Legal IP

A licence authorises someone to use a right while ownership stays with you; it can be exclusive or non-exclusive, limited in time, territory and scope. An assignment transfers ownership of the right itself to the other party. The choice has lasting commercial and tax consequences, so it should be deliberate. We draft and negotiate both, and record them with the relevant registries where that is needed to be effective against third parties.

Enforcement usually starts with a cease and desist letter, and can move through takedown requests to online platforms and customs detention of infringing goods, up to court proceedings seeking injunctions and damages. The right level depends on the infringer, the harm and where they operate. We design the strategy and act, or instruct local litigators, coordinating it across the jurisdictions involved.

Intellectual property disputes in Spain are generally heard by the commercial courts (Juzgados de lo Mercantil), with certain courts designated as EU trade mark and Community design courts for those rights. Specialised courts and panels handle patents. We conduct litigation before the Spanish courts and coordinate parallel proceedings in other jurisdictions through local litigators.

Trade secrets are protected without any registration, under the EU Trade Secrets Directive and Spain’s implementing law, provided the information is secret, has commercial value because it is secret, and is subject to reasonable steps to keep it confidential. That last requirement is where cases are won or lost, so protection is largely about contracts and internal measures — NDAs, access controls and policies. We put those measures in place and act when a secret is misused.

A coexistence agreement is a contract between owners of similar marks setting out how each can use its mark — by goods, territory or presentation — so they can operate without conflict. It is often the practical way to resolve or avoid an opposition or dispute when neither side wants to litigate. We negotiate coexistence, delimitation and settlement agreements that hold up over time.

Yes. Rights holders can file an application for customs action so that authorities detain suspected infringing goods at the border, which is often faster and cheaper than pursuing each shipment in court. It works best as part of a broader enforcement plan combined with takedowns and, where needed, litigation. We prepare customs applications and coordinate the follow-up once goods are detained.

It depends on what you want and what the dispute is worth. Litigation is the right tool where you need a binding decision, an injunction or damages, or where the other side will not engage; mediation and other alternative dispute resolution can be faster, cheaper and more flexible, and can preserve a commercial relationship. We advise honestly on which is proportionate and run both, rather than defaulting to court.

Yes — that is the point of the practice. We litigate before the Spanish courts and act with the Spanish customs authorities directly, and coordinate enforcement and litigation across European, Latin American and African jurisdictions through correspondent counsel and local litigators. You keep one strategy and a single point of contact for the whole corridor.