Each company has its own Intellectual Property (IP) which is born in the minds of its staff members in the process of their creative work. And it is Intellectual Property that forms the wealth of Russia. But what is the right way to manage this wealth? First of all, it’s necessary to detect Intellectual Property. To cope with this task you should know exactly what it is.

Not all of us know that Intellectual Property is an article of commerce, an expensive one. This kind of property can be treated as any other: it is possible to sell it, rent it, include in the registered capital of a company, etc.

Today the objects of Intellectual Property, i.e. the results of intellectual activity, in their significance and cost are comparable to material values involved in civil transactions. 

The Federal law proved by the Governmental Regulation of the Russian Federation on 18th December 2006 ¹ 230 “The Rights upon Intellectual Property and Means of Individualization” (item 4 Civil Code of the Russian Federation) came into force on 1st January 2008. It includes 6 “special laws” which used to regulate the sphere of Intellectual Property separately.

This law can be justly called the Code of Intellectual Property consolidating the range of innovations in the civil legislation of the Russian Federation. In particular, it contains the list of Intellectual Property protected by law. Also, new kinds of Intellectual Property such as manufacturing secrets (know-how) and brands are introduced here. 

Thus, the following kinds of Intellectual Property are protected in the Russian Federation:
1) works of science, literature and art;
2) software;
3) databases;
4) achievements;
5) phonograms;
6) broadcasting of television and radio programmes;
7) inventions;
8) utility models;
9) industrial designs;
10) selection achievements;
11) IC topologies;
12) manufacturing secrets (know-how);
13) business names; 
14) trademarks and service marks;
15) appellations of origin;
16) brands.

Article 1225 item 4 Civil Code of the Russian Federation states that Intellectual Property is represented by the results of intellectual activity and ideas set equal to them by means of individualization of legal bodies, goods, work, services and enterprises which can be protected.

The owners of the means of identification which could become trademarks, devices, etc. do not usually hurry to register them and to obtain a protection document. And it’s obviously an irrevocable mistake. There are several reasons for that: absence of knowledge about registration procedure lays off the procedure itself, high fees also influence the procedure, etc. However, everything mentioned is above the consequences that can come into being because of the absence of IP legal protection. 

A registered trademark is an additional justification that a company is going to work for a long time and to do it legally because “fly-by-night companies” would never go through a long and expensive procedure of trademark registration. A trademark forms an image of a reliable partner and it can be called a business card of a company. Besides, a trademark makes it possible to reveal additional money flows.

One of the current problems is the clash of trademarks and domains. As the Internet may be used for commercial purposes in future, proprietary right of a legal body upon network address will probably surpass a trademark in its value.

Regulations of each company usually specify certain types of activities which are given in a special classification. A trademark is registered in those sections of a classification where a company is going to work or is working. And certain problems arise if two companies turn out to have one and the same trademark in one and the same type of activity.

There are various kinds of trademarks: word marks, graphical marks, mixed marks, sound marks, coloured marks, etc. The epoch of the Internet has come and it is possible that in future it will be compulsory for all companies to have web-pages. When the site-name is registered it’s better to use a recognizable word image. Certain problems may arise in this aspect too: the name of your website may turn out to have been chosen and registered as a trademark by someone else. 

Special emphasis should be laid upon Informational Technologies. It’s enough to say that business potential of the Internet is incredibly rich. The Internet combines legal regulations which deal with various aspects of Intellectual Property: design of interface, information in databases, domains (network addresses) and trademarks.

Registration of inventions, utility models and industrial designs is the most professionally important procedure for the companies rendering such services for third parties as engineer training in all spheres of technology is essential for that.  

To identify the objects for patenting, to know the details of the procedure at ROSPATENT, to make an application professionally providing a customer with all possible rights, to anticipate Official Action – all these are the markers of professional work and high quality service. Experienced staff of a patenting company which includes attorneys, qualified lawyers, Doctors of Philosophy is the guarantee of success in rendering high quality service.