IPR Protection - D'Andrea & Partners

Intellectual property protection only works where rights are registered, and intellectual property is territorial, so it is difficult to obtain direct protection in another country for a trademark or patent registered in one country. We help international companies build and defend IP across the jurisdictions where their brands, products, and technology actually travel.

What We Do

Companies need IP protection and trademark registration the moment they expand beyond their home market — and often discover the gap only when something has gone wrong. A brand launched in a new country finds its name already registered by someone else; a manufacturing partner files patents on jointly developed technology; a distributor registers the trademark it was meant to sell under. Intellectual property rights are territorial, and a company that has not secured them locally often has no standing to act.

Effective intellectual property strategy and brand protection turn a portfolio of ideas into enforceable commercial assets — registered in the right names and the right markets, before they are needed.

Cross-Border IP Complexity

International intellectual property protection is complicated by the one feature every IP system shares: territoriality. A right granted in one country has no automatic effect in another, so protection must be built market by market — through national registrations, regional systems such as the EU trademark, or international routes like the Madrid Protocol and the PCT. Each route has its own timeline, cost, and procedural traps.

International IP enforcement diverges even more than registration. The same infringement may be handled administratively in one country and only through the courts in another; intellectual property law that looks similar on paper produces very different outcomes in practice. IPR protection that holds up is designed around the specific markets where a company operates — which is why our IP practice is built around those markets, not generic cross-border capability.

Our IP Services

Our IP services run the full lifecycle, from securing rights through enforcing them, across the markets where the client operates.

Trademark Registration & Protection — We handle trademark registration across national offices, the EU system, and the Madrid Protocol, including defensive filings in markets where squatting is a known risk. Early registration keeps a brand the company’s own rather than something it has to buy back later.
Patent Registration & Enforcement — We manage patent registration and patent protection from prior-art search through national and PCT filings, and act against infringers once rights are granted. A patent is only as valuable as the enforcement behind it.
IP Licensing & Transactions — We structure intellectual property licensing, assignments, and technology-transfer agreements that turn intellectual property assets into revenue without surrendering control. The terms decide whether a license builds value or leaks it.
IP Audit & Strategy — We run IP audits and build the intellectual property management framework — what to register, where, and in what order — that becomes the company’s IPR strategy. Most IP value is lost not to infringement but to assets that were never protected in the first place.
IP Litigation & Enforcement — We handle IP litigation, patent enforcement, and trademark infringement actions, alongside customs recordals, copyright disputes, and domain name protection where needed. Enforcement is where a paper right becomes a real one.

Where We Operate

China

IP protection in China turns on the first-to-file rule: rights generally go to the first to register, not the first to use, which makes early CNIPA registration critical and trademark squatting a standing risk for foreign brands. China’s specialized IP courts and strengthened trade-secret regime have materially improved enforcement.

Explore our IP advisory in China

India

India IP protection and patent registration runs through the Indian Patent Office and the trademark registry, with enforcement that is improving but still slow, and particular sensitivity in the pharmaceutical and technology sectors.

Connect with an IP expert in India

Italy

Italy intellectual property protection runs through UIBM for national rights and the EU trademark and design systems for EU-wide coverage, enforced through Italy’s specialized IP courts.

Speak with an IP advisor for Italy

Vietnam

In Vietnam, a major manufacturing and sourcing hub, IP protection and trademark enforcement runs through the IP Office of Vietnam (NOIP), with trademark enforcement and IP risk inside manufacturing agreements the recurring concerns.

Request IP advice in Vietnam

Why D'Andrea & Partners

On the ground in each market — Our international intellectual property law firm teams work from offices across China, Italy, India, and Vietnam, with locally qualified attorneys resident in each — filing directly with CNIPA, UIBM, the Indian Patent Office, and NOIP rather than routing through third-country agents.
Multi-system capability — Among law firms, intellectual property work demands fluency across national offices and the EU and international systems — Madrid, the PCT, the EU trademark — and we file and enforce across all of them under one engagement.
Full IP lifecycle — We stay with the asset from strategy and registration through licensing and enforcement, rather than handing off between specialists at each stage.
Cross-practice integration — Our IP litigation capability sits alongside our contracts, compliance, and dispute-resolution teams, so an infringement question connects directly to the contract, customs, or litigation response it needs.