How does a busy law firm tackle the heavily administrative task of renewing the first Community Trade Marks? Senior trademark paralegal José Penalva (left) and IT manager Iván Sánchez (below) from Lovells’ Alicante office explain how CPA Global Inprotech has provided them with the support they need to face even the biggest challenges software for attorney firms
In 1996, for example, when the first Community Trade Marks (CTM) were applied for with the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM), few had turned their minds to the volume of renewals they would have to tackle 10 years later. However, with the renewals season now in full swing, software is proving to be a much needed partner in dealing with the high number of cases and tight timescales. Nowhere more so than for Lovells, whose office in Alicante – dealing primarily with CTMs and Designs – is the largest focused CTM practice of any international law firm.
Working together
To date, Lovells’ Alicante office has already handled more than 4,500 CTM applications and about the same number of oppositions and numerous cancellations, in all languages of the OHIM. Concentrating its CTM knowledge into one office has certainly had its benefits, explains senior trademark paralegal José Penalva (top left): ‘The office operates efficiently because everyone from the support staff to the lawyers is specialised in one jurisdiction and is used to the way things work.’
Tackling a high volume of renewals on top of the office’s standard IP workload, however, is enough to test even the most efficient workforce. That’s why in April 2006, as renewals season got underway, so too did CPA Global Inprotech, helping the team not just calculate due dates, but manage vast amounts of case information. ‘We had a straightforward database, but needed software with more functionality, so we could conduct searches, produce reports and calculate dates, all with an English interface,’ says José.
In business you need to be able to keep going even in the worst scenario. With CPA Inprotech we know that even if most of the workforce were off sick, people would be able to access information and handle individual cases
‘CPA Inprotech provided the functionality we needed, but also allowed us to adapt it to the way we work,’ says IT manager Iván Sánchez (bottom left). ‘Lovells has strict procedures and this often causes problems with software. With our rules in place, however, CPA Inprotech now fits us like a hand in a glove.’
Growing with the business
Not only has CPA Inprotech proved useful in calculating dates for around 600 renewals and logging case details, it has also altered the way the firm tackles its workload and is an integral part of its business continuity planning. ‘We currently have 30 people using the software and it is so user-friendly that searches previously handled by advanced users can now be completed by anyone,’ says José. ‘With security settings and legal information available through the software, more people are trusted to tackle renewals and support staff can access accurate information without having to ask lawyers and paralegals.
‘In business you need to be able to keep going even in the worst scenario. With CPA Inprotech we know that even if most of the workforce were off sick, people would be able to access information and handle individual cases.’ Having entered the data for its CTM cases, José and Iván are hard at work customising the program to manage the other 10% of the Alicante business, which deals with national and international trademark cases and community designs. ‘It has given us the confidence to know we have an accurate centralised database from which we can confirm details and initiate complex searches,’ says José. ‘The reports functionality is actively used and staff are following templates or personalizing their own reports rather than just making do.’
Lovells is dedicated to further developing its IP offering both in Spain and globally. For the Alicante office this means a future with CPA Inprotech. It is already considering the financial and file location modules that weren’t part of its original plans and is keen to combine its experiences with that of Lovells as a whole to create a single, truly international system. ‘CPA Inprotech is a good partner to grow with,’ says Iván. ‘The way it is moving forward is consistent with what we want to do and we believe it will continue to help us implement our plans creatively for years to come.’
To find out more about CPA Inprotech, please visit www.cpaglobal.com/software or email ebrice@cpaglobal.com
This article first appeared in IP Review, issue 17
