More than 4,000 files in 140 countries endorse the trajectory of Álvarez Real. This multidisciplinary firm was the first official industrial property agency 100% Galician. In addition to registering trademarks, patents, designs, domains or industrial property rights, it performs an essential task: it watches over ideas so that no one steals them, a key aspect to protect the innovation developed by the business fabric.

How important is it to protect industrial property rights for the business fabric? Is this something that Galician companies are aware of?

With the protection of patents, trademarks, designs and other intellectual property rights, their owner obtains an exclusive right, which allows him to be the only one to use a certain technology (patents or utility models), trademark or design, so their protection has a great impact on the company's competitiveness. 

On the one hand, patents, trademarks and designs are an indicator of the innovative nature of companies, which in itself is of great importance, but they are also the only mechanism that prevents competitors from copying our initiatives. In other words, any innovation of our products, if it is not protected, can be freely copied by anyone, without us having any rights by the mere fact of being its creator. 

In general, companies in Galicia are not very protectionist, and this, of course, works against their competitiveness. 

In addition to registering trademarks, patents, designs and domains, what other services does Alvarez Real offer to protect its clients' intangible assets?

Each intangible asset has a different form of protection: trademarks and trade names protect the signs used to identify the products and services of companies; patents and utility models protect technical innovations, industrial designs, design innovations and copyrights the ownership of works. 

But there are other mechanisms that protect our intangible assets, such as the trade secret, which allows us to protect any intangible asset that represents a value for the company, although we must bear in mind that anything that cannot be kept secret cannot be protected through this figure. 

Internet domains provide protection of our presence on the Internet, but we must take into account that they do not grant us a right of use, so if there is a similar trademark, we cannot use our domain for the same products and services, so that the owner of a domain must also protect his trademark, with which he obtains an exclusive right of use. 
 
With more than 4,000 files in 140 countries, what would you say has been the biggest challenge you have faced in managing patents and trademarks for your clients?

Throughout our years we have seen a little bit of everything, depending on the field, but we have always solved the situation. Industrial property requires a high level of specialization, so in the firm we have people who are experts in the different fields of activity, in fact, we have recently incorporated a new industrial property agent, who is in charge of patent matters.

On the other hand, trademark protection at the international level is always a challenge, due to the complexity of protection in a multitude of territories, each with its own casuistry and regulations.

Another great challenge is the protection and defense of patents and the procedures involved in defending novelty and inventive activity before the different administrations. 
 
What is the process like from the moment a client makes the decision to protect his trademark or patent until it is successfully completed?

Patents and trademarks are very different procedures. In the case of trademarks, the first thing to do is to make a good prior search of similarities, to be able to start the procedure with guarantees, and to make a good drafting of products and services, in order to have the best possible protection. Once this is done, the application is made to the corresponding administration, which resolves in favor or opposes, in which case it is necessary to respond. 

In the case of patents, the most important thing is to properly identify the innovation to be protected and to draft a technical report by a patent expert, since the report will establish the scope of protection, not being able to protect more, but not less either. With this report, the administrative procedure before the different administrations begins, which normally has one or two technical examinations, before the granting. 
 
Digitalization brings many advantages but also new challenges. How have aspects such as the protection of industrial property online, digital piracy or cyber espionage affected your business?

Indeed, in our field of work, new challenges are a constant, mainly because regulations are implemented at a slower pace than technological advances.

The Internet has made borders disappear, so protection in other countries has become more important, since the ease of copying has increased conflicts related to industrial and intellectual property. That is why patents, trademarks, designs and copyrights are gaining prominence, as they are the only mechanism that allows us to fight against copying and provide security to companies and users. 
 
What role does innovation play in the field of property rights protection?

A major role. Without innovation there are no patents, no designs, no copyrights, no new trademarks. Industrial property exists because of the need to protect inventors, designers and creators, to guarantee them an exclusive right to exploit their creations for a certain period of time and to promote technological progress. 

How do you see the future of industrial property rights protection in Spain and internationally? What trends do you think will influence this field in the coming years?

Although there are great challenges and future challenges that are beginning to be discussed, such as the improvement of software protection, the protection of biological advances, the exploitation of trademarks in the different metaverses or the protection of rights created by artificial intelligence, industrial property continues to be rather static. In my opinion, this is a guarantee, since being a field that does not change too much with technological progress, it does not lose efficiency or protection.