Protecting the idea, the product and the brand

Explain what each form of intellectual and industrial property protects: patent, trade mark, industrial design, and copyright.

State which form of protection is appropriate in each case: a company logo, a technical invention that improves a bicycle, a novel, the aesthetic shape of a bottle, and the code and text of a website.

The diagram summarises four ways of protecting ideas and creations. Identify the missing form, marked with '?', explain what it protects, and give an example of a product that would require it.

Explain why the general idea of "an app for ordering taxis" cannot be protected, and what can indeed be protected about that app (the code, the texts, the logo, a novel technical mechanism). Distinguish between an idea and its concrete expression.

Explain what the ® and © symbols that appear on products and web pages mean, what right each one announces and whether anything needs to be registered to be able to use them.

A company creates an app with custom code, text, illustrations, and a logo. Explain which elements are automatically protected by copyright, which one requires a specific registration, and which part cannot be protected: the general idea of 'an app for...'.

Give two reasons why a small T-shirt brand benefits from registering its trade mark even if it sells little (preventing someone else registering it first, being able to defend itself and turning it into an asset) and what can happen to it if it does not.

A small jam brand sells only at local markets and believes that registering a trade mark is just for multinationals. Argue why it is in its interest to register it even though it is small, and what could happen if another company registers a similar name first.

The bicycle rental and repair shop "BiciBurra" has been operating successfully for a year in Valencia, but never registered its name with the OEPM. When seeking to expand, it discovers that a technical clothing brand has just registered "BiciBurra" for sports apparel (Class 25 of the Nice Classification).

1. a) Can the sportswear company force the bicycle company to cease its activity or change its corporate name? Justify your answer applying the principle of trademark specialty and the registration principle.
2. b) If "BiciBurra" wanted to start marketing its own branded cycling jerseys and hoodies, what legal conflict would arise and what strategic options does it have to resolve it? Evaluate the risks and costs of each.

Explain what a trade secret is with the example of an artisan sauce recipe, and what practical measures protect it (confidentiality agreements with employees and collaborators, limited access to the formula).

A student has invented a bike lock that opens using a mobile phone. Explain which form of protection is suitable for the mechanism, what requirements are usually required (worldwide novelty, inventive step, and industrial applicability), and what risk she runs if she exhibits it at trade fairs before protecting it.

A biotechnology laboratory has achieved two innovations following an investment of 350.000 €:

1. An energy drink with a synthesised molecule whose exact formulation can be deduced in a laboratory through reverse engineering as soon as it hits the market.

2. A fermentation and plant temperature control algorithm that optimizes flavour and reduces costs, but is undetectable by analysing the bottled product.

Management is hesitating between filing patent applications with the OEPM or relying on the Trade Secrets Act (Ley de Secretos Empresariales). Reasonably recommend the optimal protection route for each innovation, contrasting in each case the risks of public disclosure, the temporal costs of exclusivity (20 years), and the vulnerability to copies by competitors.

Trade name, trade mark and web domain are three different things. Explain the difference and why it is worth checking all three (and that they match) before launching a company, with the case of a shop whose registered trade mark does not match the .es domain already used by another company.

Trade marks are registered by classes of goods and services. A cosmetics brand registered in its class wants to launch a clothing line with the same name. Explain what problem it may encounter (another company with that name registered for clothing) and why it is worth registering in the future business's classes too.

The Spanish footwear company «SendaViva» has had its trademark registered with the OEPM since 2022 and is now planning to start physical and online distribution in France, Germany, and Italy.

1. a) Analyze the operational and cost advantages of applying for a European Union Trade Mark (EUTM) before the EUIPO compared to registering the trademark country by country at the national offices of those three markets.
2. b) Examine the critical risk posed by the «unitary character» of the EUTM: what would happen if a small Bavarian artisan had already registered an identical or confusingly similar trademark solely in Germany for similar products?
3. c) Design the prior clearance protocol (prior rights and classes searches) that management must follow before committing the marketing budget in those countries.