Page 7 - IP-HANDBOOK-07-2018

I. Introduction
Lindt & Sprüngli looks back on a history of more than 170 years. From the outset to today, innovation has been a permanent feature in the company’s life. Technical and product innovation paired with strong brand development positions Lindt & Sprüngli as one of the top three chocolate manufacturers globally and as one of the leaders for premium and seasonal products.
Such innovation and brand development has generated a valuable set of intangible assets.
“A strong brand is the most important capital of any consumer goods business” (Lindt & Sprüngli Annual Report 2012)
For several years Lindt & Sprüngli has been ranked among the Swiss companies with the best reputation by GfK, the leading Swiss market research company. In 2018 Lindt & Sprüngli was awarded rank no.3.
In 2016, the LINDT brand was ranked by the brand consultancy and valuation firm Interbrand on rank 13 among the Best Swiss Brands.
For the sixth year in a row LINDT won the award of “most trusted brand of chocolate” in Switzerland as a result of the European Trusted Brands consumer survey conducted by Reader’s Digest.
Those intangible assets are protected by Intellectual Property (IP) rights which reward and encourage inno- vation. IP rights grant their owner the power to exclusively exploit the results of the innovation, sustaining a competitive advantage.
With rare exceptions, IP rights are not granted automatically. Various departments at Lindt & Sprüngli work closely together to secure our valuable IP rights.
This Handbook is intended to help you understand how to obtain intellectual property rights and how to navigate through their lifecycle. It does not replace the advice and involvement of the Group Legal & IP Department, which should be sought when necessary.
07 For internal use only
Key Take-Aways
• IP are valuable business assets and their strategic utilization can enhance the competitiveness of an enterprise.
• IP needs to be protected, managed
and defended to extract its full value.