With millions of trademarks registered each year, more companies are looking for cross-border protection of their intellectual property. Such high demand requires more sophisticated tools and more efficient processes of international applications. In this interview, Martina Császári, Trademark Associate at Trama, talks about how the company is reshaping brand protection and provides access to quality & affordable trademark registration services across the globe.
Martina, how did you get into the field of IP law?
I wasn’t that interested in IP law at college. What I was very interested in, however, was International Law. So when I started working at Trama and got to work with some of the refusals, the complexity of dealing with international jurisdictions is what caught my attention. If I was working only with the Slovak or Czech jurisdictions, it would get pretty repetitive. But as at Trama we cover most of the world, the aspect of managing different countries is what makes it appealing to me.
Within the legal team of Trama you usually handle trademark destinations such as China and Japan. What are some of the common challenges when filing trademarks for such jurisdictions?
I am mostly responsible for managing Chinese, Hong Kong’s, Japanese and Singapore’s refusals. In all of these mentioned jurisdictions, we are filing through partners, so we are not directly filing them at the domestic IP offices. So a lot of issues can come from communication with our partners in these countries. Chinese jurisdiction is the most notorious example. The rules can be very strict and vague, which makes it hard to communicate to a client the reason for the refusal.
Let’s say the client initially received low risk on their application, but the Chinese office returned it with a higher risk. How do you then handle such cases?
When the application is returned with a high risk, we recommend the clients re-apply with a different trademark to increase the chances of successful registration. In such cases, we usually offer our clients a discount on our services in case of refiling. In any case, we assist the clients throughout the process to ensure a smooth application process.
How did your tasks and position in Trama evolve with time?
I started working at Trama in May 2021. At that point I was mostly preparing summaries and filing the applications. Then I started communicating directly with clients and working on an easy follow-up agenda. Now my work involves more complicated responses in case of some refusals or oppositions. This year I also started focusing more on setting up internal processes for a more efficient and simpler workflow, specifically by preparing guides for renewals or declarations of statements of use.
What exactly do you mean when you say you’re setting up internal processes?
I am creating easy and comprehensive guidelines on how to follow certain tasks. What documents are required. The exact process of each of the jurisdictions. I am also speaking with our IT department to include it in our system to make it more automatic.
At what point did you feel the need to unify all of these processes?
The company is growing, and as we are currently registering over 500 trademarks a month, the process needs to improve continuously. And as I was performing my tasks, I figured there was a way to simplify the process for other members of the team. To create some guide, so anybody could follow it and avoid unnecessary repetitive questions.
You mentioned that you are now looking to make the process more automatic. What does the convergence between technologies and legal processes in Trama currently look like? What kind of tasks are already automated?
I think the perfect example of how Trama makes our work easier is our admin system. Every request is updated automatically, we can track the status there, and all the verifications are linked to their result. When you open the window for verification, you can automatically fill in the data like the name of the trademark, the classes, and their jurisdiction. It really helps smooth out the process. When the verification is ready, we can send it directly to the client with a single button click. The client can then either proceed with the order or make a new one. When they proceed, we can track his order to invoice paid status and then start the process of preparing the summary. So this is just amazing. When I started here, I couldn’t believe it. In my previous years of work, I’ve never encountered such a simple trademark registration process.
Where do you see the potential or the use of technologies in IP law?
Well, as I already mentioned, the more tasks we can automate – the better. Especially tasks that involve communication with the clients and more repetitive work. Most of it is already covered within our admin system. The next step would probably be the optimization of verifications. But I think the technology is not as developed to make it ultimate. I don’t think we are yet at a point where computers are able to properly assess the risks of trademark applications, but that is definitely an area that should be explored in the future.
As a lawyer, you see some gaps in processes that could be improved, and then you would want to somehow communicate the issue. How is the collaboration with the development team set up?
We have our own channels where we are able to discuss different product ideas, and the tech team can then let us know if that is something feasible or how we could implement it. If some idea moves forward, we schedule meetings where we are able to thoroughly discuss the status of the project and get regular updates.
What kind of candidate is likely to succeed within the legal team of Trama?
In our team, motivation is much more important than knowledge. Even if we found the best expert in IP law, if the motivation or team skills were lacking, they would probably not stick around. So generally, our team prioritizes motivation over years of experience in IP alone.
Trama has grown significantly in the past year. How long would you say it usually takes for new members to get into the workflow?
I would say it usually takes up to a month. As a new member of our legal team, the person starts with preparing the summaries. After a couple of months, they start communicating directly with clients. Then comes the filing and more complicated cases like the refusals, the oppositions and so on.
What would you say is the most challenging part of getting through these first months for the newcomers?
The first but most important part is for them to get acquainted with our processes. Because our admin system is unique and new for everybody joining the team, it’s mainly about figuring out the process because the actual execution is not that hard. We have a lot of guides and templates prepared to explain individual steps and make onboarding as easy as possible.