History
In 1966, Ernest T. Freylinger laid the foundations of our present industrial property consulting office in Luxembourg.
With the help of his wife who wrote letters on a typewriter, Ernest T. Freylinger prospected in Luxembourg and all around the world trying to convince many companies about the importance of protecting their intellectual assets.
Over the following years, Ernest T. Freylinger managed to gain the confidence of important clients in Luxembourg and created business partnerships with other IP offices, mainly in Luxembourg and in Belgium.
These collaborations allowed the office to expand its services on an international basis. Office Freylinger has continued to grow and now relies on a wide range of national and international clients, from the corner shopkeeper up to the multinational company.
At the turn of the century, the rejuvenation of the staff, new openings in the fields of industrial property as well as a constant improvement and variety of the provided services have contributed to place Office Freylinger as the main and largest Luxembourg IP Office.
Values
We assist our clients in developing adequate Intellectual Property strategies to help them in acquiring and expanding strong market positions.
Our core values are: SECURITY, PLEASURE and CREATIVITY.
We provide tailor-made services to vigorously protect our client’s rights and interests. We strongly rely on our highly qualified and motivated IP attorneys and paralegals to provide high quality work for our clients.
Quality
Having been involved in numerous opposition/appeal proceedings and infringement cases, we know how important it is to carefully draft and amend intellectual property right applications during their prosecution.
Our philosophy is that IP rights are commercial tools, which must be able to furnish a return on investment. This return on investment can be achieved by capitalising on a monopoly, by giving licences to competitors and/or by enforcing patent rights against infringers. All these actions are only possible if the rights are carefully drafted.
Quality control
Having numerous direct clients requiring our services, the quality of our services is one of our most important assets. Quality generates trust from our clients and trust is the most essential requirement in our profession.
Confidentiality
Each employee is bound by the provisions of the Luxembourg law and has a strict confidentiality clause in his or her employment contract. The fact that the confidentiality of our work and of the information given to us by our clients is a crucial factor is regularly reminded to the team.
Optimizing expenses
Optimizing expenses is a permanent concern. Therefore, as from the early beginnings of our work, we keep a close eye on expenses affecting our clients.
Our ability to directly act before many national Patent and Trademark offices in Europe allows us to minimise the costs to the client for numerous actions performed before these offices.
For providing services in the rest of the World, we rely on a broad network of confirmed foreign associates, which are respected members of the various professional organisations. Our clients benefit from our transparency in cost matters as well as from our reasonable rates.
NLO Shieldmark
Designs and trademarks are valuable assets for a business. They reinforce its distinctive capacity, create more commercial strength, enhance its competitive position and make it more attractive for investors. Intellectual property therefore plays a prominent role in business strategy, which can be supported by the knowledge and experience of the trademark and design attorneys at NLO Shieldmark.
The European trademark and design attorneys of NLO Shieldmark are committed to protecting and reinforcing their clients’ ideas, designs and trademarks, while bearing in mind the markets in which they are actively involved. They offer availability searches, registration, oppositions, infringement advice, cancellations, watch services, renewals, in-use search and mutations.
NLO Shieldmark and NLO
NLO Shieldmark is part of one of the largest full-service European IP consultancy firms in the Netherlands and Belgium. We offer a unique combination of technical and legal expertise with insight into the business environment in which clients operate. This distinguishes the 15 trademark and design attorneys at NLO Shieldmark and the 70 patent attorneys at NLO. The specialists of NLO and NLO Shieldmark also have the most up-to-date knowledge of the IP market at their disposal, which they use in order to provide optimum management for clients’ IP portfolios. By combining our expertise, NLO Shieldmark can provide clients with the most comprehensive advice possible.
Last updated 28th September 2021
AWA is a leading IP firm with over 370 employees across 22 offices in Belgium, China, Denmark, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland.
We believe tomorrow is today’s emerging business – rising up from untapped potential within established industries and start-ups. No matter the size or industry, we help our clients create business out of their ideas and innovations.
AWA was founded in 1897 by Swedish engineer Anders Wilhelm Anderson. His initials form our company name and remind us of our proud history.
We supply a full-service offering of IP law services in prosecution, dispute litigation, aftermarket services, legal advice, strategy and commercialisation. Our IP professionals are experts in patents, trademark, design, copyright and domain names.
What sets up apart
Global: AWA has a presence in Europe and Asia with an extensive network of qualified preferred partners all over the world. We can handle your IP needs globally and follow-up in real-time.
Diversity and Colloboration: Our people come from diverse backgrounds with practical industry knowledge. Their technical capability means they understand the small details and how this differentiates you in the marketplace. Our teams comprise engineers working closely with attorneys at law and vice versa. This seamless collaboration ensures that the right skillset and legal knowledge is available and utilised for our client’s innovations. We pride ourselves on our comprehensive trainee programme for future IP leaders.
Strategy: We focus on the long-term – building a business is a journey that requires strategy. We support companies throughout the corporate cycle to protect and enforce IP rights, but to also identify and capture the value of intellectual assets.
Digital Innovation: We live in the digital era and are constantly looking at tools that reduce workload and save time. From the AWA Client Porta, to our domain management services – we are innovating the IP tools of the future.
Employee Owned: AWA is 100% owned by the employees with more than 50% of us choosing to invest or hold shares in the Group. This reflects our personal and long-term commitment to both our firm and our clients.
AWA Asia
Part of the AWA Group, AWA Asia supports and manages international clients’ IP needs throughout the region with a head office in Hong Kong – a location known for its successful business environment, world-class infrastructure and effective legal system.
Our Beijing office is our wholly owned licensed trademark agency, allowing us to file and enforce trademarks directlybefore the China Trademark Office and the administrative authorities, without the need to use local third-party agents.
Today, China is one of the largest IP markets in the world and is increasingly being selected as a key venue for IP litigation by foreign and local entities alike.
AWA Asia has strong value proposition that consists of an East-meets-West approach, with a bilingual and bicultural team of IP professionals (trademark lawyers, patent attorneys and IP strategists). Our international-level service delivery comes with deep local knowledge and is business minded, pragmatic and tailored.
Network memberships: AIPPI, APAA, ECTA, epi, FICPI, INTA, The Lawyer Network, LES Scandinavia, MARQUES, Union-IP
With the precious know-how of our employees, present in the sector since 1983 and located in the main cities of the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg and French and German part of Belgium (Weiswampach, Luxembourg-ville, Brussels, Sankt-Vith, Malmedy and Eupen), each NEOVIAQ office has a motivated and highly qualified team out of our more than 60 professionals, who are experts in all areas of modern business management.
NEOVIAQ's Intellectual Property (IP) practice is a cornerstone of our firm, offering specialized expertise and a proven track record. Our team of experienced IP attorneys focuses on trademark, design, copyright, and trade secret law as well as related matters in the field of ICT, privacy, new technologies, serving a wide range of clients from innovators, creators, entrepreneurs to start-ups, SMEs and large corporations.
With a pragmatic approach, we address complex IP challenges. Our proficiency in trademark and design matters helped various clients to establish a strong brand identity and expand into new markets. We provide valuable counsel to start-ups, guiding them through IP portfolio development and risk mitigation, aiding their attraction of investors and partners. Our international expertise ensures clients' IP rights are upheld across borders, with strategies that enhance their global market presence.
NEOVIAQ's IP practice offers pragmatic legal guidance and strategic solutions. Our proven casework and dedication to innovation positions us as a reliable partner for businesses seeking to safeguard their creative works, manage legal complexities, and excel in a competitive global market.
We are turning your imagination into IP.