ANTI-COUNTERFEITING

WHAT ?

The intellectual property rights are effective instruments to serve the company possessing title to them by reason of the exclusive rights they bestow upon the holder. It does not, however, suffice to merely be granted these rights; it also is necessary to defend them against third-party counterfeiting acts, the infringements upon them must be halted, and claim the payment of an indemnity for damages suffered as a result. There exists a number of different legal and extra-legal ways to do this, specifically preventive measures designed to defend your intellectual property rights.

 

WHY?

  • In order to protect the intrinsic value of the intellectual property rights and to avoid that they be “diluted”;
  • In order to safeguard the exclusive character of these rights and of the proceeds and incomes deriving from them;
  • In order to protect your network of distributors and licensees.

 

HOW ?

  • By identifying the rights of your products in the correct manner (e.g., by the use of ®; ©, patent pending, ™ );
  • By safeguarding your patents, trade marks, and models within their most important markets;
  • By notifying counterfeiters and by placing them in default in order to prevent any possible infringement upon your rights;
  • By contesting applications for trade marks or patents that could cause prejudice to your company’s interests;
  • By lodging a request for advance intervention with the customs department in order to counter illegal importation;
  • By drawing up a descriptive report on the suspected imitated goods and/or services;
  • By prosecuting counterfeiters (in interlocutory proceedings, the issuance of a cease-and-desist order, the issuing of a claim on the grounds of counterfeiting, the lodging of a claim for indemnification for loss and damage suffered, the institution of criminal proceedings);
  • By initiating an arbitrage procedure in order to reclaim a domain name which has been illegally registered by a third party;


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WHAT SERVICES CAN KIRKPATRICK PROVIDE FOR YOU ?

  • Keep watch over your trade marks, trade names, patents, and models and draw up a well-reasoned report that lists the possible risks attached;
  • Draft default notices and negotiate during transactions;
  • Act as your representative, enter supporting arguments, and negotiate within the reference framework of opposition and revocation proceedings on the issues of trade marks and patents;
  • Act as an expert assessor appointed by the courts within the context of a descriptive report initiated by legal counsel;
  • Organize customs surveillance over your intellectual property rights at the borders of the European Union, assume the management of the attachments, ensure the destruction of counterfeiting goods, identify the counterfeiters;
  • Lodge complaints against parties guilty of infringement;
  • Refer you to the best law firms that are specialized in issues of intellectual property rights;
  • Represent you and enter arguments during the arbitrage procedures concerning domain names;
  • Work out, jointly with you, the optimum strategy in the defence of your intellectual property rights.