Protect Your Intellectual Property
When developing your business you have to know what are the intangible rights that may exist and, most especially, your form of legal protection. The most important are the following:
Rights and Intellectual Property Registry. The creation of an original work gives its author an exclusive right to its use and exploitation.
Currently, along with the classic cultural works (books, songs, sculptures, paintings, etc.) there are others that constitute an important business asset such as computer programs, mobile applications, databases or web pages.
Although the enjoyment of the exclusive rights granted by the Law to this type of creations are acquired at the moment of their creation and, therefore, it is not obligatory to register them before any public body, if it is very convenient to register them in the Official Registry of Intellectual Property (the only existing public registry) to have an official document and opposable to third parties, which allows to prove the authorship and / or ownership of the rights over the creations.
Land Registry Intellectual Property
The Community of Madrid helps you by making available to you the TERRITORIAL REGISTRY OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY to which you can go to register the rights on your intellectual creations, computer programs, databases and web pages.
Trademark Registration
When products and services are commercialized in the market, it is essential that the public can correctly identify them and distinguish them from the rest of the products and services offered by the other companies. Your brand will be the sign, capable of graphic representation, that will perform that function.
To enjoy the exclusive rights that a trademark provides you, it is mandatory to register in the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (OEPM) (trademarks with a national territorial scope) or in the Intellectual Property Office of the European Union -EUIPO- (trademarks) with territorial scope in all the States of the European Union).
More information on trademarks and other industrial property rights (patents and industrial designs):
https://www.oepm.es/es/index.html
https://euipo.europa.eu/ohimportal/es
Registration of domain names
The presence on the internet is essential for many business models. Having a website will help you to know, allow your location by customers and even the conclusion of contracts and other online business transactions.
Therefore, depending on the business activity you develop and the territorial scope to which you direct it, the selection and registration of an appropriate domain name is decisive.
You must register a second level domain, that is, the name you choose for your domain will be under one of the currently existing top level domains (Top Level Domains). In a simplified way, the first level domains may have territorial character (eg Spain-.es; United Kingdom-.uk ...) or generic character (eg. Com; .net; .tienda ...). There is also a series of first level domain matching the names of companies or other entities managed by them directly (eg .google).
The registration authority for domains under the first level ".es" corresponds to Red.es, a public business entity of the Ministry of Energy, Tourism and Digital Agenda. For more information press access.
Tip: Internet domains are granted according to the rule "first come, first served”, So even if initially it is possible to register and even have a domain in service it is possible to be deprived of it if a third party accredits having prior or preferential rights over the name you have registered (for example, it coincides with a brand that already exists) . Make sure your name is valid to avoid having problems.
Business secret
In the event that information is lawfully generated that from the business point of view constitutes an advantage in the market compared to other companies and competitors, the legal system makes direct legal actions available to its holders (including the workers themselves). ) that obtain, use or reveal it in an illicit way, provided that:
- The information is secret (not disclosed)
- Reasonable steps have been taken to keep it secret