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What is Intellectual Property Law?

Intellectual property law protects, simply said, creations of the mind. With an intellectual property right you are entitled to determine who is allowed to use your creation under which conditions. Just like ordinary property rights, the owner of an object is protected against unlawful acts by others. For example, the owner of a car can determine who can use it. An owner of a design can determine who can convert that design into a product. A software owner may determine who may download a copy. An owner of a brand name may determine who may use that brand.

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Various Intellectual Property Rights

There are various intellectual property rights. Intellectual property law is, therefore, an umbrella term for property rights to creations of the mind. Other concepts of this field of law are IP rights, intellectual property, industrial property, industrial property rights or intellectual rights. We also regularly come across the English terms IP, IP rights or intellectual property rights. Intellectual property law provides protection for various intellectual products. For example, different intellectual property rights may apply to logos, designs, software, photos, source code, databases, websites, designs, music, video and texts. Think of copyright, trade name law, trademark law, design law and patent law. In addition, there are related rights such as domain name rights and trade secrets.

In legal terms, intellectual property is a good thing. You can, therefore, transfer it, seize it or establish a pledge on it. And of course, intellectual property offers interesting economic prospects. It is therefore very important to properly record and protect intellectual property.

Protect Intellectual Property

Protecting intellectual property is very important to the copyright holder. After all, you do not want a competitor or a malicious person to run away with your creations. For example, considerable investments may be involved in the development of a technical invention, a website or the built-up reputation of a brand. The rights holder’s turnover may also depend on the exclusivity of the brand, certain creativity in work or technical ingenuity in an invention.

Enforcement

Therefore, the law gives intellectual property right holders various tools to protect intellectual property. In the event of an infringement of intellectual property rights, the rightholder can obtain rapid protection by seizing or by instituting summary or ex parte proceedings against the infringing party. This can quickly prohibit further infringement. In order to claim compliance with this prohibition, the holder of the IP law can also demand a penalty payment. In addition, the court may determine the destruction of infringing copies or removal from the market.

Moreover, the succeeding party in the proceedings is entitled to compensation. That damage may consist of lost profit, lost turnover or reputation damage.

In addition, in the enforcement of intellectual property rights, the losing party bears full legal costs.

Intellectual property sometimes applies automatically, but in other cases, you have to register it separately.

Trade Name Law

As a company, you automatically have a trade name right on the brand name you use. You can register a trade name in the trade register of the Chamber of Commerce, but this is not required. Conversely, it is also the case that just registering your trade name in the trade register of the Chamber of Commerce alone is insufficient for trade name protection. You must therefore actually use the name in economic trade. Think of the use of your trade name on your website, in its domain name, in your email address, on business cards, on stationery, etc.

Trademark Right

If you want more security and protection, we recommend establishing a trademark. Our lawyers specified in trademark law are happy to help you register. This establishes your rights to the name of your service or product so that you can distinguish yourself from others. In the Netherlands, the protection of trademarks is regulated in the Benelux Convention on Intellectual Property. An EU trademark (or a trademark of the European Union) can also be valid in the Netherlands, insofar as they are registered under the European Union trademark regulation.

Design Right

Design rights are also regulated in the Benelux Convention on Intellectual Property (BCIP). With this, you determine the design right for Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. In addition, design protection can also be obtained through community design law. Model rights can be granted for drawings and 3D designs. The model must be new and have an individual character. A registered design right offers the best protection. Are you already using a model, but have you not registered the right? Then you may have protection for an unregistered design right.

Patent Right

You can apply for patent protection or simply said, a patent at the Netherlands Patent Center or at the European Patent Office (EPO). You can register a patent for a new, technical invention, which involves an inventive step.

Copyright

Copyright is created automatically. Therefore, no registration is required for copyright protection. Copyright in the Netherlands is regulated in the Copyright Act. However, only works with their own original character that have a personal stamp of the maker can enjoy copyright protection. This threshold is very low, so works are quickly protected by copyright.

Database Right

Database law arises automatically. Hence, the producer of a database is the rightholder. However, protection requires that there is a collection of systematically or methodically ordered data, which may be accessed separately. The acquisition, control or presence must also demonstrate a substantial investment in qualitative or quantitative terms. In this context, it is advisable to properly document all investments for obtaining, checking or presenting the database.

Trade Secrets

For some years now we have also had legal protection for trade secrets and confidential know-how. You do not have to record trade secrets, but it is required that the information is secret and that it, therefore, has commercial value. You must also take reasonable measures to keep the information secret, such as entering into a confidentiality agreement.

Intellectual Property Website

We regularly receive questions about intellectual property on a website. Companies that have a website often think that they are the owner of the website because they have given the order to have the website built. They have determined what needs to be built. They paid for the work. The supplier of the website, however, often perceives this differently. So what does this mean?

The intellectual property right also applies to a website. More specifically, copyright applies to the source code and object code of the website. Copyright also applies to the design (the look & character, the graphical user interface), and possibly even the design right. The main rule of copyright is that the creator is the copyright holder – in this case the programmer of the source code and/or the designer of the interface. This may be different, in cases such as in an employment context or when the company lawfully publishes the website under its own name. In order to still own the copyrights on the website, the company must transfer the copyrights. The law requires a deed of transfer for this.

In addition, copyright to software should always include open-source software. Open source licenses regulate, under copyright, free rights for the user of the open-source program. Often these licenses stipulate that the user may not impose restrictions with regard to the (further) distribution of the software, that the source code must remain freely available and that it is permitted – under the same conditions – to adapt and distribute the software. Some open-source licenses even stipulate that the proprietary software, which is combined with the open-source software, must be released. That, however, will not always be in the intention of every company.

In addition, trade name law may apply to the website. An example case could be that the website owner will run the business through the website under a trade name. The domain name can then be an indication of this, but it is not necessary. For example, we use LAWFOX as a domain name, and that is indeed a trade name. But simultaneously we also manage the trade names Lawfox Advocaten B.V. and Lawfox Advocatuur B.V. Furthermore, trademark right can also be important for the products and services that you offer on the website.

If another website has a confusingly similar domain name, you may be able to take action against this under trade name law and/or trademark law.

What do we do?

We are lawyers and trademark jurists specialized in intellectual property law. Therefore, with our team, you can be sure that you immediately cover all necessary fields of law. We take care of protecting intellectual property on a daily basis. In this way, we not only preserve your intellectual property but also arrange its enforcement.

An intellectual property lawyer can estimate which rights you have, which you must register, and which legal procedures you must follow to protect them.

Our intellectual property lawyers advise you on strategy and outline the object. We tackle a case as early as possible and fight for fundamental principles.

Lastly, in principle, you can fully recover the costs of an intellectual property lawyer from the losing party.

Contact

Our specialized lawyers are always available for a first consultation without obligation. This can be done by telephone or by appointment. Call or e-mail us.

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