Our services
The challenge of our time is to constantly produce innovation. Like Columbus’ egg, great innovations often come from simple ideas.
We believe that every idea has value and deserves to be defended.
Patents for inventions
Invention patents protect the technical and technological aspects of a product or process. Granting the patentee with property rights, a patent is the main tool with which to protect the fruits of research, allowing to recover its costs.
HOW TO REGISTER A PATENT
We have developed a complete consultancy service at Arbo to meet this need, applicable to every technological field and based on direct relationships with customers which can be adapted to the specific needs of each. We represent national and international customers directly before the UIBM (Italian Patent and Trademark Office) and WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization), using a wide international network of collaborators for representation worldwide.
We provide:
- Definition of the best protection strategies.
- Patent and prior art research, opinions on an invention’s validity and patentability.
- Drafting of the patent text, filing of the patent application, with continuation worldwide.
- Consultancy and assistance in examination, opposition and appeal procedures.
- Deadline monitoring and forwarding related notices.
- Opinions and research on non-counterfeiting or freedom to operate.
- Intellectual property portfolio analysis and monitoring services.
- Counterfeiting opinions.
- Proceedings and litigation.
- Transcription and annotation application filing to update patent ownership in Italy and abroad.
- Consultancy and assistance for preparing assignments and licensing agreements.
- Professional estimates and economic evaluation.
Any invention that solves a technical problem and is new, inventive and industrially applicable can be patented.
To be considered as such, the invention must have features which make it novel, original, applicable and reproducible at an industrial level.
Novel: An invention is considered new if it cannot be found in the state of the art. The state of the art includes everything that has been made publicly available prior to the patent application filing date.
Inventive step An invention is considered to involve an inventive step if it cannot be clearly deduced from the state of the art by a person skilled in the same.
Applicability: An invention is considered as having an industrial application if its object can be manufactured or used in any kind of industry, including agriculture.
Discoveries, scientific theories and mathematical methods are not patentable, nor are plans, principles and methods for intellectual, gaming or commercial activities and computer programs, as they are considered presentations of information.
Utility models
The utility model aims to protect innovative improvements in the technical configuration of an existing product, meaning the shapes, arrangements, configurations or combinations of parts of objects for use that give the new model particular effectiveness or more convenient application.
HOW TO REGISTER A UTILITY MODEL
Similar to patents, in order to register a utility model its novel features and originality must be clearly identified. In addition to verifying these requirements, we provide our customers consultancy in the utility model's:
- drafting;
- filing
- continuation;
- protection.
The utility model is a recognised title in Italy, but not in all foreign countries. The duration of a utility model is ten years from the filing date.
A utility model typically aims at innovative improvements in the technical configuration of an existing product.
It is not always easy to distinguish between a utility model and an industrial invention: a utility model concerns situations in which an innovation acts on certain marginal and formal aspects of an object, on those executive aspects of something that was already previously known, through the use of knowledge and scientific principles that are also already known.
Trademarks
We support our customers throughout the trademark and logo registration process and see to their protection. This includes all the distinctive signs that are part of the image of a company and its products and services. We define innovative solutions for the distinguishing elements that are necessary to operate on the market, protecting them on a national and global scale.
HOW TO REGISTER A TRADEMARK
Trademarks must be registered, used, managed and defended in a manner that meets precise professional standards, differentiated appropriately by country and/or geographical area. We follow every step of the process in order to best protect trademarks and logos, including:
- Preparation and filing of trademark registration applications in Italy and abroad (national, international, EU trademarks).
- Consultancy and assistance in examination, opposition and appeal procedures.
- Opinions on novelty and registrability.
- Deadline monitoring and forwarding related notices.
- Transcription and annotation application filing to update ownership in Italy and abroad.
- Priority research aimed at verifying the novelty of a trademark in Italy and abroad.
- Consultancy in planning business strategies relating to trademarks.
- Consultancy and assistance for preparing assignments and licensing agreements.
- Professional estimates and economic evaluation.
Any new sign that can be depicted graphically, especially words – including people’s names – drawings, letters, numbers, sounds, the shape of a product or its packaging, colour combinations or tones, can all be registered as a trademark as long as they can distinguish the products or services of a company from those of other companies.
In many countries trademarks are registered after an examination is carried out by the national Trademark Office. The trademark is only considered registered after the successful conclusion of any opposition proceedings.
Design
The external visual appearance, aesthetic shape and ornament of a product can be protected through the registration of designs and models, as long as they are novel and have an individual character. The registration of a model or design guarantees that the creator will have the exclusive use rights of the fruit of his or her creative and innovative effort.
HOW TO REGISTER A DESIGN
The appearance of an entire product or part of it determined by the characteristics of its lines, contours, colours, shape, surface structure, materials or ornament can be registered as designs.
External features can also be protected by unregistered designs and models, or by copyright protection.
At Arbo, we develop the best protection strategy to defend the aesthetic characteristics of your idea. We use various procedural solutions:
- Design and model preparation and filing in Italy and abroad.
- Consultancy and assistance in examination, opposition and appeal procedures.
- Research and opinions on design or model validity and registrability.
- Deadline monitoring and forwarding related notices.
- Transcription and annotation application filing to update ownership in Italy and abroad.
- Consultancy in planning business strategies relating to creative innovation.
- Consultancy and assistance for preparing assignments and licensing agreements.
- Consultancy relating to counterfeiting issues.
Any two- or three-dimensional shape can be protected as long as it is not strictly functional, meaning that it is determined solely by the object’s technical function.
Prior art searchs
Prior art searches; are strategic research useful to every company focusing on bringing innovation to its relative field. This activity allows to be completely informed on the state of the art in a specific field, including the progress made by competitors. This information makes it possible to evaluate the novelty of your research results and thus protect it with valid patents.
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE MONITORING SERVICE
In order to avoid counterfeiting, it is important to be aware of competing patents and be able to ascertain the scope of protection and effective validity of the same.
For this reason, at Arbo we help our customers in the following phases:
- Patent research, focusing on identifying competing patents.
- Definition of the best protection strategies.
- National and global monitoring.
SERVIZIO DI SORVEGLIANZA
Our monitoring service keeps our customers periodically informed of the existence of patents filed by competitors and those filed in technological fields of particular interest, to constantly stay up to date on the development of certain technologies and the patent activity of competitors.
At Arbo we perform this monitoring through both name searches based on the names of competitors, and through the selection of one or more pre-established technical fields.
This monitoring results in an analysis of the patents’ validity and protective scope.
Copyright
Copyright protection has become increasingly important in recent years due to the rapid development of digital technology. Copyright grants the exclusive right to publish the work and the exclusive economic exploitation rights deriving therefrom, in addition to the right to carry out or authorise its reproduction and distribution in any form.
Along with works of art, copyright includes innovative forms of industrial design, engineering projects, databases and television formats, as well as some specific parts of software design.
COPYRIGHT: HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF
Before public presentation, together with Arbo we agree on the best strategy to protect your work thanks to our in-depth knowledge of copyright and its application.
By law, rights are automatically granted to an author with the creation of the work, without the need for official registrations. These rights fall under two categories: moral rights, which are absolute, inalienable and indispensable, and property rights, which can instead be the subject of individual author rights. The latter expire after a certain period of time, usually 70 years after the author’s death.
Protection and litigation
Intangible assets are often a company's primary value. It is therefore important to implement the best strategy to combat any counterfeiting and infringement of its intellectual property rights.
The protection of a patent, trademark or any intellectual property asset in general, in addition to requiring the filing of industrial property titles, requires timely defence of these same titles against possible counterfeiters.
HOW DO YOU DEFEND YOURSELF AGAINST COUNTERFEITERS?
Constant attention is necessary in order to defend the exclusive rights of patents, designs and trademarks. We help our customers do this with a consultancy service that includes a detailed and in-depth preventive analysis of any hypothetical conflict and the subsequent drafting of warning letters. We work alongside specialised law firms to follow the initiation of legal actions related to the protection of intellectual property.
We provide:
- Consultancy on precautionary measures.
- Coordination for customs control activities in the fight against counterfeiting.
- Collaboration with specialised national and international law firms, for complete legal assistance.
- Prior art searches.
The best protection of customers’ intellectual property assets includes not only filing industrial property titles, but also defending them against possible counterfeiters.
Arbo has many years of experience in out-of-court dispute resolution, and in counterfeiting actions as Technical Experts.
Portfolio management
A company's portfolio of intellectual property rights contains vital information on the same company's assets.
HOW TO BEST MANAGE A CUSTOMER PORTFOLIO
Arbo helps its customers ensure that their intellectual property rights cover every possible aspect of their business, and that the portfolio is managed in the best possible way to ensure the interests of the owner.
- Definition and monitoring of a customised schedule (updating guarantee for various types of annotations - name changes, etc. - on all existing applications and registrations) Assistance for portfolio restructuring and consolidation.
- ARBO identifies the customer's needs and manages the necessary changes so that the portfolio exactly matches the strategy adopted by the customer for the use of intangible assets.
Expertise in the technical fields covered and loyalty to customers are two fundamental aspects of Arbo’s philosophy.
In addition to facilitating the various procedures for protecting customers’ innovation, these aspects ensure our efficient management of their portfolio of industrial property titles.
Properly managing an industrial property title portfolio allows the customer to optimize its costs and research and development efforts, focusing and limiting the protection to relevant titles in order to develop and maintain the economic value of innovative ideas.
Know-how and trade secrets
The protection of know-how essentially concerns innovative features that are preserved and, if necessary, exploited in secrecy.
Patent protection involves the publication of an invention, while the opposite principle applies to know-how, since disclosure renders the same protection impossible: its disclosure (even if unauthorised) and the resulting risks can be prevented and reduced by appropriate contractual and legal measures.
HOW DO YOU PROTECT A TRADE SECRET?
We have a differentiated procedure at Arbo that we apply to best meet the individual needs of the companies that turn to us to protect their know-how.
We perform:
- Analysis of company procedures and assets.
- Preparation of contracts.
- Definition of customised protection and control tools.
Know-how is a company asset, representing the set of knowledge and operational skills necessary to carry out certain activities within industrial and commercial sectors. This knowledge is not necessarily protected by a patent either, as it may not be patentable or otherwise protectable, or because industrial secrecy is in some cases the best form of protection.
Licensing
The comprehensive exploitation of innovation can often involve enterprising licensing activities, which must be strategically designed and effectively protected from a contractual point of view.
Properly licensing industrial property titles not only improves the economic exploitation of ideas, but also allows ideas to be marketed, even when the owner of the rights does not have the capacity or economic strength to suitably develop them.
HOW TO WRITE A LICENSING AGREEMENT
There are various models of licensing agreements, depending on the intellectual property right in question and the extent to which the licensee intends to use it.
Arbo provides consultancy on drafting and managing tailor-made licensing agreements to help customers achieve their long-term objectives, regardless of whether they relate to technology, trademarks, design or copyright.
Licensing is an effective tool for marketing intellectual property rights, and can ensure significant economic gains for both the licensor and the licensee.
Contracts
Arbo provides its customers with complete consultancy and assistance in drafting internal and international contracts between companies.
CONTRACTS BETWEEN COMPANIES: WHAT TYPES?
There are many different types of corporate contracts that can be studied and drawn up. Here are some examples of contracts we deal with:
- Licensing agreements for the use of patents, trademarks, designs.
- Transfer agreements of patents, trademarks, designs.
- Know-how contracts.
- Secrecy agreements.
- Research and development contracts.
- Sub-supply contracts.
- Consultancy contracts.
The drafting of contracts between companies, private individuals or between companies and private individuals is a particularly specific subject that can compromise the success of a project and its economic exploitation.
Arbo works with trusted lawyers to draft contracts or provide customers with contracts, thanks to its collaboration with international law firms.
Domain names
A domain name is a virtual address with which a certain website is indicated and recognised. The domain name has an indicative and distinctive function for the company using it in order to be “visible” online.
It is considered an atypical distinctive sign that serves to indicate the electronic address which allows a user to access the site distinguished by its domain name. It is also the distinctive sign with which a subject becomes recognisable on the internet.
HOW DO YOU REGISTER A DOMAIN NAME?
Domain name registration is based on the principle that the name is assigned to the first user requesting it. In order to avoid possible interference and conflict between domain names and trademarks, before registering a domain name we suggest checking its availability through specific prior art searches which include examinations of company names, trademarks and domains.
Arbo offers the best services to protect its customers in this regard:
- Registration of domain names in all existing extensions (both generic and national or geographical).
- Local presence service (where required by local regulations and where the customer is personally unable to provide the same).
- DNS provision.
- Search and monitoring services for registered domains in the world.
Checking if there are domain names which are identical and/or similar to registered trademarks on a regular basis allows to promptly identify the sites where your trademarks may be counterfeited.
Fight against counterfeiting, unfair competition
Counterfeit product trade is now one of the most significant criminal phenomena faced by industry. Counterfeiting creates damages totalling hundreds of millions of euros and thousands of jobs.
HOW TO COMBAT UNFAIR COMPETITION
Arbo offers several effective tools for combating counterfeiting:
- Out-of-court warning or notification letters to the counterfeiter.
- Precautionary measures for the cessation of activities.
- Counterfeiting lawsuits.
- Evaluation of unfair competition.
Arbo supports its customers in the fight against counterfeiting with preventive measures, including the request for customs interventions, aimed at blocking the entry of counterfeit goods within the states of interest.
If preventive measures are not enough, we can proceed with real civil or criminal legal action to claim compensation for damages.