Starks: IP and International Trade Law boutique

17/05/2023

🎉 We woke up to super exciting news today - we've hit 1000 Followers on ! 🎉

This is a significant milestone for us at Starks, encouraging us to continue (and even further enhance!) our efforts in supporting sustainable businesses with our legal and strategic advice.

Big thanks to our incredible community!!!

And remember, for any IP or trade / commercial / privacy issue you might have, you are always welcome to drop us a message at 📨 [email protected]

or reach out directly to partners:
Maria Boicova-Wynants at [email protected] or
Elena Bachert at [email protected]

26/04/2023

Happy World IP Day!

Today marks an annual event to raise awareness of the significance of intellectual property (IP) rights in promoting innovation and creativity. This year's theme, "Women and IP" emphasizes the essential contributions of women in advancing intellectual property and highlights the need to close the gender gap in this field, which regrettably remains significant.

The photo features Beulah Louise Henry, an accomplished American inventor known as "Lady Edison." She is credited with inventing over 100 devices, including a vacuum ice cream freezer and a bobbin-free sewing machine, inspiring generations of female inventors.

On this World IP Day, let us celebrate the achievements of all inventors, creators, and innovators who work towards making the world a better place. In particular, let us applaud the tireless efforts of women who overcome obstacles to pursue creative endeavors and drive innovation.

Dream, create, protect!

16/01/2023

1️⃣Unlike most assets, the value of an can increase indefinitely. Do you know what the value split between tangible and intangible assets of the most valuable companies out there? Exactly. It is more than 20 to 80 in favour of intangibles.

2️⃣There is more than one way to get value out of your intellectual property. Licensing is one of them. Using an IP portfolio as collateral for obtaining different types of financing is the other. can be sold. There is a possibility for sale and lease-back arrangements. And this list goes on.

3️⃣Risk management! You would want to have freedom to operate, instead of being forced to, for instance, change your trademark in the new market, because someone else has already registered it there. On the other hand, you also don't want to be accused of infringement, even unwilling.

4️⃣You want to be taken seriously, right? Well, a company that does not protect its investments is hard to be taken seriously. By ignoring IP, not only does your company put itself in a difficult position, but it also puts in such a position its potential partners.

5️⃣IP is also a marketing tool. If you took an effort to protect what you are offering on the market, that means it is valuable enough to be protected and, hence, it will stand out. A brand is a promise - you might have heard this expression. Well, a brand is a promise only if this promise is actually linked to your company if it is registered as your trademark (or design, or patent...).

In other words, if you want your business to be sustainable, you need IP.

Not just any IP, but IP that supports your business strategy, fits your particular business model and protects customer-relevant features of your specific offering.

Are you ready to conquer the market? Then reach out to us at 📩[email protected]

09/01/2023

Are intellectual property rights (IPRs) good or bad for sustainable economy?

This is, of course, a complex and nuanced question, as IP rights can both support and hinder the development of / transition to sustainable economy.

Therefore, the answer is - as always - it depends.

In this case, it depends on how IPRs are applied and enforced.

On the one hand, IPRs can support the transition to a more sustainable economy by providing incentives for innovation and encouraging the development of new technologies and products that are designed to be more sustainable and circular.

Take patents for example.

Patents can be used to protect new technologies that enable the reuse or recycling of materials, which in turn can help to ensure that the companies that develop these technologies are able to recoup their investments and continue to innovate.

Or take trademarks.

Trademarks can promote the use of sustainable products and practices, by helping to distinguish sustainable products from non-sustainable alternatives. In this way, consumers will be able to make more informed choices.

On the other hand, there are also arguments to be made that IPRs can hinder the transition to a more sustainable economy by creating barriers to the reuse and recycling of products.

This all boils down to how IPRs are used, as stressed above.

If a company holds a patent on a particular technology or product, it may be able to prevent other companies from using that technology or product, even if it would be more sustainable to do so.

Or it can decide not to go that way and license the technology instead, promoting and enhancing the sustainable economy.

It is all about the choice.

IPRs are not good or bad per se for a sustainable economy.

IPRs are the tool. A very efficient tool.

Yet whether this tool will contribute to the transition to sustainable economy or hinder such a transition, will ultimately depend on the IPR holders’ decision and actions.

04/07/2022

does not equal invention. Innovation is about the market, about the demand, about turning an idea into an actual profitable business.

Intellectual property in this sense can and should be used to protect different aspects of your innovation and take your company’s strategy to the next level. 

If you are eager to learn how to turn complexity into a competitive advantage, discover how intellectual property drives business profits and how investments in drive economic growth, as a we can highly recommend you get your hands on the book “The Invisible Edge” by Blaxill and Eckardt. 

And if you would like to discuss YOUR SPECIFIC business model and discover how IP can support, enhance and activate it, helping you achieve your business goals and making your competitive advantage sustainable, you are always welcome at STARKS

📨 [email protected] or directly to Elena Bachert at 📬 [email protected] or
Maria Boicova-Wynants at 📬 [email protected]

27/06/2022

What is the difference between and street art? Are graffiti artists entitled to ? What is the relationship between property rights and graffiti artists' rights? In the last episode of IP-cast before the summer break, we address exactly these issues.

Enjoy listening and we will be coming with more episodes in Autumn.

22/06/2022

is one of the broad themes (5Ps: People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace and Partnerships) within the 2030 Agenda of the Sustainable Development Goals and simultaneously — a specific Goal 17 within the SDG.

"Partnerships" focuses on the means of implementing and revitalising the global partnership for sustainable development, encouraging everyone to team up to implement the SDG goals and targets.
In this sense, while the other 16 goals focus on specific thematic areas, Goal 17 is in fact an enabler for the whole 2030 Agenda. It also includes twice as many targets compared to the average of the other 16 goals.

Put differently, strong successful Partnerships are essential for the success of the whole 2030 Agenda.

There are, of course, many things to discuss and agree upon to ensure that your Partnership is a success (and that applies to absolutely any partnership!). However, we would like to focus on the Intellectual property side of these discussions.

Intellectual property is a general term covering a broad range of assets: , , , trade secrets, know-how, designs and so on. The uniting feature of all of them is that they are a product of human ingenuity, of human mind and creativity.

Another uniting feature is that IP can have a tremendous value-generating potential. Did you know that in the most valuable companies of today the value split between tangibles and intangibles is 20 to 80 in favour of the latter?

In a collaborative setting, who will own this perhaps the most valuable asset? How to derive the best value out of innovation both commercially and socially? How to retain the control of your IP needed to ensure the quality? Are you willing to share your existing IP with your partners and under which conditions? And what about the partner of your partner? Or the reverse - how would your partner feel about you sharing/using the IP, you created together, with someone else? How would your IP-related choices ensure mutually beneficial results? Will your IP approach contribute to or rather hinder it?

Some of the above questions in a particular situation will be more relevant than others. Or depending on the setup there will be other IP-related matters to discuss.

The one thing is certain though - to ensure that your Partnerships hold, there needs to be clarity in respect of the IP-related matters.

If you need support with this or have any questions you would like to discuss, please drop us an e-mail at [email protected] or directly to Elena Bachert at [email protected] or to Maria Boicova-Wynants at [email protected].

We would be delighted to assist you in making your Partnership journey successful and smooth sailing.

STARKS. Your sustainable growth supporter.

17/06/2022

26/04/2022

celebrating and Happy day from us at

23/04/2022

31/01/2022

In the sea of millions of mobile apps, you have just a small square with rounded corners to catch the attention of your potential customers. It is by this small square that customers will know your product, hence it makes sense that it allows you to stand out.

However, above all, it makes sense that the app icon you choose is eligible for trademark protection so that you effectively ensure exclusive rights to it.

How to do it? Read in our blog post!

And for tailored advice, Starks is always at your service.
[email protected]

or directly to Elena Bachert at [email protected] or
to Maria Boicova-Wynants at [email protected]

Starks. Supporting your

How to choose the right icon for your app - Starks