Embracing the value of authentic design with BORSO

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As a lawyer, and generally not immersed in our sector of design and architecture, how was the experience of designing your new headquarters with Viccarbe?

The truth is that I am not that far away from Viccarbe’s sector because we have clients and friends who are designers, architects, artists… even family who are related. Usually, our industry tends to be classic, sometimes even somewhat baroque, but our maxim is simplicity and distinction. Therefore, we felt an immediate connection with Viccarbe. We are fascinated by how such iconic and recognizable furniture can be at the same time discreet, timeless and, above all else, collaborative. Our clients are highly internationalized companies and professionals with high added value, so agility and collaboration in the office is key in our day to day work.

In addition to commercial lawyers, BORSO stands out for the defense of intellectual property. What can you tell us about this?

We have been specializing for many years in the legal defense of our clients, so we have seen a significant increase in the interest of companies in adding design as a differentiating element to their core business. Our society is progressively more and more identified with brands that emotionally connect with the customer and wants to know who is behind these brands, who is the soul that generates that differentiation that attracts them so much. For this reason, both distribution and end customers have evolved by detecting and differentiating who creates and who copies.

How has your experience been defending Viccarbe during these years against the different copies of international companies?

Cases are never the same, but it is common for companies and/or low-profile designers to copy Viccarbe, who mistakenly try to imitate a success story to achieve a fast place in the market that they are not able to achieve by their own means. This pattern is repeated, both by copying or imitating their products, as well as their brand concept, but fortunately, justice is increasingly aware of the value of intellectual property and we have already had many successful cases where we have withdrawn copies from the market, destroyed molds, catalogs and other promotional material and also received significant financial compensation.

Viccarbe invests significant resources by working with the best international creative talents, industrial records and defined production techniques that make copying increasingly complex, either because of the obviousness of the situation if they ever do or because of the complexity and cost involved for the copying manufacturer. It is curious how ignorance can become so daring and we even see cases that border on the ridiculous because of the daring of certain copies that are so evident, but fortunately it happens less and less often.

What advice would you give to a company that wants to defend originality, intellectual property and added value?

Do not give up and consider this road to success a long-distance race because it takes many years to build a reputation and only a few minutes to ruin it. In a world so connected and with such fast and ready competition, only originality and respect for intellectual property will make the difference over competitors. Quality, service… these values are taken for granted today. The business level has risen dramatically over the years, so that they are no longer sufficient to defend a significant market position if it is not accompanied by an implicit added value in the company’s culture. If you are not different for any reason, you will be replaced for any reason.

What about a company that bases its strategy on copying? 

We often use the following slogan in our office: “If they copy you, it means they envy you and if they criticize you, it means they cannot copy you”. All in all, shortcuts may seem to help initial growth, but they are short-sighted and very detrimental to the brand equity of any company. The consumer has matured thanks to rapid access to information, so the end it is he who ends up rewarding and punishing, even more than a severe court sentence.