COVID-19 makes a huge impact on the world`s economy and to each and every business, and it is hard to accurately predict consequences. In situations like these the most pressing issues precedes everything else – the safety and welfare of employees, sufficient cash flow, securing new orders and execution of existing ones; and the safety of intellectual property objects are pushed aside. Inadequate administration of intellectual property objects can lead to even larger damages later. 

We present the most important aspects of intellectual property safety during crisis below:

• Do not miss the deadlines to pay taxes – protection of the majority of intellectual property objects depends on paid taxes, so it is crucial not to miss the deadlines to pay them. The majority of trademarks and patent offices have extended the deadlines until the end of quarantine. Also, if the deadline was missed because of important reasons, quite often the period to pay taxes can be renewed. However, do not forget to pay the taxes and do not postpone the payments as this can lead to the end of protection of your intellectual property object, which will have irreversible damage to your company.
• Do not start to use your intellectual property object without properly protecting it. Quite often companies, that face a difficult financial situation, decide that registration of trademarks, designs or inventions can wait for better times and starts using them without protection. This leads to a complete loss of protection, because, for example, the invention that was used publicly cannot be patented.
• Protect your rights. Despite the fact that the dispute settlement institutions do not hold public meetings during quarantine, they are still working and reacting. So if your company`s rights to intellectual property objects are violated, do not hesitate to go to the police or court during the quarantine. This will help to stop the violation faster and to minimize the potential damage. 
• If your company is going bankrupt, do not forget that intellectual property objects have their value and that should be mirrored in the company`s balance sheet. The amount received by selling these possessions can cover quite a lot of the company`s debts if they are properly assessed before selling. Read more in Lithuanian…