemistry, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, I.T., electronics and telecommunications. We regularly bring in outside technical professionals to help on the various areas we work in, who have experience of working in the field.

Distinctive signs. Trade marks and trade names

Distinctive signs are one of the most important of companies’ intangible assets and enable the public to distinguish between products and services on sale in the market. Protecting these assets has become a top priority in our modern globalised society. We advise our clients from the point of view of in-depth knowledge of the field in terms of both legal and practical matters. We are able to provide advice on the client’s needs and prevention and defence in and out of court. In doing this we assess whether our clients’ portfolios are in a suitable situation and look into possible means of effectively protecting their rights.

Industrial designs

Protecting designs of both two- and three-dimensional kinds is a further need of companies in certain sectors who are especially vulnerable to fashions and the look of their products, in addition to the graphic signs (trade marks) that consumers use to distinguish between products. In this area of industrial property law we offer our clients our services for prevention and defence of their rights in and out of court, as well as advice on their needs in this field.

Licences for industrial property rights and technology transfer

One important aspect to take into consideration on the business side of industrial property rights is assignment and licensing to third parties. It is important to take into account the particular features of each of the rights and their importance to both the company and in the market. Amat i Vidal-Quadras’ industrial property, commercial and procedural law departments work together to provide clients with a complete advice service in this field. We have e
xtensive experience of negotiating and drawing up agreements to assign and licence patents, know how, trade marks and industrial designs.

Copyright

Copyright provides the creators of literary and artistic works, computer programs, databases, musical and audiovisual compositions, photographs and architectural works, besides others, with protection acknowledging their exclusive right to use their creations in the market. Our involvement focuses on advising our clients from both a contractual point of view concerning assigning the use of their rights to third parties and in terms of legal action if it is necessary in order to guarantee recognition of such rights.

Competition law and unfair competition

The operation of a market economy through a system of free enterprise is guaranteed by regulations that govern proper competition between rivals and provides appropriate competition for users and consumers. Competition law and regulations related to unfair competition provide legal mechanisms to prevent abuses of dominant positions, restrictive practices and unfair ways of operating in the market. In this field we advise our clients by assessing their commercial activities or contracts in the light of competition regulations and by defending their interests against unlawful actions by third parties and third-party claims.

Advertising

Advertising includes any form of communication in the market in the performance of business activity in order to promote one’s services. Due to its importance as an ideal way of informing the public of one’s products and services, and its ability to affect consumers’ behaviour, advertising is covered by legislation concerning fair competition and consumer protection. In this field we provide services in terms of legal assessment of our clients’ advertising campaigns and defending their interests in and out of court and in arbitration proceedings, which are especially common in this particular sector.