Patents

A patent gives you the right to prohibit your innovation from being used by third parties without your prior consent from a given date, and for a period and in a territory that are specified. Our experts will help you to obtain this protection, to maintain it, to defend it against third parties and to enhance its value.

 


Patent strategy

Patents confer a competitive advantage for your company. They are testament to your dynamism and your creativity and enable you to gain new market shares.

Your patent strategy will be substantially different if you focus your efforts on R&D, favour exports or enter into a partnership. We will define your strategy together so that it is in perfect harmony with the global development strategy that you put in place, and with your commercial strategy.

Drafting patent applications

A search of the prior art can determine whether your invention is patentable, i.e. whether it is novel and inventive in comparison with what has been published previously, or it can enable your R&D to be focussed in a more targeted manner. Once this stage has been completed, we take care of the drafting of the patent application. No text is considered to be definitive without your agreement.

Acquisition and maintenance in force of the patent

Where would you like the protection offered by your patent to apply? On a national level, in Europe, in other parts of the globe? Whatever you decide, we will take care of all the procedures that need to be performed at the patent offices at each step of the progression of the application. Territorial extensions may be envisaged, depending on your development prospects. We rely on the network of colleagues which we have built up in many countries on an international level, and we work in close collaboration with them so that your application leads to the grant of a patent in each country that you have selected. We look after the maintenance of your rights throughout the lifetime of the patents obtained.

Different types of procedures for obtaining a patent exist:

Defence of patent rights

Infringement and unfair competition are attacks on your creativity and the investments that you have made. Our experts will advise you in order to provide effective protection and to organize the defence of your intellectual property rights.

Enhancing the value of patents

Patents form part of a company’s assets and, as such, they represent considerable added value. You may wish to assign them or to have them exploited by third parties under licences. We will help you to maximize their value in accordance with the context and the objectives that you have set.

Confidentiality agreements

In the event that you need to disclose your invention to third parties, for example if you are seeking an investor or a commercial partner, we will draft a confidentiality agreement for you which will bind them.

Patent training

We give all kinds of training relating to patents: we adapt it to the knowledge that you may have already acquired in the area, following a programme which we draw up in accordance with your requirements. Our team includes tutors from the CEIPI (Centre for international studies in intellectual property at the University of Strasbourg) and the EPI (European Patent Institute, under the aegis of the European Patent Organisation). The Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) also uses our services for giving courses as part of the continuing training in intellectual property management which it offers.