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Mission of today’s seminar

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A brilliant idea… and what’s next?

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The importance of Intellectual Property!

Intellectual Property: - protects creations of the mind - only exists by law - enables exclusive rights

- is of commercial value - enables legal means to take action against copycats and infringers It is also a property right which can be sold, bought, licensed, valued etcetera

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Innovation and protection

Thoughts

idea

concept

production

market

Step by step

- Can not be protected

- Right down, save and/or file (e.g. I-depot or notarial deed)

- Treat it as confidential information!

- Time to market or time to protect your IP?

- Check what is available (trademarks, names, patents etc) or already taken

- Decide on your territory, markets opportunities, business model etcetera

- Take care of confidentiality and IP of third parties (freelancers, investors etc)

- Register IP and/or take care of transfer of IP according to your plans

- Take care or agreements: manufactures, licensees, (re) sellers, agents etc.

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i-DEPOT

What is an i-DEPOT? The i-DEPOT is a legal means of proof that issues a date stamp for your idea or creation similar to a day stamp issued by the tax authorities or placed on a notarial deed. It can be used to file an idea, concept, design, invention, model, musical composition, film script or prototype. Having evidence of existence can protect you in the event of a dispute. However, an i-DEPOT does not protect your idea The i-DEPOT does not offer (intellectual) property rights and does not offer legal protection. Advantage: proof of existence Disadvantage: no proof of IP Costs: € 45,= per depot / 5 years period

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IP overview

The main types of IP are: - Copyright protects literary and artistic works - Designs protect the appearance (objects) - Trade Marks protect marks identifying trade origin (likelihood of confusion) - Patents protect technological inventions Also: plant variety rights, related rights, data protection etcetera Parallel ‘rights’: - Trade name: name used to identify the company - Domain name: online excess to website / also trade mark and/or trade name - Confidential information: no legal status but important in agreements, correspondence

Registration by law “First come, firts serve” No registration (required)

Trade marks Copyright

Designs Trade names

Patent

Domain names Unregistered designs

Confidentional information

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Do’s and don’ts

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Do’s and don’ts

Trademark mistakes… Fiat Uno ‘uno’ means ‘loser’ in Finish Nescafé means ‘no coffee’ in Portuguese Ikea had to change the product names Fartfull, Jerker and Fukta for the UK market Nigiria and Gazprom came up with the name ‘Nigaz’ … Chinese market Quaker was named Lǎorénpái in China which means ‘old men’s name’. Ralph Lauren got know in China as Sānjiǎomǎ, which means ‘horse with 3 legs’ Peugeot picked the name Biāozhì, which means ‘beautiful’ but is pronounced almost like biǎozi, which means ‘prostitute’ in Chinese.

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Types of distribution

Types of distribution:

The producer / manufacturer / IP owner has to decide on the appropriate business channel: Direct sales – full control and maximum profits but also full responsibility and burden of organization Agency – agent arranges the sales based on commission (territory, authorization, ‘goodwill’ upon termination, exclusivity etcetera.) Distribution – intensive, selective or exclusive (territory, IP license, use of marketing, stock upon termination, minimum sales etcetera)

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Innovation and protection

Thoughts

idea

concept

production

market

Step by step

- Can not be protected

- Right down, save and/or file (e.g. I-depot or notarial deed)

- Treat it as confidential information!

- Time to market or time to protect your IP?

- Check what is available (trademarks, names, patents etc) or already taken

- Decide on your territory, markets opportunities, business model etcetera

- Take care of confidentiality and IP of third parties (freelancers, investors etc)

- Register IP and/or take care of transfer of IP according to your plans

- Take care or agreements: manufactures, licensees, (re) sellers, agents etc.

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A true Dutch story

how it all started

senz° was born out of pure frustration with traditional umbrellas.

You're probably very familiar with all of the well known umbrella

struggles yourself: Umbrellas go inside-out, break, poke you in

the eye, limit your visibility, don't protect your back, etc. Today,

some 3400 years after its invention in Egypt, the umbrella is

basically regarded as a necessary evil that everybody all over the

world dislikes.

The story of senz° goes back to the fall of 2004, when a young

and naïve Industrial Design Engineering student, Gerwin

Hoogendoorn, experienced one week in which three of his

umbrellas broke down. Being sick and tired of the massive

amount of crappy umbrellas, he decided to devote his graduation

project to designing the ultimate umbrella: One design that

resolves all of those nasty umbrella frustrations.

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IP portfolio

http://www.senzumbrellas.com/

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Distribution channel Senz

Australia & New Zealand senz distribution Co Australia & NZ PTY Ltd Benelux & Duitsland (retailers only) senz° umbrellas bv Benelux (only design retailers within the Benelux) InZicht BVBA Colombia Finland France Greece Italy Japan Russia South Korea Spain Switzerland Taiwan Turkey Uruguay

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Guard the ownership of your IP

Who owns what? IP rights and there protection depend on ownership. Ownership of patents and copyrights initially resides with the inventor / author and must be assigned to a company. Works made for hire (e.g. copyrights on website design or artwork) are of special interest because paying for works does not imply legal transfer of IP. Employee agreements and IP law may be sufficient but formal assignments pertaining to the intellectual property is preferable (e.g. employment agency, pay rolling). Use the proper legal means and forms to transfer IP Check with your accountant how IP is valued and if fiscal options are used (e.g. innovation box). Also: Check from time to time if all IP is registered and owned by the company. IP is often forgotten when there is a change (take over, change of entity, new holding, domain names registered by the founder, new or ended licenses etc.)

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When going abroad…

Once your IP in the Netherlands and abroad is order: remain focused! Check with insurance company if your foreign business is covered Check who you are dealing with before exchanging information Hire local advisors such as attorneys and translators Use NDA’s and confidentiality agreements Check prototypes and agree on the ‘golden sample’ Use spec sheets and clear definitions (standards, measures, materials etc.) www.rvo.nl Arrange for ‘During Production Checks’ and/or ‘Pre-Shipment Inspection’ AND Listen carefully to what Henry Liao has to say after the break….

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Feedback, questions or suggestions?

Fruytier Lawyers in Business B.V. Keizersgracht 442 1016 GD Amsterdam The Netherlands P. +31 (0)20 521 01 30 F. +31 (0)20 521 01 31 E. nwong@flib.nl en mvanhasselt@flib.nl

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