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Intellectual property or industrial property?

Intellectual property refers to a series of rights relating to intangible creations. Industrial property, along with copyright, is one of two areas within the remit of intellectual property.

Industrial property rights give the right-holder the right to forbid others to use his/her technical innovations (patents, plant variety certificates, etc.), graphic elements (designs, models) and distinctive signs (trademarks, trade names, designation of origin, etc.).

What can be patented? How do I draft a patent application?

A patent is an intellectual property title which protects technical inventions, technical solutions to technical issues. A patent contains a detailed description of the innovation, and a set of claims that defines where the right-holder's rights begin and end. These rights must cover the various different angles competitors may try to use to circumvent the patent. The idea is to anticipate any potential changes or tweaks you may make to your invention over the course of the patent's validity period (20 years), which is why it is so crucial to have an expert draft your patent.

A key business asset

A trademark is used to protect an identifying symbol for a company, product or service (name, logo, three-dimensional mark, colour combination, hologram, musical identity – even a smell!) across a given territory. Trademarks must conform to the principle of distinctiveness (sufficient to identifying products and services, not descriptive), lawfulness and availability (no prior rights of third parties in the area in question). Trademarks can be renewed indefinitely.