Our team specialising in intellectual property is one of the largest in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. A total of 25 experienced lawyers and patent agents offer an unbeatable degree of specialisation in individual fields, having detailed knowledge of the market and the latest trends in the dynamically developing digital world. We provide advisory to the largest multinational corporations, established family companies and individuals; in a number of cases we have set the policies of protection and monetisation of intellectual property in start-ups, and we helped them succeed and grow.
IP Law aims to protect work, inventions, technological solutions and other ideas, databases, computer programmes, etc. A smart idea, an elaborated product – this is what brings high returns and a competitive advantage. IP law offers a tool to protect such ideas, to commercially and safely offer them to others and develop them further. IP often motivates an investor to invest in a company and helps your business grow.
In the long run, we specifically focus on these areas:
Copyrighted works are all around us. Computer programmes, photographs or videos, designs, musical compositions, the creation of an advertising campaign, writing an on-line blog, adjustments to a completed architectural structure or making use of its appearance, sharing any digital content and using on-line platforms, to name just a few of the many areas where we come across copyright every day. We provide special advisory in all these matters.
Industrial rights include particularly trademarks, industrial designs, patents and utility models and are aimed at protecting brands, designs or unique technology. These rights need to be registered as soon as possible and protected from potential abuse or third party infringements.
In the past, industrial rights protection was often underestimated and was addressed at the last moment, which may be a problem in a number of cases due to the principle “whoever comes first registers the industrial property”. The suitable set-up of an industrial property rights strategy thus has a major impact on whether the battle against counterfeits will be successful.
A patent or a utility model (also referred to as a small patent) may afford its owner a monopolistic status and hence a clear advantage over competitors.
In order for a patent or utility model to be able to ensure protection as expected, it is necessary to set up a correct patent strategy, perform patent research, and draw up patent applications. This requires a combination of top legal capacities and the technical and practical expertise of patent agents. HAVEL & PARTNERS is able to offer our clients this uniquely combined team of experts.
We deliver complete services to our clients related to patent protection in all industries, validation of European patents, additional protection certificates and utility models in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. We represent our clients in proceedings before the Czech and Slovak Industrial Property Offices, the European Patent Office, and the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).
We cooperate with hundreds of foreign advisers and partners, and thus are able to ensure adequate patent protection practically anywhere around the globe through a single contact point, our law firm. Where necessary, our seasoned litigation team with attorneys specialising in patent disputes, working together with patent agents, can effectively enforce patent rights vis-à-vis third parties. We also defend our clients’ rights if a third party claims any patent rights against them, be it in disputes between competitors or in cases of extortion by patent trolls.
We are assisting our clients with a whole new group of disputes that has emerged as a result of the internet boom – domain disputes. We regularly represent clients in domain litigation proceedings against domain speculators. We have experience with domain disputes addressed before general courts as well as before the authorities in alternative domain litigation proceedings throughout the world.
At the same time, we also provide our clients with other services in connection with domain names –from registration, purchase or transfer, to determination of value to automatic monitoring of conflicting domain names.
Not only industrial property but also other knowledge, skills, procedures and methods have their value and bring a competitive advantage. We offer our clients advice when setting up due protection of their know-how or trade secrets and we also represent them in judicial disputes where they seek protection of their trade secrets.
If the IP protection strategy has been set correctly, very little is left to be done to efficiently enforce intellectual property rights. One of the standard ways is to seize counterfeits and pirated goods in all segments of their sale and distribution, be it during the import of goods to the Czech Republic or on the internal market in shops, stalls, marketplaces or on-line. Apart from active monitoring of the internal market, our intense cooperation with the customs administration or the Czech Trade Inspectorate is crucial during the seizure and subsequent liquidation of counterfeits. Of crucial importance here is high-quality protection by means of trademarks, designs and patents.
Apart from due protection of intellectual property, it is crucial to thoroughly set-up the licensing strategies that will enable secure offering and distribution and yield revenues from the effort and investments spent on the creation of intellectual property.
It is necessary to verify whether all rights have been properly secured, and relevant guarantees and protection of the purchaser against third-party claims have been set not only during the sale of intellectual property but also in the event of the acquisition of intellectual property. In transactions, we have gained extensive experience from both sides.
We focus on these topics in our expert publications, lectures and also on our blog https://www.havelpartners.blog/dusevni-vlastnictvi/.
Czech Law Firm of the Year 2018 in the Intellectual Property category.
The firm is constantly ranked among the most recommended
(top tier) law firms in the Czech Republic.
