Enforcement of Industrial Property Rights

Infringement of industrial property rights is constituted by making use of the industrial property rights without adequate authorisation, e.g. a licence granted by the proprietor of the industrial property rights.

An act of use of a technical industrial property right, such as a patent or utility model, may be seen in the use made of the subject matter being conferred protection. By contrast, indirect infringement of industrial property rights may be constituted when an unauthorized user is supplied with products that relate to an essential element of the invention and that are exploited by said unauthorized user based on the invention.

Trademark infringement is constituted when a sign confusingly similar to the trademark is used. For registered designs, an act of infringement is constituted by reproduction of the protected design.

In the event that the proprietor of industrial property rights establishes a potential infringement of his/her industrial property rights by a third party, he/she should generally proceed by adhering to the steps specified below in order to assert his/her claims against the potential infringer.