Areas

Extensive experience in the field of industrial and intellectual property and other related matters, particularly in their litigation aspects.

TRADEMARKS

DESIGNS

PATENTS

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

UNFAIR COMPETITION

TRADE SECRETS

IMAGE RIGHTS

ADVERTISING

DOMAIN NAMES

E-COMMERCE

GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS

PLANT VARIETIES

FRANCHISE DISTRIBUTION

Trademarks

“A brand is a sign that serves to distinguish the products or services of one company from those of others in the market.”

Is it necessary to register a trademark to be able to use it in the market?
What happens if I use my trademark in a way other than how it is registered?
Can I use a competitor’s brand name like in Adwords?
If I register a trademark, am I safe from any claims?
Can I import original branded products from outside the European Union?

Questions like these are what our clients ask us, and we always answer them, seeking the quickest and most satisfactory resolution.

Designs

“Design is the appearance of all or part of a product, derived from the characteristics of the lines, contours, colors, shape, texture or materials of the product itself or its ornamentation.”

Does any design enjoy legal protection?
If I have already disclosed my design, do I have protection?
If I register a design, am I safe from any claims?
Can I use a competitor’s design?
Does the design created under my employment relationship belong to me?
If my design has already expired, do I have intellectual property protection?

These are examples of issues we have been asked and on which we have advised our clients to resolve conflicts in which they have been involved.

Patents | Utility Models

“New inventions that involve inventive activity and are susceptible to industrial application are patentable.”

Can I manufacture a product patented by a third party?
Can patents be invalidated?
How can I avoid infringing a third party’s patent?
What can I do if my patent is copied?
What are the differences between a patent and a utility model?

These are some of the many questions that our clients ask us in an area of special importance and particular complexity where the definition of a good strategy is decisive.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

“The intellectual property of a literary, artistic or scientific work belongs to the author by the sole fact of its creation.”

Is every work protected?
Is registration required?
Who holds the intellectual property rights in works for hire?
What is the role of entities such as SGAE?
If I have a registered design, do I also have intellectual property protection?
Can I copy the work of a third party?
Can I do whatever I want with a painting I own?

Our clients have asked us a great number of questions in this regard in recent years, in a matter with large and successive legal modifications and with a changing jurisprudence in some cases.

Unfair competition

“The Unfair Competition Law protects competition in the interest of all those who participate in the market, establishing those acts considered prohibited as unfair, including unlawful advertising.”

Can a competitor’s product be imitated?
Can I create a company and engage in the same activity as the company I used to work for?
What skills can I use in my new job?
What is considered secret?
Am I protected by freedom of expression to publicly refer to my competitor’s activity?
Can I do comparative advertising?

The range of cases that can be analyzed under the prism of unfair competition is so varied that the examples of queries from our clients are very diverse and also different in scope. Our goal is to study each case in detail and offer the best solution.

Trade secrets

“Any information or knowledge, including technological, scientific, industrial, commercial, organizational or financial information or knowledge, which is secret, which has business value precisely because it is secret, and where reasonable measures have been taken by the holder to keep it secret, is considered a trade secret.”

What kind of information about my company can I protect as a secret?

Is it compatible with patent law?

What are the differences?

Can I pass on or license the secret?

What kind of measures should I take in my company to protect it?

If I have been dismissed from my company, can I freely make use of the knowledge acquired in my new workplace?

What can I do if a third party obtains secret information and discloses it?

When does the statute of limitations expire?

Trade secrets are a valuable legal tool for fostering innovation and protecting valuable information and knowledge. Knowing how to protect it is critical. We can help.

Image rights

“The rights to honor, to personal and family privacy and to one’s own image are protected against any unlawful interference.”
Can I prevent the disclosure of a photo with my image? If I allow someone to capture an image of me, can I object to the subsequent use of the image? Can I take action against someone who has defamed or insulted me in a public media?
These are some of the questions that our customers ask us. We can help you to solve your doubts.

Advertising

“Advertising is any form of communication made in the exercise of a commercial, industrial, artisanal or professional activity, with the purpose of directly or indirectly promoting the contracting of goods or services.”
Can I advertise by comparing my products with a competitor’s products? Do I retain any intellectual property rights as the author of a commissioned advertising campaign? If, as an advertiser, nothing is established in the assignment of rights contract that I have signed with an agency, should I understand that I have acquired them on an exclusive basis? If I have made an advertising creation in the course of my employment, do I have any rights over it? I am an influencer, if I mention a brand in my posts, should I indicate that it is advertising? What if I don’t charge anything for it?

Domain names

“The domains are the identifiers that are used to locate an internet web. There are top level domains (.com, .org, .net, .es, .uk, etc.) and second level domains, which are the ones that everyone will choose to identify themselves and that may or may not coincide with the name or brand of the person requesting it (in our case: rma.legal)”.

What can I do if someone uses a domain name that matches my trademark?

Can I prevent someone from taking away my registered domain name?

What are the costs of resolving a domain name dispute?

Disputes related to domain names have increased exponentially in recent years, which has led us to advise our clients on a large number of issues and the means available for their effective and rapid resolution.

E-commerce

“The term electronic commerce (e-commerce) refers to the use of the digital environment and the Internet to conduct business transactions.”

What should I do to sell on the Internet?
How do I have to inform users?
What consumer rights do I need to be aware of?
What can I do about abuse or fraud committed on my website?
Can I send commercial communications without the consent of the recipients?
In order to carry out a promotion of my products, how should I inform users of my conditions of participation?

Geographical indications

This is the indication used for agri-food products from a given territory, whose quality or characteristics are achieved thanks to the geographical environment and the production system, and whose production is carried out in accordance with predetermined and controlled guidelines.

Can an OD prevent the use of a registered trademark?
Can an AO be invoked against products originating in the same territory but not authorized by its Regulatory Council?
Can an OD hinder the use of a sign that, without being similar, can evoke it in some way?

These are examples of questions that some customers have asked us. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Vegetable varieties

“Those plant varieties that are new, distinct, uniform and stable are protected as plant varieties.”

Are plants protectable?

Who is the holder of a novel plant variety?

What procedures must be followed to obtain a Plant Breeders’ Rights title and what rights does it grant?

How long does protection last on a plant variety?

What is the difference between the Register of Protected Varieties and the Register of Commercial Varieties?

Franchising & Distribution

Decisions on the mode of distribution or expansion of a company are strategic, and it is not easy to redirect a wrong decision, particularly in the international arena. Legal implications play an important role in such decisions and therefore require careful advice.

What do I have to do to terminate an oral or open-ended distribution contract?

In case of termination of a distribution contract, can the same indemnity criteria be applied as for an agency contract?

What does active and passive sales mean in a distribution contract?

Does the franchise agreement involve a license of brand and know-how?