AI Issue 4 2017

Acquisition International - April 2017 43 Waiting Patently has caught the attention of the researches of the Magazine, and Danubia is proud to have been chosen and will do its best to preserve the present high level of services also in the future amid a more challenging IP environment. The basic tendencies for intangible assets in the recent period If we have to summarize this in short, the appropriate term is: “growth and increase”. This means that in spite of the gossips that modern societies do not need privileges and IP protec¬tion as the internet has provided and open society for each stakeholders and information is available free for everyone, the numbers contradict to these statements. The number of patent and trademark applications has increased both in Europe and in Hungary, and so did the number of IP enforcement fights that cross over the borders. Major patent infringement and invalidity lawsuits have taken place in the country both concerning patents and trademarks, and the decisions made by the courts have confirmed that in Hungary there is a stable and correct IP enforcement system. The lawsuits take place in all possible combinations, i.e. between Hungarian and foreign enterprises just as between foreign enterprises and there are lawsuits which concern only domestic parties. The most significant disputes concern the Pharma industry where the volumes and the numbers are high. Of the recent changes, we can list the establishment and starting its operation of the Visegrad Patent Office which acts as international PCT Searching and Preliminary Examination Authority for a number of CEE countries with a headquarter in Budapest, and provides its work with reasonable charges. As the work of the European Patent Office has become faster, this is increased the number of granted European Patents, hence the activity in national validations has also increased. A further interesting feature is the service offered by the Hungarian Intellectual Property Office that provides an expedited search and written opinion on patentability on each domestic patent application against as low price as around EUR 100 in 6 months for the filing of the request and against EUR 200 in 2-3 months from the date of the request. In this way applicants can have a correct and reliable search result and opinion well before the expiration of the 12 months priority year and can decide with a higher degree of certainty whether there will be chance for the acceptance of the case. There is no comparable service with such prices anywhere within that short period of time. In the field of trademarks, the significance of obtaining national protection has increased, as the EU trademarks, although providing a large geographic protection over the whole EU make the applications vulnerable against the existence of earlier rights. There are several small and medium enterprises whose activities do not cover the whole EU and for them a conflict with an earlier right in a remote country causes problem if they seek EU wide rights, while such earlier foreign right do not count when they seek national protection. Together with the increasing number of national trademark applications in an interesting way, the number of the filed EU trademark and design applications has also increased, as the mentioned problems do not affect other applicants, and the possibilities of well-defined searches of earlier rights can screen such conflicts. The new name of the European Intellectual Property Office with the increased quality of the services (e.g. TM View and TM Class and the taxonomy) and the timely and good work must have contributed to such increase. The updating of the guidelines and the recently changed legislation provides also immense assistance to stakeholders who wish to enjoy EU wide protection to their trademarks and designs. Stating all the above, the forthcoming enactment of the UPP-UPC system raises both expectations and fears. It is not yet known how owners of right will like this new system and everyone in this profession tries to learn the laws and rules and to get prepared for what to do when the Agreement enters in force. The starting period will be difficult for everyone, and there will be both winners and losers of the system. As far as enforcement is concerned, for Hungarian enterprises this will result in a substantial increase of costs. Coping with such challenges Under the above outlined circumstances the most difficult job is to follow the recent changes, and to increase the co-operation with the clients, to learn their needs and preferences and to provide valuable advice when such is needed. In spite of the increasing number of cases the client should not feel that the attorney has other works to do and the service must be fast and thorough. It is also important that only substantial questions should be raised to the clients because one has to learn that the client’s time is valuable. The secret behind a good service is permanent education, practice and increased use of modern technology and a balance with team work and sharing practice within the firm. In this way high level services with reasonable prices can be provided that affect clients from all over the world. Danubia is proud to state that its European Patent and Trademark services are used not only by domestic clients but in increased numbers from overseas, mainly from China and Korea but there is an increase in the number of cases coming from the US and Canada. Significance in participating in the work of the international IP organizations Meeting clients and using the skill of the partners makes it imperative that the partners take part in the work of international organizations like AIPPI, INTA, ECTA, LES and in the profession through being council and committee members in the work of epi, the European Patent Institute. This kind of work takes time and effort and has costs, however, in this way we can contribute in forming the future legislations, discussing new problems and meeting associates and clients all over the world. Personal contacts and presence is inevitable in building up international contacts and reputation. Challenges and opportunities in 2017 and beyond The forthcoming entering into force of the UPP-UPC system is with no doubt the greatest challenge, and we have to build up a strong professional background in litigating European patents outside Hungary and outside the EPO, where we have already established a practice in opposition proceedings. It is yet to be seen whether Hungary ratifies the agreement and when, and what number of clients will use the UPP system or continue using the traditional EP/HU route by national validations. In the meantime, elaborating new patent applications in Hungary and before the EPO is a challenging job, and the work has shifted from the Hungarian language to English even for domestic clients. In everyday practice we think that our pre-trial counselling and general advising activity will increase in volume. In the trademark and design field we will have to protect the interests of our clients after the Brexit, and even in current activity we have to warn clients not to forget about the UK when seeking rights there. Facts and figures Number of partners: 18 Number of patent attorneys: 21 Working languages: Hungarian, English