They are the business cards of companies and professionals, through which they introduce themselves to the market, making it easy for consumers to locate them so they can repeat their purchase experience if it has been satisfactory.

Trademarks consist of a sign (word-based, graphic, sound, olfactory, etc.) linked to a specific product or service (chosen from among the 45 international classes, depending on the commercial activity in question).

Along with trademarks, trade names are the other type of distinctive signs offered by the intellectual property system. While trademarks identify a business’s service, trade names identify the market agent, distinguishing them from competitors. However, it can be said that the differences between these two figures have partially blurred, as trade names are now also linked to the international classifications of products and services and can be transferred independently from the companies that own them.

Trademark registrations can be national, whether for Spain or other foreign countries chosen, European Union trademarks, which are effective in all 27 EU countries with a single registration, or international trademarks, which can cover any country of interest worldwide and can be expanded as the operator’s commercial needs grow. The so-called "unionist priority" guarantees that an applicant who files for a first trademark registration in any country will be protected for six months, during which no third party can preemptively register a similar or identical mark in another territory.

VITRUVIO IP LEGAL helps its clients define the type of distinctive sign they should register, completing all the necessary formalities until final protection is achieved, resolving any objections from trademark offices or third-party oppositions that may arise during the granting process, and monitoring third-party applications that could conflict with their clients’ prior registrations. Additionally, the firm ensures that registered trademarks remain in force by handling their periodic renewals to avoid unintentional loss of rights.