Research

Research – the latest technologies
Put simply, you cannot patent or protect the design of anything that already exists, either exactly or in a very similar form, regardless of the country. Similarly, a trademark can only be patented if it (or a very similar trademark) is not already registered in that particular country. That’s why IPS Irsch offers its clients comprehensive research services before the start of the complex registration process, in order to significantly reduce the risk that the patent, design or trademark application will be rejected.

Research – Freedom to Operate (FTO)

The development of new products and processes, the drafting of a design or the launch of a new trademark can cost companies a significant amount of resources. Such endeavours are very often time-consuming and require a substantial investment. If you find out that your product infringes upon existing third party intellectual property rights prior to market launch, all your hard work may be for nothing. You might be prohibited from using the patented invention altogether, or required to pay such high licence fees that your product or service ceases to be economically viable.

That’s why IPS Irsch offers its clients Freedom to Operate (FTO) research before they embark on a complex and expensive development project. Our research findings significantly reduce the risk of infringing on existing intellectual property rights

Monitoring of competitors – passive protection against third party intellectual property rights
An essential aspect of any comprehensive patent strategy is the ongoing monitoring of new patents registered by competing companies. Unfortunately companies often forget that the rules for protecting intellectual property are the same for everyone. As such, it is crucial to take into consideration the intellectual property rights of third parties. Infringing upon a third party’s rights – be it a patent, trademark or protected design – can result in rather unpleasant consequences. For instance, it can lead to an infringement lawsuit or, in the worst case scenario, to the payment of damages, which can become incredibly time-consuming and expensive and may mean that the infringing product or process has to be removed from the market.

To avoid such scenarios, IPS Irsch uses sophisticated tools and search strategies to look for registered third party intellectual property rights in all major international markets and assess their relevance in relation to our clients’ objectives.