Ensuring the intellectual property of products outside the country is also very important for companies that one day plan to expand their activities beyond the Brazilian territory. This is the case of Carob House, which hired Pereira Bertozzi International IP Office to guarantee the registration of its trademarks and patents in Uruguay.
Recognized for not handling animal and soy ingredients, Carob House brought carob to Brazil, a pod native to the Mediterranean. It is the first and only national company to hold the technology in the development of products with this raw material in substitution to cocoa, winning the patents of the formulations.
Abroad, Carob House owns the intellectual property of carob mass without milk, soy, gluten and added sugar; the carob mass with cocoa and the white chocolate mass, these also with the same ‘free from’ (without sugar, lactose and gluten) attributes of the carob mass.
Executive Director of Carob House, Eloisa Helena Orlandi explains the reason for the registration of the brand across Brazilian borders and the scope of the company’s operations, which emerged in Curitiba (PR). “We applied for registration in Uruguay due to its geographical proximity and because it offers a latent market for ‘free from’ products. We still do not operate outside Brazil, since we are prioritizing the reserve of markets through patents, but there is already an embryo in Portugal ”.
The company — which has already identified attempts to misuse its trademarks and patents, but has taken appropriate legal measures to protect the right to property — understands that registration is essential: “Developing an innovative product is highly costly. The patent protects your invention for a time that allows you to return the investment made ”, guarantees Eloisa.
Proof of the importance that Carob House gives to its creative work is the recognition of its inventiveness by several awards of national relevance, such as the FINEP Award, the “Oscar” for innovation, promoted by the Ministry of Science and Technology and won by the company in more of an opportunity.