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home > Commercial Investigation > Intellectual Property Investigations
In our experience key results and trends point toward the theft, infringement or abuse of Intellectual Property (IP) and illicit gain through opportunity and financial fraud, such as:
Our IP Division works in total confidence and develops individual investigation approaches and strategies depending on the case itself and will never compromise quality, discretion or quality. Our operations range from controlled undercover investigations and infiltration, test purchases, covert interviewing, surveillance, through to elaborate and other complex operations. We are confident that combining our specialist services, and where appropriate collaborate with law enforcement agencies, will determine the best outcome for our clients. Our clients who have experienced problems with IP infringements include organisations from the following industries:
Intellectual Property Services: CSi can specifically offer the following fixed fee and turnaround investigative support:
In-Use Trade Mark Investigations
Our effective in-use trade mark investigation can assist companies in acquiring the mark of their choice by ascertaining if there are grounds for revocation. As a matter of course we will:
Company A creates a new service and wishes to call it TRANSAIR but company B owns a trademark in the same class, called TRANSAIR. Company A requires evidence of non-use to prove grounds for revocation. A combination of detailed research and discreet enquiries confirmed that the mark was not in use by Company B. Common Law protection can on occasions be provided for an unregistered trademark that has been used continuously for a period of time, despite having been ‘cleared’ via official trade mark registers. Our Common Law Investigation facility establishes where a company has goodwill and identifies any ‘unfair competition’ or ‘passing off’ issues. For each case, a wide variety of appropriate sources are consulted and our Common Law investigation will provide detailed information of all unregistered marks, similar or identical, which may be cause for concern. We will consult:
Company A wanted to register a mark and following a clearance process was informed that it was available. This company was unaware of the use of the mark by another small, local company which had been established for a number of years and had built up a reputable client base over this time. If we had not undertaken a Common Law investigation, Company A may have been accused of unfair competition if it had continued to register the mark further to the clearance results. Instead, the company was able to alter its own mark without undergoing costly legal proceedings to defend itself at a later date, and ensuring market clarity. A number of domain names are registered daily and on occasions, a client’s mark, or a mark that a client may want to acquire, is registered as a domain name. Occasionally, this action is carried out in order to attempt to obtain money from the client, but it is usually done in good faith. Our Domain Name Investigation service can provide evidence as to whether the required domain name is a likely case of ‘cyber squatting’ or registered and in use in good faith. Our service will supply detailed facts pertaining to the domain name and establish whether the registrant is willing to consider its sale. We will ascertain:
Case Study
Our specialist investigators can effectively purchase domain names and trade marks on a third party’s behalf. The third party remains anonymous throughout the process, thus reducing the risk of the proprietor increasing the price.
Our investigators successfully acquired a domain name on behalf of a well-known European Car Hire Company. The third party’s identity remained anonymous throughout the process and subsequently the domain name was purchased at a reasonable price.
We can assist clients in gaining the necessary evidence to guarantee successful prosecution, settlement or provide grounds for revocation. Cases are extremely varied and range from investigating fabric design infringements, packaging devices, capital and medical equipment through to telecommunications technology. If a competitor or former employee is using processes which are based on a client’s patent protected technology, we will provide solutions.
Company A design and manufacture highly complex drilling machinery. Such machines had an open market value of £250,000. The dismissal of a Senior Sales Manager by Company A, led to this Manager forming his own company and producing identical drilling equipment. We collated evidence demonstrating that the ex-employee had retained CAD drawings which belonged to Company A on his laptop and utilising such drawings, produced machines which infringed Company A’s Intellectual Property Rights. Company A began legal proceedings against the former employee, but a settlement was reached outside of court before the hearing resulting in the infringer closing the factory. We regularly conduct test purchases on behalf of brand owners and are carried out from a variety of sales outlets ranging from shops and wholesalers to car boot sales, markets and increasingly on line auction sites. The results of which often provide the evidential basis to larger scale anti-counterfeiting and brand infringement operations by official authorities. CSi understands the importance of properly presented evidential packages when dealing with law enforcement agencies. It is not only the production of counterfeit that is becoming more inventive but the supply and distribution is equally resourceful. Innovative test purchases are a necessity, especially when the ever cautious counterfeiter is suspicious of every new approach, checking the identities and backgrounds of new buyers is par for the course. Approaches combine current technology with proven investigative practices to ensure A1 evidence is gathered every time.
One of our investigators identified through proactive investigation a wholesaler of counterfeit supplying many market and shop traders. Several test purchases were conducted and then exhibited to the various brand owners. The brand owners confirmed that the exhibits were indeed counterfeit and a full scale investigation was launched. Jointly with the Police and Trading Standards, CSi were responsible for the seizure of counterfeit clothing with a street value in excess of £1million. |