PONS IP, a global consulting firm specialising in industrial and intellectual property, announced the launch ofSingular TMan ALSPAlternative Legal Service Providerbusiness line created for registering trademarks in Spain and the EU through a 100% online platform that automates the process of applying for registration. The launch, a ground-breaking initiative in Spain within the legal sector specialising in industrial and intellectual property, reinforces the company’s leadership in the creation of legal tech solutions to support the comprehensive management of intangible assets.
Singular TM enables individuals and SMEs from any country around the world to access a trademark application service in Spain and the European Union that is completely online. To facilitate user autonomy in the process of applying for trademark registration, SINGULAR TM has its own search engine that analyses the viability of the new trademark in real time, as well as a price calculator to know the total cost of the application beforehand. The ease of online processing will allow users who do not require the design of their own trademark legal strategy to complete the process in a streamlined, secure and competitive manner.
Moreover, Singular TM will have the support and guarantee of PONS IP. From the platform, it will also be possible to refer cases that, due to their complexity, require consulting, experience and other specific services that cannot be automated at this time. For its part, with this launch PONS IP creates a business line that will cover the needs of a customer profile, such as entrepreneurs and small businesses anywhere in the world, which already requires carrying out an administrative procedure in a manner that is competitive, autonomous and completely online. Likewise, PONS IP reinforces its portfolio of legal tech services after the launch of ALERTA in 2021, a solution for online trademark surveillance, and SAFE EVIDENCE in 2020, a platform to protect, deposit and sign any type of file using blockchain technology and qualified time stamps.
SINGULAR TM, PONS IP’s response to an increasingly digital ecosystem
The launch occurs in a context of global digitisation with a paradigm shift in the supply and demand of legal services. Individuals and companies already demand streamlined services at affordable prices in the field of industrial and intellectual property. This is demonstrated by the data from the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (SPTO),which has confirmed that over the last 10 years the percentage of trademark applications filed with an Industrial Property Agent (IPA) has fallen steadily, from 43% in 2011 to only 30% of the 51,585 total trademarks registered in 2021.
In parallel, the entry into the market of “ALSP” services is established as an unstoppable trend. This is supported by a recent report by Thomson Reuters, confirming that the ALSP market in reference countries such as the United States has been growing continuously in recent years. For example, 79% of legal firms in this country have acknowledged that they have integrated Alternative Legal Services Provider solutions in their service portfolio, while 7 out of 10 companies say they use them frequently in said North American country. In the specific field of industrial and intellectual property asset management, the report indicates that 1 in 5 companies plan to use ALSP tools to manage their intangible assets in the next five years.
In this regard, the Future Ready Lawyer 2022 Survey by Wolters Kluwer, which this year included the opinions of 751 legal professionals from the United States and 10 countries in Europe, also came to the same conclusion. The fact that legal professionals increasingly turn to legal technology for help is shown by the fact that 91% of the legal advisory services of companies already expect their law firms to take full advantage of technology or that 87% of company attorneys say that it is “extremely or very important” to work for a legal organisation that harnesses technology.
The Managing Director of PONS IP, Nuria Marcos, assessed the relevance of the Singular TM launch within the consulting firm’s portfolio of services and within the framework of PONS IP’s digital transformation process. “With Singular TM we are going to expand our natural client base by bringing the professional management of industrial property closer to the needs of entrepreneurs and small businesses worldwide which need to carry out an administrative procedure and do not know where to turn. The application of technology in the legal sector is already a reality around the world, and it is also starting to be the case in Spain. Moreover, internally Singular TM will allow us to optimise the costs of administrative processes and repetitive tasks, allowing our experts to focus on value-added services and strategic consulting to be more competitive”, stated the head of PONS IP.
