Intellectual property protection is vital for every technological business. Fintech, blockchain, and crypto businesses are no exceptions. The Sino Fintech team provides services intended to protect the intellectual property assets of your business in multiple ways.
Patent registration
Interestingly, statistically, China has the most significant number of blockchain-related patents and patent applications, around 68% of the global numbers. Despite the country banning the mining and use of cryptocurrencies, the interest in blockchain technology remained high. The top Chinese companies filing blockchain patents include Alibaba, Tencent, and PingAn Insurance Group. These companies have invested heavily in blockchain technology and have filed numerous patents related to blockchain applications such as digital identity, supply chain management, and financial services. Besides, there are also many startups and individual inventors in China who are filing blockchain patents. The Chinese government has also been supportive of blockchain technology and has been investing in research and development in the field.
The five primary requirements for patentability are patentable subject matter, utility, novelty, nonobviousness, and enablement. So a cryptocurrency can be patented only if it has a required degree of technological novelty and serves a valuable function.
As a foreign startup, you can be interested in obtaining a patent in China for three main reasons:
- To enter the Chinese market, to start working with Chinese customers;
- To protect your technologically-driven business from Chinese “competitors” copying your technology;
- To generate additional revenue streams from licensing out your technology to Chinese companies.
Sino Fintech has a vast network of reliable patent attorneys, so we can offer you to obtain a patent in multiple jurisdictions, including China. We work with patents for inventions, utility models, and industrial designs.
Trademark registration
Trademark registration should be the first step of your legal brand protection. For businesses with tokens, and NFT – games, registering their product's name as a trademark is highly recommended. Cryptocurrency names may also be protected. For example, Bitcoin is not patented, but the name and logo are trademarked in the UK.
Copyright protection
Software solutions are protected as copyrights from the moment of their creation. Registering your software for easier legal enforcement in the future is possible, but it is not mandatory. As a fintech crypto company, you might have software developed by your employees or external contractors. Our team can draft and proofread your agreements with developers to protect your copyright. A program code can be created from scratch or based on another software that can be either open source or copyrighted (belonging to your company or another company with a license to you). Sino Fintech specialists work with agreements of different types, from software development agreements to licensing agreements.
Trade secrets (know-how) protection
Trade secrets such as a process, algorithm, or formula can be secured through non-disclosure agreements and internal company policies. Besides, though the law does not require specific technical security measures, industry standards are recommended to follow to keep your trade secrets (know-how) confidential. The Sino Fintech team can assist you in working out a complex of trade secrets (know-how) protection measures for your company, draft relevant policies and NDAs, and advise on technical security.
Legal enforcement and dispute settlement
As an IP owner, your company might face IP rights violations. We offer litigation of complex disputes in relation to patents, know-how, copyright, trademarks, and unfair competition. We understand that IP litigation in the field requires technical expertise, it is connected with high expenses and overall complexity, so before litigation, we try to use negotiations and administrative measures in protecting and enforcing your creations and innovations.