Warning: The information set out below is a general guideline provided by DOMENECH ABOGADOS.
Specific advice should be sought before any action in reliance on it is taken, as explained more
fully in this website's
legal
notice.
When starting a business in Spain, either through a company or as a sole entrepreneur, you
should also consider whether you will need to protect any trade or service mark or commercial name
you intend to use.
And you will also have to decide on the scope of protection needed, which may be restricted to
Spanish territory or require additional coverage, within the European Union or even at a wider,
international level.
Basic prior searches in order to find out if somebody else is already entitled to a trade mark
or commercial name you intend to use will save you time and money and are easily available
on-line. DOMENECH ABOGADOS can make such searches on your behalf if you wish and, in fact, we
will always ask you in advance, before setting-up your Spanish business or company for you, if such
protection of rights is a legal issue to be checked in your case. If so, once your choice of
name is made and reasonable assurance has been obtained that such name is available, the
application process can be begun and any challenges, threats or infringements to your rights can be
addressed, with DOMENECH ABOGADOS directing whichever other specialists (trade mark agents, private
detectives, market researchers) are required to ensure that your intellectual property rights are
not violated.
Trade or service marks and commercial names do not necessarily coincide with the name chosen
to identify a company, since they aim to identify the product, the business being operated or even
the signage of the premises being exploited. Once the application process is over and the relevant
registration fees are paid for, a Spanish or European registration ensures a ten year protection
period, which can be subsequently renewed of course.
Needless to say, if it is not your own intellectual or industrial property rights that you
intend to exploit, but somebody else’s, DOMENECH ABOGADOS can assist you in either drafting or
reviewing any relevant licence or transfer agreements.