Structure
IP holding company
The Swiss company that holds the patents and captures the patent-box relief.
IP holding companyPatent & design
protection
Protecting an invention or a product’s look is part technical filing and part strategy, and the strategy is where most value is won or lost: what to protect, where, who owns it, how it is held for tax, and the discipline to file before disclosing. We do that surrounding work (strategy, ownership, structure, portfolio management, the patent-box connection) and coordinate the technical patent drafting and prosecution with qualified patent attorneys. One joined-up approach, with the right specialists on the technical core, and an honest view of when not to patent at all.
At a glance
Inventions and designs.
Strategy and structure here; technical filing with patent attorneys.
- Patent
- The invention: how it works
- Design
- The appearance: how it looks
- Routes
- Swiss / European (EPO) / PCT
- Rule
- File before you disclose
- Tax
- Patent box for qualifying patents
The essentials
Protection, joined up
A patent protects how an invention works; a registered design protects how a product looks. The technical patent drafting is specialist work we coordinate with qualified patent attorneys; the strategy, ownership, structure and portfolio management around it (including the patent-box connection) sit with us, joined up. And the cardinal rule: file before you disclose.
Who this is for
- businesses with a genuine technical innovation;
- product companies whose design has value;
- those sorting out inventor and ownership rights;
- groups holding patents for the patent box.
Where it fits
Patents and designs are held in an IP holding company, commercialised through licensing agreements, and connect to tax planning via the patent box.
The scope
What we protect
Patents and designs protect different things, by different routes, with different terms. The right mix depends on where the value sits.
| Aspect | Patent / registered design |
|---|---|
| Protects | How it works / how it looks |
| Term | Up to ~20 years / shorter, renewable |
| Routes | Swiss, European (EPO), PCT / Swiss design |
| Key rule | Novelty: file before disclosing |
Many products need both, and both depend on filing before disclosure. We map what is worth protecting and how, coordinate the technical patent work with the patent attorneys, and handle the design filings and the structure around them.
How it runs
How we run it
Map, sort ownership, file in the right order, structure for tax, and manage over time.
- Step 1
Map what to protect
Deciding what is worth protecting, by patent or design, in which markets, and what not to patent.
- Step 2
Sort ownership
Settling inventor and ownership rights through employment and assignment terms, before they become a dispute.
- Step 3
File in order
Filing before disclosure, by the right route, coordinating the technical patent work with the patent attorneys.
- Step 4
Structure for tax
Holding the patents so the patent-box relief can be captured where the IP qualifies.
- Step 5
Manage the portfolio
Renewals, deadlines, records and pruning: keeping the portfolio an asset, not a drifting cost.
Budget
What it costs
Cost depends on the scope: how many inventions and designs, which markets, the technical filing fees with the patent attorneys, and the ongoing renewals. Patents are expensive to obtain and maintain across markets, and that is why the strategy matters: the spend should follow the commercial value, not file for its own sake.
We scope and quote against what is worth protecting. Pricing is on request.
Discuss your inventions
What it takes
What protection requires
Patent and design protection that holds value rests on:
- filing before any public disclosure;
- clear ownership of inventor rights;
- the right route and footprint for the markets;
- holding the patents so tax relief can be captured;
- active management of renewals and deadlines.
When not to patent
A patent is not always the right protection, and filing for its own sake wastes money. Patents are costly to obtain and maintain across markets, they publish the invention for the world to read, and they are only as valuable as your ability to enforce them. For some innovations (fast-moving, hard to reverse-engineer, or hard to detect infringement of) secrecy or speed to market protects better than a patent that teaches competitors how it works. The honest question is whether this invention, in these markets, justifies the spend and the disclosure. We will tell you when the answer is no, because an unenforceable or needlessly published patent is worse than none.
Why Goldblum
Strategy and specialists
Doing the strategy, ownership and structure ourselves and coordinating the technical filing with qualified patent attorneys, one joined-up approach, is how this firm works.
Joined up
Strategy plus specialists
We do the strategy, ownership and structure; the technical patent drafting sits with qualified patent attorneys, with no gap between the filing and everything around it.
In order
File before you disclose
We get the filing and confidentiality in the right sequence, so an invention is not given away before it is protected, the most common costly mistake.
Honest
When not to patent
We tell you when secrecy or speed protects better than a patent, rather than filing for its own sake, so the spend follows the value.
Related
Around protection
Commercialise
Licensing agreements
Turning patents and designs into revenue through licences that hold up for tax.
Licensing agreementsDeals
IP due diligence
Verifying patents and designs are validly owned and unencumbered before a deal.
IP due diligence
FAQ
Patent & design protection: FAQ
01What is the difference between a patent and a registered design?
A patent protects an invention (a new, inventive technical solution) giving the right to stop others making, using or selling it, typically for up to twenty years. A registered design protects the appearance of a product (its shape, lines, contours, ornamentation), not how it works, for a shorter renewable term. Many products involve both: a patent on the technical innovation, a design on the look. Which protection fits depends on whether the value is in how the thing works or how it looks, and often the answer is both. We map what is worth protecting and how, then coordinate the right filings: the technical patent work with qualified patent attorneys.
02Do you file the patent yourselves?
The technical drafting and prosecution of a patent is specialist work that we coordinate with qualified patent attorneys, rather than doing it ourselves. Drafting patent claims and prosecuting an application before the patent offices is a distinct technical discipline, and getting the claims right is what determines whether the patent is worth anything. What we do is the surrounding strategy and structure: deciding what to protect and where, sorting out ownership and inventor rights, putting the licensing and holding structure in place, and managing the portfolio, and bringing in the patent attorneys for the technical filing. You get a single coordinated approach, with the right specialists on the technical core, rather than a gap between the legal strategy and the filing.
03Where should I file — Switzerland, Europe, or worldwide?
It depends on where the invention has commercial value, because patent protection is territorial and costs scale with coverage. A Swiss patent protects Switzerland; a European patent, obtained through the European Patent Office, can cover many European countries; and the international (PCT) route keeps options open across a wide set of countries before you commit. Filing everywhere is expensive and usually unnecessary; filing too narrowly leaves valuable markets unprotected. The right footprint matches where the invention will actually be made, sold or licensed. We plan that footprint with you and coordinate the filings (Swiss, European or international) through the appropriate route and specialists, so the spend follows the commercial value.
04Who owns an invention made by an employee?
Often the employer, but not automatically in every case, and the detail matters. Where an employee makes an invention in the course of their work and in fulfilment of their duties, the rights generally belong to the employer; inventions made in connection with the work but outside the employee’s duties may belong to the employer only if agreed, sometimes against compensation; and inventions wholly outside the work belong to the employee. The contracts and the circumstances determine the outcome, and disputes over ownership can undermine a patent’s value. We sort out ownership and inventor rights (through proper employment and assignment terms) so the company actually owns what it thinks it owns, before that becomes a problem in a deal or a dispute.
05Does Switzerland examine patents for novelty?
A Swiss national patent is granted without a full substantive examination for novelty and inventive step, which has consequences you need to understand. The Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property grants national patents after a formal examination, but does not itself assess whether the invention is genuinely new and inventive; that question is only tested if the patent is later challenged. A European patent, by contrast, is substantively examined by the European Patent Office. This means a granted Swiss patent is not a guarantee of validity, and a proper prior-art search before filing matters all the more. We factor this into the strategy (search, route and the choice between national and European filing) with the patent attorneys.
06How does this connect to the patent box?
Qualifying patents can benefit from the cantonal patent box, which reduces the tax on income attributable to them, so how the patents are held and licensed matters for tax, not just protection. Since the 2020 tax reform, income from qualifying patents and comparable rights can be taxed at a reduced cantonal rate, subject to the nexus principle that ties relief to the R&D actually done. For a company with valuable patents, holding and licensing them through the right structure (often an IP holding company) lets the patent box relief be claimed properly, with the documentation it requires. We connect the patent protection to the tax and holding structure, so the patents are not just protected but held in a way that captures the relief where it is available.
07How do I protect a product's design?
Through a registered design, filed with the Federal Institute of Intellectual Property, which protects the product’s appearance. Registration gives the exclusive right to use the design and to stop others using one that produces the same overall impression, for a renewable term up to a maximum. The design must be new and have individual character, and crucially, publishing or showing the product before filing can destroy novelty, so the timing of the filing relative to launch matters. A registered design is a relatively low-cost, effective protection for products where the look has value. We advise on what to register and when, and handle the design filings, alongside any patent and trademark protection the product needs.
08What happens if I disclose the invention before filing?
You can destroy your own patent, which is one of the most common and costly mistakes. Patent protection generally requires the invention to be new when you file, and disclosing it beforehand (at a trade fair, in a pitch, in a publication, even informally) can count as making it public and so destroy the novelty the patent depends on. The same risk applies to designs. The discipline is to file before disclosing, or to disclose only under proper confidentiality. Inventors who talk first and file later often find they have given away the right. We flag this early and put the filing and confidentiality in the right order, so an invention is not lost before it is protected.
09How is a patent and design portfolio managed over time?
Actively: patents and designs need renewals paid, deadlines met, ownership kept clear, and the portfolio pruned and extended as the business changes. A patent lapses if renewal fees are not paid; a design likewise; and a portfolio left unmanaged accumulates cost on rights no longer worth holding while missing new ones worth protecting. Managing it means tracking the deadlines, deciding what to keep, extend or let go, keeping ownership records clean, and aligning the portfolio with where the business is heading. We manage the portfolio on an ongoing basis (renewals, decisions, records) coordinating the technical work with the patent attorneys, so it stays an asset rather than a drifting cost.
10Is patent protection worth the cost for my business?
Sometimes, and sometimes not: it depends on whether the invention has real commercial value and whether a patent is the right way to protect it. Patents are expensive to obtain and maintain across markets, and for some innovations secrecy, speed to market or other protection serves better. Where the invention is genuinely valuable, defensible and central to the business, a patent can be a serious asset; where it is marginal or hard to enforce, the cost may not return. The honest question is whether this invention, in these markets, justifies the spend. We give you that assessment, including when not to patent, rather than filing for its own sake, so the investment follows the value.
11Can Goldblum handle patents and designs?
Yes, in our role: the strategy, ownership, structure and management around patents and registered designs, coordinated with qualified patent attorneys for the technical drafting and prosecution. We decide with you what to protect and where, sort out inventor and ownership rights, handle the design filings, connect the patents to the tax and holding structure including the patent box, and manage the portfolio over time. The specialist technical filing sits with the patent attorneys; the surrounding strategy, ownership and structure sit with us, joined up. You get one coordinated approach rather than a gap between the filing and everything around it, with an honest view of when to patent and when not to.
Protect your inventions and designs
Tell us what you have built. A partner maps what to protect, sorts ownership, and coordinates the filing with qualified patent attorneys.