Marks & Clerk, the international intellectual property group, celebrates 20 years in Luxembourg this year. A celebration for staff and local clients took place on 13 October 2010 at the Meliã Hotel in Luxembourg. The event included an announcement about the recently established collaboration with the University of Luxembourg.
Since its formation in 1990, Marks & Clerk Luxembourg has grown to one of the largest patent translation and validation services for European patents. Marks & Clerk Luxembourg today offers the complete range of intellectual property (IP) services - covering trade marks, patents, copyright and designs – to both local and global clients.
2010 has been a singularly eventful year for Marks & Clerk Luxembourg. In particular, the firm was named winner of the International Law Office (ILO) Client Choice Award 2010 for customer excellence - chosen from a pool of more than 2,000 individual assessments by in-house legal counsel.
Hilton Lord, Marks & Clerk Luxembourg, comments: “I am delighted with this award which recognises our commitment to providing outstanding client care and service across our entire range of IP services. On behalf of the Luxembourg team, I would like to thank those clients who voted for us and all our clients for their support over the last 20 years. We look forward to building on our relationships and successes over the next 20 years!”
Promoting innovation in Luxembourg
Marks & Clerk Luxembourg’s 20th anniversary marks the start of a collaboration with the new University of Luxembourg. As a token of appreciation for the support of the Luxembourgish community and to promote local innovation, Marks & Clerk is working with the University to introduce an annual Marks & Clerk prize for the most innovative PhD student in any field. Vice-Rector of the University of Luxembourg, Prof. Dr. Franck Leprévost, was present at the celebration to introduce the award. The first prize will be awarded at the 2011 graduation ceremony. Franck Leprévost commented, "The University of Luxembourg thanks deeply Marks & Clerk for their initiative to reward each year the best PhD student whose work is related to innovation. This prize awarded by Marks & Clerk will contribute further to enlighten the front edge research contributions of our young researchers."
Luxembourg leads the way
Luxembourg has always been at the forefront of innovation. It was therefore fitting that in 1990 global IP firm Marks & Clerk chose such a powerhouse for the location of their first continental European office. Twenty years on, much has changed, but Luxembourg is still an ideal location for all European business.
The Grand Duchy has always pursued progressive IP policies and has been very active in the field of patents and trade marks. Luxembourg was one of the seven founding members of the European Patent Convention (EPC) in 1977, as well as a founding member of the London Agreement which aimed to ease the burden of patent translation requirements across Europe. Today, there are 40 EPC members in an area which extends well beyond the borders of the EU.
On the trade mark front, Luxembourg’s unique position allows for multiple protection options, including Benelux, European Community and international protection. Recent statistics show that Luxembourg accounts for a significant proportion of Community trade marks for a country of its size.
More recently, Luxembourg has established itself as a particularly hospitable location for innovative enterprises by focusing on attractive new IP laws, which provide financial incentives for IP owners.