When Alpa's international growth opportunities began to look promising, the company's founding team wanted to ensure the expansion of brand rights to international markets, so that the millions of euros invested in the brand, product development and marketing would remain secure.

"It was clear to us from the beginning that brand protection is an area that requires experience and specialized expertise, and we wanted to outsource it to a partner who is well-versed in these matters. We are happy to pay for our company's most valuable asset, the brand and the legal rights associated with it, to be in good hands.

We've received really good and proactive information in different situations, as well as clear recommendations for action. That's what we expect from a trademark and legal partner, and that's what we've received. It's been easy to approve the recommendations, saying 'clear, let's implement this."

CEO Joona Penttilä

The doors to international markets are now wide open, and the company is preparing for a breakthrough in international sales. Growth has so far been financed through revenue financing.

“We are interested in a more drastic growth leap. That requires larger capital, and we have discussed with investors. Then when we enter these larger international financing scenarios, the protected brand is our most valuable asset — also for investors."

Read the brand story:

Quality knitwear brand alpa® grows through differentiation

Uute Scientific Oy, which commercialized a science-based, health-promoting forest microbe extract, is in a strong growth phase. The outsourced legal counsel service model for all trademark and legal matters has freed up the company's own limited resources to scale the business to its full potential.

“Kaulo & Partners has been the perfect partner for us. We quickly noticed that as a ‘boutique law firm,’ their experts bring both heart and intellect to everything they do. For us, it’s been crucial to have not only high-level professional support in trademark and contract matters but also the feeling that we’re not alone with our concerns. Kaulo & Partners’ experts are part of our team. Together, we’re building the value of the Re-Connecting Nature™ brand.”

CMO & Co-Founder Rita Nordin

Before expanding the geographical scope of trademark protection, Kaulo & Partners conducted a comprehensive trademark search for the Re-Connecting Nature™ brand logo to assess whether any clear barriers to registration or IPR infringement risks existed in new international markets, including potential future product categories.

“This preliminary search was insightful, as it enabled us to identify IPR-related risks and pitfalls specific to certain product groups and markets, which we can now prepare for. The information and advice we received guide our business strategy.”

“Kaulo & Partners also provided us with clear delivery and licensing contract templates, along with solid guidelines on correct trademark usage for our license partners.”

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Re-Connecting Nature™ brings health-promoting forest microbes into consumer products

We assisted the startup company Kide Science Oy, which specializes in children's science education, in drafting a marketing collaboration agreement with the American film and computer animation studio DreamWorks Animation. The agreement, concerning the Gabby’s Dollhouse TV series for Netflix, was extensive and meticulously specified both parties’ IP rights, obligations, and target markets in detail.

"When the CEO of a startup has a hundred things to think about all the time, it has been a relief to trust that our IP and legal partner, Kaulo & Partners, takes care of all these issues. Further, we have received valuable legal help to review and comment on contracts on a very quick schedule, if necessary, when we have negotiated cooperation with new partners." 
CEO Sari Hurme-Mehtälä

Read the brand story:

Children's science educator Kide Science conquered America with its playful brand

We developed a brand rights strategy for Beneq Oy, a leading provider of atomic layer deposition (ALD) equipment and as a pioneer in industrial ALD technology. We organized a workshop with the company's leadership, from which we crafted a brand rights strategy supporting the company's future goals, along with guidelines for the proper use of trademarks to ensure registrations remain valid and consistently increase the brand's value.

Based on the brand rights strategy, the trademark portfolio was both trimmed and supplemented with new registrations. We also initiated monitoring of trademark registers and online content for the main brands to detect any potential infringements or registrations that could diminish the brand's value by being too similar.

"It has been beneficial for us to have a partner who specifically focuses on brand rights. The collaboration has brought more focus and sharpness to the systematic management of brand rights.

In these discussions, we gained a better overall picture of our company's brand rights than ever before. Good discussions emerged about what registrations we really need, what are the core trademarks and other brand rights for the company, and where to invest in the future.

The best part of the collaboration with Kaulo & Partners has been the confidential atmosphere for discussion and the service model, which includes recommendations and advice. The management of brand rights has been proactive, focusing on the essential IP views for business, not just reacting to official deadlines. It's positive that the partner brings up perspectives that we could not think of, understand or remember in the midst of our intensive growth and product development.
President Tommi Vainio

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 Technology company Beneq increases brand value

We developed a protection strategy and filed trademark registration applications, including lists of goods and services, for the main brand of ReOrbit Oy, a company developing modular and flexible satellite platforms. We conducted preliminary research on the registrability and usability of the planned sub-brand names as trademarks.

"We received a good analysis from Kaulo & Partners, which included a clear recommendation for the next steps."
General Counsel Tommi Mustonen

We developed a brand rights strategy for Liljalla Oy, the creator of the responsible swimwear line Lilja the Label. The collaboration began with a brand rights strategy workshop, resulting in a practical brand rights strategy for the company before initiating protection measures.

Based on the brand rights strategy, the key actions were initiated: First, trademark searches were conducted to determine if the brand name could be registered and used in key markets without the risk of infringing on others' intellectual property rights. Following the searches, EU trademark applications were filed to protect the brand's key graphical elements and brand name.

Trademark monitoring was also initiated for the brand to detect potential infringements or competing registrations that come too close and could diminish the brand's value. We provided the company with clear guidelines and frameworks on how to instruct the use of the brand name, both internally within the company and externally to retailers, influencers, and other partners.

We assisted Liljalla Oy  in drafting their first significant international influencer marketing and collaboration collection agreement with a German influencer. The client was also provided with a template that they can use for future agreements.

"I found Kaulo & Partners through a strong recommendation by another brand owner. After receiving the tip and contacting them, things have progressed quickly. For us, this has been a smooth process that hasn't taken too much of the limited resources of a small business. We have been able to trust that everything will proceed in a controlled and proactive manner by the partner.

I see the biggest advantage of Kaulo & Partners' partnership model that you don't always have to start a new project from scratch, detached from what has been done before. It's clear when all the basic information already exists on both sides, you know who to contact and how things will move forward. The overall picture is more manageable. At the same time, it's a relief when there are fewer things to remember and to take care of on the entrepreneur's own 'to do' list.

I really benefited from the discussions about the brand rights strategy. I realized how many aspects are involved in this whole process. The strategy process revealed many things I hadn't even thought of. That's why it was a significant and important phase to go through.

Kaulo & Partners has kept us well about how things are progressing and has reminded if something is expected from us. We have received recommendations on how to proceed step by step, and everything has been rolling well in the background of our own core business. It feels like things are progressing and not crawling, and we have been able to move forward quickly in all issues."
Laura Saarinen, Founder and CEO of Liljalla Oy

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Growth and value from brand rights – Lilja the Label® aims to the top of sustainable swimwear