PONTI IP

Infringement proceedings, cease and desist letters, appeals

An active intellectual property defence strategy can be key in strengthening and maintaining market share in respect of strategic products and services and, at the same time, it can be decisive to exclude competitors.

In addition, it can be a way to obtain income through the assignment of intellectual property rights to third parties. As a result of the agreed resolution of a conflict involving the infringement of intellectual property rights, licence agreements may be signed by the rights owner and the infringer, whereby the latter rewards the former economically with the payment of royalties in exchange for permission to exploit its technology, designs or trademarks in one or more markets, exclusively or non-exclusively, for a fixed time period, etc.

Our team of lawyers has a wide knowledge of the legal and procedural tools available for owners and users of intellectual property rights, as well as about the requirements affecting the validity of the different IP modalities (trademarks, patents, designs and copyright). Furthermore, when a dispute arises in the field of patents and designs, a comprehensive technical knowledge of the products/services that are the subject of controversy is required. This is provided by our team of Patent Attorneys, each of them a specialist in the different technological areas, such as biotechnology, the agro-food industry, mechanics or the information technologies.

This dual perspective of intellectual property is implemented by sending formal requests to third parties in connection with the infringement of intellectual property rights if they commercialise products or services that incorporate technology, designs or distinctive signs protected by the industrial and intellectual property rights of our clients.

If the infringer ignores the request and continues with any of the activities not permitted by law (manufacture, importation, marketing, etc.) of the alleged infringing products/services, our legal team can, upon prior assessment with the client of the legal and commercial factors involved, file the appropriate legal actions with the relevant authority and, where necessary, exhaust the different available appeals until a final resolution is achieved. This also includes alternative or agreed dispute resolution.

With regard to the mechanisms available to prevent the infringement of intellectual property rights, it is worth noting the request for border measures before the corresponding customs authorities, aimed at controlling and preventing the entry into the market of products and goods suspected of infringing intellectual property rights.

In the event of intellectual property infringements or disputes arising in jurisdictions other than the Spanish, our team of lawyers will outline the most suitable legal defence strategy for the client’s interests.

In this case, our consolidated international network of associated law firms allows us to access different professional structures with contrasted capacities in certain areas of IP law (trademarks, patents, designs, copyrights, litigation, processing, licences) with which we collaborate closely, making it possible to provide our clients with the most appropriate strategy according to the specific case.

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