Intellectual Property (IP) designates the set of exclusive rights granted to intellectual creations.
It is distinguished, on the one hand, by industrial property rights relating to inventions (patents), trademarks, industrial designs and geographical indications and, on the other, by copyright covering literary and artistic works.
It can therefore be said that industrial property – focusing on distinctive signs such as trademarks, geographical indications, designations of origin, technical and design innovations relating to inventions, utility models, industrial designs and models – has as its object some specific issues of Intellectual Property.
Why protect intellectual and industrial property?
Intellectual and industrial property rights are an important business asset to be nurtured and protected by any form of business organization.
In fact, the value of companies is mainly represented by intangible assets, such as intellectual property assets, as in patents and trademarks, brands, designs and copyrights, know-how and trade secrets.
Innovation, creativity, know-how, research, but also the aesthetic aspect of products as well as the attractiveness of brands are factors that allow companies to be competitive in a highly competitive market.
Traditionally, companies do not pay enough attention to their intangible assets and the knowledge piled-up through the development, manufacturing and marketing of certain products. Nor do they pay enough attention to strategically plan their IP assets management, which has to be coherent with the company’s commercial and financial choices and strategies.
Only in recent years, also thanks to the globalization of markets, has emerged a greater awareness of the strategic function of intellectual property and the fact that it can play not only an exclusively defensive role in the start-up and protection of the secrets and knowledge of companies, but also a supporting role in their competitiveness, attracting forms of financing such as venture capital.
The importance of protecting and enhancing (above all) industrial property rights therefore stems from a fundamental concept: competitiveness.
How to protect one’s interests?
An idea (or concept) cannot be protected as such. Only its implementation can be protected:
- by a trademark registration;
- by a patent;
- by a design registration;
- by copyright, in the case of an artistic work;
- preserving the secrecy of the idea, through a trade secret;
With regard to the latter aspect, it should be noted that in Italy, protection has also been provided for industrial secrets, protected by the Industrial Property Code.
Art. 98 in fact indicates the object of protection: corporate information;
technical-industrial and commercial experience subject to the legitimate control of the holder.
Furthermore, the disclosure to third parties, the acquisition or use by third parties in a manner contrary to the professional correctness of secret company or commercial information, as well as data relating to evidence, or other secret data whose processing involves considerable effort, are considered acts of unfair competition.
Our unique expertise in the field of science and technology law, with a distinctive set of skills in the area of emerging and converging tech, enables us to offer a truly invaluable support to companies operating in the DeepTech field.
Within this varied and complex scenario, P&S LEGAL provides support and strategic advisory services to businesses in relation to the exploitation, enhancement, development and protection of their intellectual property assets, developing the most appropriate business strategy for, but not limited to, the management of the IP rights portfolio, the drafting of licensing and technology transfer agreements, the valuation and economic and financial exploitation of corporate assets, in Italy and internationally.