In the words of NLP partner Cláudia Freixinho Serrano to Advocatus/ECO, many companies still manage intellectual property in a reactive way, and the challenge now is to integrate these matters strategically into business decision-making, connecting law, science and economic development.
In the view of NLP’s new partner, Cláudia Freixinho Serrano, intellectual property now occupies a central place in knowledge-based economies: in many sectors, the most valuable assets are no longer physical but intangible – technology, data, software, trademarks or know-how. Cláudia highlights the role of the intellectual property lawyer as a key link between law, science, technology and business strategy, stressing that practice in this area is increasingly interdisciplinary, particularly in the face of challenges such as artificial intelligence, new data-driven business models and the need to align intellectual property, technology regulation and data protection.
In the European context, Cláudia also points to the impact of the Unified Patent Court, which has profoundly reshaped the patent litigation landscape, creating both new opportunities and heightened strategic risks for companies. While she acknowledges that many organizations are now more aware of the importance of their intangible assets, she warns that, in many cases, intellectual property “is still managed in a reactive way” rather than being integrated into business decision-making.
Picture by Hugo Amaral/ECO.
