Intellectual Property Lawyers
Criminal Defense Lawyers Specializing in Intellectual Property Crimes
Recent Success Cases
Intellectual Property
Result: Dismissal
Court: Court of Instruction
Complainant: Private Prosecution
Accusation: Intellectual Property Crime
Intellectual Property Crimes
Lawyers Crimes against Intellectual Property
Crimes against intellectual property are typified in articles 270, 271 and 272 of the Penal Code. All these crimes are included within the crimes against patrimony, and have a common legal property, the copyrights.
Crimes against intellectual property consist of reproducing, plagiarizing, distributing, communicating or economically exploiting a work, for profit, and without the authorization of the owners of such work or their assignees.
The consummation occurs when the protected legal right is violated, that is to say, the copyright, without it being necessary to obtain benefits from the criminal conduct.
It is an intentional crime since the active subject carries out the crime seeking an economic benefit and knowing, therefore, the existence of the crime.
Requirements for an intellectual property crime
We are Lawyers specialized in Intellectual Property in Barcelona.
For the consummation of an intellectual property crime it is necessary that the following requirements exist:
The conducts of these crimes are carried out without authorization of the copyright holders or their assignees.
They are carried out to the economic detriment of a third party, who is the owner of the copyright.
The active subject has the intention of obtaining an economic benefit or reward, either directly or indirectly.
The object of the crime must be a literary, artistic or scientific work.
Basic type of intellectual property crime
Intellectual property law firm
The basic type of crimes against intellectual property consists of reproducing, plagiarizing, distributing, publicly communicating or economically exploiting artistic, literary or scientific works, without the consent of their owners or assignees, and thereby seeking an economic return.
It is punishable by six months to four years imprisonment and a penalty of twelve to twenty-four months.
However, these penalties can be increased when any of the following aggravating factors are present:
When minors are used to commit the crime.
When the crime has a great economic relevance or seriousness in terms of the quantity and value of the works or objects produced.
When the person responsible for the crime belongs to a criminal organization intended for such purposes.
In these cases, a penalty of two to six years imprisonment, a fine of eighteen to thirty-six months, and a special disqualification of two to five years will be imposed.
The crime of plagiarism
Our Intellectual Property Lawyers in Barcelona, have extensive experience as specialists in the field.
Plagiarism is one of the most frequent crimes against intellectual property. It consists of copying, plagiarizing or appropriating the work of another person, without citing or mentioning its creator, thus taking advantage of the intellectual property of another.
In other words, the person responsible for the plagiarism impersonates the creator of the work in order to obtain an economic benefit from it. However, it is not necessary that the plagiarism is total, but partial plagiarism is also a punishable conduct as long as there is a substantial copy of the work.
Intellectual property crime by street selling
The itinerant sale of literary, artistic or scientific works without the consent of the holder of the rights constitutes a crime against intellectual property.
The perpetrators of this crime profit from the intellectual merit of others, whom they harm by selling their works.
It is punishable by a prison sentence of six months to two years. However, depending on the amount of the profit obtained, the specific circumstances and provided that it does not comply with any of those set forth in article 271, the judge will impose a fine of one to six months or community service of thirty-one to sixty days.
Intellectual property crime on the Internet
Nowadays, the use of the Internet for the sale, distribution, export or storage of third parties’ works is becoming more and more frequent.
In this case, the computer channels are used to infringe the intellectual property of others and take economic advantage of their works, while causing damage to the victims.
As expert intellectual property lawyers we have extensive experience in crimes related to new technologies, protection of personal data and domain names.
Differences between intellectual property and industrial property
As Intellectual and Industrial Property Lawyers we have a deep knowledge of the law.
Intellectual and industrial property are quite similar, so they can often be confused, but thanks to this article you will be able to know the differences between these two concepts.
The main difference lies in the fact that, in industrial property, it is necessary that the products or manufacturing processes are registered or patented. Without this registration there can be no industrial property crime.
On the other hand, in intellectual property, this registration is not necessary, since it is usually given by the name of the author.
At Esteban Abogados Penalistas, we offer our clients comprehensive advice on intellectual property, registration of trademarks, licenses, patents, utility models, know-how, image and trademark rights, data protection, new technologies and unfair competition.
Precautionary measures in intellectual property crimes
Law firm with expertise in intellectual property law
Precautionary measures are instruments made available to the victims of an intellectual property crime. Among the main measures are:
The intervention and deposit of the economic benefits obtained from the crime.
The withdrawal of works in which intellectual property rights have been infringed.
Withdrawal of copies of works produced to obtain an economic return.
These measures, together with others, constitute a help for those who have been harmed by a crime against intellectual property.
Civil liability derived from the crime
Those who have been victims of a crime against intellectual property may request the following remedies as civil liability:
Compensation for the damages caused, choosing between the economic damages caused or the economic benefit that would have been obtained if the crime had not been carried out.
Precautionary measures, such as those mentioned above.
If you are involved in an intellectual property crime, contact the best criminal lawyers in Barcelona. Our lawyers are experts in ip law. Numerous cases of success in the courts of our country endorse our trajectory. We will fight to protect the interests of our clients and their companies.