PATENT Patents can protect the inventor from losing millions of dollars, should an invention be successful. For this reason it is recommended that anyone seeking a patent, secure the services of a registered patent attorney, whose first step will be conducting a thorough search to see if someone has already patented your idea or invention. Through our international network, DeltaQuest legal team can perform for you search and patent registration, so your ideas and inventions will not be stolen from you. To protect your invention in various countries we will file on your behalf an international patent application under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). The Patent Cooperation Treaty provides unified procedure for filing patent applications to protect inventions internationally. A single filing results in a single search accompanied with a written opinion (and optionally a preliminary examination), after which the examination (if provided by national law) and grant procedures are handled by the relevant national or regional authorities. As of April, 2006, there were 130 Contracting States to the PCT. The PCT does not lead to the grant of an "international patent", which does not exist. We will have to deal with regional and national authorities case by case basis upon your specific instructions. TRADEMARK Large sums of money are invested in devising trade marks to suit a particular product or service and to appeal to a particular market. Even larger sums go on promoting trade marks or brands through advertising. Unauthorised use of a mark means the rightful owner may lose business and goodwill. If your trade mark is not registered you may seek redress through the courts in a passing off action. For this to succeed you must persuade the court, first that the mark used by someone else is associated in the public mind with your own product or service, and secondly that the other person's goods have been mistaken for your own. Passing off actions are often ambiguous and represent many difficulties with proof. However, if your mark is registered you may sue for infringement under trade marks law. We at DeltaQuest highly recommend registering your trademark as soon as you know what it will be. We begin the process with a comprehensive search of all relevant records to make sure someone else hasn't already registered the marks you call your own. We will help you to protect your business identity and make sure you're not exposing yourself to legal action by using marks owned by others. Your trademark identifies your goods and services. It's a symbol of your hard work, a symbol of your quality, a symbol of your skill. Your trademarks enhance the value of your products and services. Depending on the form of your property, you can register either a trademark or a service mark. We will help you determine which is right for you. Once made initial search and we know there is no conflict, we can register the mark for you in the country in which you do business - usually through the regional or national Patent and Trademark Office or Internationally - through the Community Trademark or the Madrid Protocol. The Madrid Protocol, along with another international treaty called the Madrid Agreement, governs the so-called Madrid system for the international registration of trademarks. The system is administered by the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), which maintains the International Register of marks. Thanks to the international procedural mechanism, the Madrid system offers a trademark owner the possibility to have his trademark protected in several countries - Members of the Madrid Union (as of January 2006 there were 78 countries) by simply filing one application directly with his own national or regional trademark office. An international mark so registered is equivalent to an application or a registration of the same mark effected directly in each of the countries designated by the applicant. If the trademark office of a designated country does not refuse protection within a specified period, the protection of the mark is the same as if it had been registered by that Office. We can also perform a Community Trademark (CTM) registration, which is valid for all Member Countries of the European Union (this does not include EEA countries). EU citizens and companies based in EU or operating in EU may send an application directly to the trademark authorities at Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market. However, at a later stage in the application process, they will be required to use an agent, authorized to act for clients in the EU. The agent must also be authorized by OHIM to act on behalf of trademark applicants. So do not waste your time and money searching and investigating, let our professionals do it for you in the most efficient and cost effective way. 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