The emergence of new technologies has made copyright an area of law that is subject to continuous review and revision. Legislative initiatives are ongoing both nationally and in Europe and elsewhere internationally. Our Firm has been in the forefront of the fight to set up a suitable legal framework that will strike a balance between respecting the basic rights and principles of the information society and protecting intellectual creations in the digital age.

Linking goods or services to a specific geographical location is today a highly effective means of attracting and keeping a customer base, thanks to the positive associations this calls forth in the minds of consumers as a result of the specific, objective natural and/or human attributes and the subjective connotations attaching to the place of production. As a consequence, designations and other indicators of geographical origin are growing both in number and in importance in the marketplace.

The spectacular increase in copyright piracy, brand counterfeiting, and passing-off of trademarks and other IP rights of late has had calamitous market repercussions and has forced companies to expend ever more resources on fighting this scourge by all legal means at their disposal.

Over and above the activities of registering and defending patents and trademarks, inventions, trademarks and other distinctive signs, and copyrights are, beyond question, intangible assets of great value to every business. Legal issues are key to being able to properly exploit these assets.

With entry into force of the Organic Data Protection Act, Act No. 15/1999 of 13 December 1999 (“the LOPD” according to its Spanish abbreviation), it became mandatory for companies, associations, and professionals to bring their data files into compliance with the requirements laid down in that Act to ensure the fundamental right to protection of all personal data relating to personal and family honour, dignity, and privacy.

The Internet has transformed how business is done and how persons and companies communicate. But along with the many new benefits ushered in by the web, the Internet has also engendered new legal problems that have the potential to be particularly harmful because the medium lends itself to rapid, broad exposure.

As leaders in intangible asset management and legal advisory services, ELZABURU is deeply committed to continuously enhancing the services it offers its clients, and to that end it has opened a new, specialized practice area to deal specifically with media and entertainment matters.

We help our clients identify, organize, protect and defend their trade secrets, whether of a commercial or technical (know-how) nature, and we also help them with monetization, furnishing advice on all transactions dealing with these types of intangible assets.

Breeding new plant varieties diversifies natural species and makes available plants and seeds which are better adapted to specific climatic conditions, more productive, or more nutritious or which have new aesthetic or other attributes. Breeders of new plant varieties are entitled to recognition for their efforts through registration – for a limited time – of an exclusive right similar to a patent, the plant breeder’s right.