Trade marks, industrial property rights

Our legal system differentiates between copyrights and industrial property rights. The latter covers trade mark rights, patent rights as well as utility models, among other things. Büsing Müffelmann & Theye has proven expertise in all areas of intellectual property. We assume responsibility for proprietors of intellectual property rights being able to utilize them commercially and being as well protected as possible against imitations or counterfeits.

We assist our clients internationally in registering, managing and defending their intellectual property. We take care of national and international applications for intellectual property rights. That may include applications for patents, utility models, trade marks or design models. BMT's advice generally takes into account a focus on anticipated future events. We consider the protection of business secrets, securing seniority and other forms of legal design that are advisable in the particular case concerned.

Should a conflict nonetheless arise, BMT asserts all intellectual property rights on behalf of its clients before the German Patent and Trade Mark Office, the European Community Trade Mark Office and the competent national or European courts. We do so in both ordinary and preliminary injunction proceedings. Better: BMT.

Trade marks

Büsing Müffelmann & Theye advises start-ups and established companies alike on and across all project phases of trade mark development. We examine matters of strategy, carry out global market researches to secure the use of trade marks, and advise on the choice of word/device marks. We then file a trade mark application with the German Patent and Trade Mark Office, the relevant European offices or WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organisation) without a hitch.

BMT globally administers trade mark portfolios of well-known companies. The service includes monitoring intellectual property rights and renewing them on an ongoing basis, drafting licence agreements, delimitation agreements and prior rights agreements, and also promptly and sustainably averting infringements of rights. And this is where our options are far-reaching. BMT operates in an international network. Whenever it is expedient to do so, to preserve our clients' interests we mandate further attorneys abroad, chosen from our network. In this way we can administer trade marks on behalf of our clients on all six continents.

When implementing new trade mark forms, in particular in the case b of shape marks and abstract colour marks, BMT has put in legal pioneering work both in application procedures as well as in national and European infringement and cancellation proceedings.

Designs

Legally securing designs requires a lot of experience. That begins with the question of whether an intellectual achievement reaches a level of uniqueness that sets it apart from comparable achievements. That may be a product design, a corporate design, a typeface design, a concept for a packaging design or any other graphic development.

Büsing Müffelmann & Theye will look into these and many other prerequisites. In this respect, we analyse what form of registration is most suitable – for example, whether to register it as a trade mark or design model. BMT discusses further protective measures with its clients at an early stage. These would include, for instance, drawing up licence, delimitation and prior rights agreements. If necessary, we conduct negotiations with licensees, as well as other rights distributors - we do that both judicially and extrajudicially.

Product piracy

Via systematic customs, market and internet monitoring programmes BMT ensures that infringements of industrial property rights are directly indentified and effectively prevented. To this end we instigate customs seizures and public prosecution measures and conduct preliminary injunction proceedings.

BMT has experience throughout Europe in prosecuting trade mark, design model, patent and copyright infringements. Using customised packages, monitoring, reporting and invoicing are seamlessly combined with the co-ordination of encompassing search services. This is why many well-known companies are among BMT's clientele in the field of product piracy.

Patents, utility models

Besides Internet and information technology, innovative developments in the pharmaceutical and automotive fields are among the most important growth markets of the present time. BMT has therefore made a point in reinforcing its network of attorneys through partners who have sound expertise in these fields.

As a result, we are able to immerse ourselves in the oftentimes difficult material of a technical innovation – and derive from it adequate solutions for utilising and securing patents and/or utility models. BMT drafts and negotiates licence agreements, and assists its clients by agreeing on rights of use or by means of other forms of contractual cover. BMT engages in averting patent and utility model infringements: with an eye on the objectives. And with commitment.