• Radu Bozocea is an expert in intellectual property rights, with a career spanning more than two decades. He is currently a partner at Weizmann Ariana & Partners, where he is dedicated to ensuring legal protection for his clients' creations.
His career in this field began as a result of a professional revelation, when, from a concrete need encountered in his previous work, he realized the strategic importance of intellectual property to protect and capitalize on unique creations.
Radu Bozocea understood that this form of ownership not only ensures exclusive rights, but also stimulates innovation and development. In his view, intellectual property protection is the foundation on which progress is built, giving creators the security they need to keep innovating.
In addition to his consulting work, Radu is also an active promoter of intellectual property education, encouraging small and medium-sized companies to register their brands and creations to protect and capitalize on their innovations. He argues that intellectual property should not be perceived as a luxury reserved for large corporations, but as an accessible and vital tool for any business that wants to grow and prosper in the long term.
His vast experience and dedication have made Radu Bozocea a central figure in the field of intellectual property in Romania, a specialist who not only understands the complexity of this field, but also knows how to transform this knowledge into competitive advantages for his clients.
1. You are a partner in an intellectual property agency, Weizmann Ariana & Partners. First of all: how did you end up working in this field? Because it's not the kind of career you dream of since childhood...
Correct! But even in adulthood you don't dream of it, because it is niche. There are so few people in this field that it's hard to wish for it: the field chooses you. And in my case, it was because I needed it.
22 years ago, I was working in a company in a completely different field. When I realized what a great advantage it can be to have a product or a name all your own, I stuck with it. I didn't know this solution existed, because you usually think of property as something you can actually purchase and own.
Thus, after long searches through specialized magazines, I found that there is this concept of intellectual property, that is, you are granted some rights, through a certificate, over your creations.
This approach represented a revelation at the level of the whole of Europe, in fact. If I remember correctly, the vice president of the State Duma once said that the number one advantage of Western society is intellectual property.
Because that's the only way you can move forward, encouraging people, giving them ownership of what they create. Thus, they will be stimulated to create, innovate and everyone will benefit from this property of theirs.
It seemed so interesting to me that you can get such a certificate on your intellectual effort, that from the position of a client I stayed, for 22 years, to deal with intellectual property rights.
2. What is the landscape of trademarks in Romania? How would you explain, in a way that everyone can understand, what a trademark means and why it is important for a business in general, but also for the bakery or confectionery field?
For your field it's really easy for me to explain. If you go to any supermarket there are shelves with bread. Of all the products out there, if we imagine what it would be like to have no name, all to be the same, you wouldn't know what to choose for yourself…
The differentiation is made, first of all, according to the packaging, which means the name, but also its shape. I've been choosing my favorite bakery product based on the shape I know for a long time.
How to create that brand is even simpler to explain: if it is related to the product, for example if the packaging is brown for brown bread, it is only difficult if there are several varieties of brown bread.
Here I have an example where a ketchup manufacturer decided to market their product in purple packaging. When the consumer goes to the ketchup shelf they are all red, so the one that is different will attract their attention. If he liked it, next time he won't think twice: he will go straight to the ketchup in purple packaging. Here it is important to point out that colors can also be registered for a certain domain.
The consumer has a sense of security because that purple product is unique, it's good, it's made by a single producer, he tried it, he liked it, and then he'll clearly choose it over all the others. To ensure that your product remains protected it is important to own that registration certificate.
Distinctiveness ensures product recognition
Returning to the registration of a color, the most famous example is that of the Milka brand. When we get to the chocolate shelf and see that chocolate bar, we know it's a Milka product and go straight to it. It is difficult for the other brands that cannot differentiate themselves in this way, they did not choose to register a certain color. In this case, the consumer must read the label to decide which product is right for him.
To stay in the field of chocolate, not only the color can be registered, but also the shape. Here we are talking about the Toblerone brand. Holding a registration certificate for that shape, it is the only triangular chocolate brand on the market. These, in specialized language, are examples of distinctiveness. That is, if I like Toblerone chocolate, I go and buy it directly and quickly, without looking for it among many other similar brands, because it stands out due to its shape.
It is essential that when a consumer likes your product, it is easy for them to choose from a multitude of products. And this is achieved through distinctiveness, which involves an intellectual effort. I really created something and that something the state allows me, through a certificate, to be only mine and for everyone to recognize me by that thing.
And I'll give you another example of chocolate: Ritter Sport. And here we are still talking about a specific form. But do you know where the shape comes from? It was exactly the shape of the tennis shirt pocket, I think. It could be taken out and consumed during the match. It is an equally distinctive registered form.
Shape is essential in distinguishing a product. In a previous interview for Ziarul Financiar, I was talking about Aqua Carpatica. An entrepreneur, who made a strong brand of water, later sold, what else could he invent for a new product? What makes it different? By the shape of the bottle! Think it's the only square one so far and how well it stacks and how much that helps with transport. He was the first to have the idea and make that shape.
3. What are the first three things a Romanian entrepreneur should know about intellectual property protection?
The first thing, that the rest derives from it, is that just by registering the name, shape, color or recipe you will earn money. Because otherwise, by not registering any of them, even if you put a successful product on the market, you will be copied by others.
So here we are not only talking about the procedure of registering something. But about how one can make money from it. I think it is clear to everyone that there are many products on the market for which only the brand matters. Otherwise, no one looked at the ingredients. You buy them for the brand.
Small or medium producers, those who have not reached that level, say that it does not matter. They say that the product itself is what is important for the consumer. But the brand is important! And now I'll tell you when...
The listed brand is an asset
When you don't have a registered trademark, any advertising, publicity, promotion expense is an expense entered into the accounting as such. If you have a registered trademark, any expense of promoting a product or your company is placed on top of that registered trademark. This means that the listed brand is an asset – that it is transferred to assets – and any advertising expenditure is added to the value of the asset. When valuing the brand, the value of your brand may be higher than the value of all the assets you have, and this happens very often, especially with big brands.
There used to be a chain of Leonardo shoes, which went bankrupt. I don't know what the company was called or where it was from or what it was. At one point, the insolvency firm sold only the brand for more than it sold the rest of the assets. And why? Because someone said: "I sell these shoes anyway, but if I put Leonardo on them, more people come to me." So it was possible to sell the brand separately from the rest of the assets.
The brand itself is an asset that starts with registration and continues throughout, with every advertising spend you have, with every social information you add. Because the brand represents a reputation, that is, a valuable brand, it is a brand with a history and without incidents. That means a reputation: already more than a promotion! And then, at some point, you can give up that brand.
4. You said in a previous interview that a strong brand translates in the eyes of the consumer as reputation, trust and consistency. Does brand protection help build trust with customers?
Correct! It cannot be done otherwise. Think that the name of the product, the shape of the product in general, its presentation is the interface between me and the customer. With this I want to communicate my message to the client that it is a good, expensive, cheap, healthy product.
What I say about that product also contains a request: "at least try". When I try that product, I obviously associate the product with its presentation. So if I like it, next time I will choose it for that presentation. If I don't like it, I reject it for that presentation.
This is where the importance of branding comes into play. You managed to convince a lot of people to taste your product, but at some point they can't distinguish it on the shelf anymore, because you don't have a brand, you're somehow among the rest. And then the consumer might try other products, because you failed to give him a distinctiveness about the taste he tried, so that when he reaches the shelf, he chooses you directly - we go back to the purple ketchup story.
The brand builds loyalty
So also in your field, without giving examples, there are completely different forms of bakery products, which I consume and recognize. I don't look at the rest because I know these, I took them once, twice, I recognize them. They have very brightly colored packaging and the same shape I'm used to. And then you take it, because you know it: they didn't make it longer, shorter, taller. It's exactly the same strong brand that created the feeling of loyalty.
And it is also very important that since I bought it, since I saw it for the first time until now, nothing has changed to my satisfaction. Nothing! I see it and already know how it will taste. And then the idea comes to you to try something else?
The message is so strong that I am a loyal consumer of that brand, and maybe for the others I will become a taster. But she kept me because she created this ability to recognize it. So the presentation recorded so that it is only of the respective brand, made me loyal and probably more people.
5. Can a recipe be registered as a trademark?
Depending on the complexity, it can register as a patent. I can't register the name everyone knows as "Cow Stew", for example, but I can register a product that has the ingredients I say, in the amounts I say, and made the way I say. The resulting product is only mine, created by me, from the practical process to the dosage of the ingredients. And after that I hope that whoever created such a new soup will also find a new name for it. That if he says "Cow soup" it can be registered and everyone will know that it is made with that recipe.
6. What are the essential steps to protect intellectual property in our field? What steps can entrepreneurs take to start the trademark protection process? Are they different depending on the industry or is it strictly the same process?
It is very important to know that with our accession to the EU in 2007, we had to slowly recover the gap in this field of intellectual protection. I mean, efforts have been made and now we are at the level of Europe in the sense that you will get the rights with a simple online application. That's the idea: to make intellectual property accessible to everyone. Not to be elitist, as it has an aura that it belongs only to big brands.
For 2-3 years now, funds have been given so that companies, but also individuals, can register their rights, because that's the only way we can move forward. If someone feels that their creation is protected, then they have the courage to go in that direction and they have the courage to start selling it.
We have changed our mentality a lot, but there are still manufacturers who put a lot of emphasis on product quality and distribution, having their loyal customers. And that's it! I think it's only a matter of time until someone will explain to them how big the advantage of registering your brand is. Because everything I own: "I have distribution", "I have a very good recipe", "people know me", "I know from the packaging that it's mine", they are just words. Only at the time of registration will they have some extra rights, some extra assets on the company.
7. Why do you think small and medium-sized companies are still reluctant to take these steps?
It's an elitist thing, a perception error. Intellectual property rights are obtained very simply, through an online application. I tell you these things also to encourage you.
Certain procedures are followed and it still takes nine months for the certificate to be issued. And obviously a lot of people are asking why it's taking so long. And I answer: if it takes 9 months to give you a certificate, it means that it is valuable.
It means that those procedures that are carried out certify that a job is done like the world. And that's because it's also checked if there is someone else who has a similar product. It also leaves a period of opposition for other interested parties, so it really lasts.
But it must be emphasized that the protection starts from the moment you submitted the application. It takes 9 months to give you the certificate. The first step anyone should take: they should call to ask how difficult it is. And it will become clear that there is absolutely nothing difficult in this process.
8. What are the common mistakes that an entrepreneur who wants to file a trademark application can make?
That is a very good question. The first and biggest mistake is that they don't look back, that there are other similar brands that already exist. More than 100 brands are registered in Europe per year, which are also valid in Romania.
So, every day, the chances that your brand is already registered by someone else in another country in Europe are increasing. That is, since we are part of the European Community, it is no longer just about the brands that are in Romania today, but all the brands in Europe matter.
9. And then what chance does a small business entrepreneur have to go it alone?
My advice is to submit the application yourself and see after that whether or not you need a specialist consultant. I can exemplify with figures that maybe this way it is much easier for the readers as well.
If the registration fees for an average brand are around 2.000 lei, this amount is paid within 9 months and you have a brand certificate. If you go to a consultant, he might still charge you, say, between 1.000 and 2.000 lei, probably.
If we take the maximum case, you pay 2.000 lei without a consultant, 4.000 lei with a consultant within nine months. For someone to make a logo for you, they will ask you, I don't know exactly, 5-10 thousand lei. And still spending less than 1.000 euros on your brand is insignificant, regardless of any other expenses of the company. An employee's salary for a month!
The costs do not compare to the benefits
From my point of view, this value does not compare to the benefits you get. I mean, even taking the maximum calculation, the case where you go to the consultant: you paid 4000 lei, but then you also have the certainty that he will get you through the whole process. If you submit the application yourself, the fees are not refunded if at the end you are not granted the certificate, that processing errors happen.
There are things that you can do yourself, but there are things that, if you have just learned about them and they are also very important, you should leave them to the specialists. Because here we are talking about the brand of the company, that is, we are talking about the name that everyone recognizes when talking about your company.
10. Walk us through all this terminology. What are the differences between a trademark and other forms of intellectual property protection such as patents?
Registered trademark let's say she is the most famous, because she can protect a lot of things. Trademarks are of many kinds, the most common being the word and the logo part.
Apart from that written brand – drawing, logo, etc. – there are also olfactory brands. As an example, a tennis ball manufacturer recorded the smell of fresh grass for the tennis balls it produced. Think that everyone who played tennis knew whose balls they were, that they were from that company.
There are auditory trademarks, such as Metro Goldwyn Mayer's lion roar and the sound you hear on Microsoft when you open your computer.
They are three-dimensional marks, that is, you can record the 3D shape of the product, not only a face, not only a word, exactly what the product looks like in volume.
There are positioning marks which means I record a certain spot on the packaging where I want to put the brand, but only that spot four inches up, three inches down, 45 degrees. And it means that only in that position can I make my mark.
"Patent gives you a monopoly"
I'll tell you a secret: think that the most hunted businesses are those of monopoly. The trademark gives you a monopoly, the patent gives you a monopoly, the industrial design gives you a monopoly. So only I am allowed to sell. This is what all of Europe is based on: being able to empower people to create, and others to register, so that companies can use.
And then I return to the question and tell you more easily: the first time is the brand. Which is not necessarily the name of the company and which sometimes is very good not to be related to the name of the company. Let me tell you why: at some point, my company, which is called something different from the brand I promote myself with, might change partners, might go bankrupt, might could merge. No one knows what's on the bill. So that name of the company that I see on the invoice does not interest me. On the bill, in the middle of the bill is a big mark. The company may change, but the brand remains the same.
Know that it is a common and normal practice in the western world. So with them, the brands are not registered on the company that uses them, because if the company suffers something, I want to stay with the brand. Mercedes has an intellectual property company where they presumably keep all their intellectual property rights completely separate from the rest. Because any company that relies on technology, on patents, must always be safe. Brands, patents can be pledged, mortgages can be left at the bank. So you can't leave them to chance.
Brand – more important than company name
And then, coming back, the brand is very important and it is very good that it is not like the name of the company. There are other reasons, because the name of the company from the Trade Register may be given at one time and another, it's more complicated. Brand means the name with which I present myself to clients. On the same brand I can sell to several companies, I can franchise, I can give licenses, I can do whatever I want with that brand.
After the brand comes the shape of the product which is called an industrial design. It only protects the shape of the product; a picture is taken of the product and deposited. It takes much less time – two to three months – and costs much less. It has a characteristic that you are asked for a statement, that you created it. So these designs can't be researched to see if you're prior or not, because there's no such thing as a list.
And after that comes the patent, about which I will tell you very briefly, because there are very few companies that invest in such a thing. But if they invest, they get a 20-year exclusivity on a product, only they are allowed to produce that thing!
The brand is "for life"
Brand it is for life, but with a renewal period every 10 years. After 10 years you have to pay a much lower renewal fee, because that way you show your interest in the brand and you don't leave the brands in lock-in.
And there are copyrights, which are also important. It applies to the side of artistic creation, i.e. texts, videos, presentations. And they are protected.
OSIM gives a certificate for trademarks, designs and industrial models, patents and ORDA only gives for copyrights. But he does not give a certificate. ORDA has some specialists who, in a certain dispute, can give their opinion. But anyway the final opinion is given in court. With copyright, things are much more complicated.
11. What advantages can the registration of a trademark bring for products specific to our industry, in competition with international brands?
I can tell you that I was surprised that Croco are Romanians. Yes! When I first found out, I was surprised. I was convinced they were a foreign brand, so that's the advantage. With the right branding, with the right registration, you can no longer differentiate between the products of the giants and the products of ordinary people. Because they made an extremely distinctive and good product. Basically, with a trademark you are fighting anyone on an equal footing.
Now I give the second example: Alka! What is the difference between Alka and Ulker, who must be strangers? So, if you register your brand, if you brand it correctly, monitor it correctly, there is no difference between you and an international brand, which is essential in intellectual property.
On par with international brands
In the bakery business I could say that trademark registration is just at the beginning. But in the meat and meat industry, things are different. Foreign brands did not enter there, because it seems that there were some very creative Romanian players, who also record a lot. And that's because there is much more competition in the meat industry.
And in the wine industry, when there were only a few wineries, you could count the products on your fingers. When many wine regions and producers appeared there was an explosion in labels. If you enter a specialized store it's like a carousel, you don't know where to turn your eyes: that's what the competitive market means. Intellectual property professionals can determine where a competitive market is developing because that is where most trademark applications come from.
12. And does the label sell?
Of course yes! First of all through distinctiveness, through the fact that I manage to distinguish the product from the others through the label. You realize now, managing to make a different label is almost impossible. In my opinion, the challenge is to manage to maintain the quality of your product with the labels you have already won in the market.
Going back to the meat industry versus the bakery industry. I think the competition is much greater in the meat industry. There the products are even more diversified. In baking, it is possible that those in the field are so confident in their recipe and the relationship they have with the end customer that they no longer consider it important that the brand will remain and sell.
Indeed, from what I have seen, there are names that dominate the market and the customer asks the seller if "he has bread from ... or bread from..." Well, if the bread from that manufacturer was always put in a distinctive red bag, no one would ask - they'd just go and get it off the shelf. But at the moment the packaging is not very different and you have to look through them to find your product.
Add something distinctive to your product packaging
However, there are also some examples in this field. If you go to the supermarket, you will see that there are special packages for certain brands of bread. Because opting to make the bag in three colors or four is not a very big investment, neither in marketing nor financially. I mean, you don't have to do, I don't know what design, but do something on that bag or on that packaging, so that I don't have to ask the seller anymore: "Do you have bread from…?". You already know the taste and it's much more practical for you that way.
And going back to the intellectual property part: I made that packaging that I just put a stripe on. No matter what color the stripe is, how thick it is, what it says, record it to make sure you're the only one doing it.
Because obviously when you make distinctive packaging, if it works, others will try to copy you. Therefore, before you put the product on the market with the distinctive packaging, the application must be submitted. This way you will create a long-lasting relationship with the client and much more relaxed, easier, as I said in the previous examples at the beginning of the interview: color and shape.
The investment is small, it just seems like a lot of effort. Ask someone to make you a flower on that packaging, a butterfly, anything and a color as special as possible to stand out, record it and put it on the shelf and you will see how your product stands out from the rest of the products.
13. You said it takes 9 months to register the certificate. Can the times and conditions be optimized?
It takes 9 months to issue the certificate. But your right comes from when you submitted the application. They can't optimize anymore and it's only right that it should be that way.
This is the standard procedure, not only in Romania, but throughout Europe and in the United States, where it is even more complicated. Think that at the end of these 9 months you have a certificate, as I said, of monopoly. That is, the state gives you a certificate telling you that only you can use it. If the state gives you that certificate, the state undertakes to defend you. With that certificate, if you see that a product like yours has appeared, you don't even have to go to the consultant. You go directly to the police and report that a product like yours has appeared on the market: this is called counterfeiting.
There are thousands of examples, that it happens very often. I don't think there is anyone who hasn't bought replica perfumes, sports shoes, clothes online. That is, it is clear that there the product has a lower value. I give you the last example that has reached us. A shoe store had its entire website cloned, including its name and graphical interface. The order could only be launched with payment on delivery, and in the package you received something completely different than you expected. If they didn't have the trademark, the website interface, everything, they wouldn't have been able to ban the other company.
14. Now to be the devil's advocate: I registered my brand, the world knows me, don't I attract these risks?
Yes: success is a risk, that's right! And that's why there are these certificates that are issued and that's why the procedure is quite tough, in the sense that you can go directly to the police. And in the cases presented, it was only about money. But think what would happen if someone starts counterfeiting a medicine. Or at hospitals, for the names to resemble each other: that would be terrible.
Here, in the bakery, let's say it's the option for the better of the one who owns the company. But there are areas where these things are mandatory. Security companies do not get a license until the brand is registered. It's a condition imposed by the police. They made it a condition that when you start a security and protection company you have a trademark on the name. Uniqueness, distinctiveness and help given to the consumer to choose you must be mandatory things.
The brand requires seriousness
They help you, but they impose a great deal of seriousness on you over time. That means you have to maintain the level of brand quality there or maybe even above. And the brand will grow. But it obliges, it's the business card, the reputation.
It doesn't matter what company it belongs to. This brand can be assigned and given to other companies, especially in the case of franchises where you agree to use not only the name but also what the interior looks like. They are registered as industrial designs. You use them because I guarantee the customer that if you use the brand, he will have the quality he expects. I wanted to emphasize here that the brand does not necessarily have to be mine and managed by me. I have to set some criteria for those who use this brand.
15. Do you think there is enough information for entrepreneurs in Romania regarding the registered trademark and the help it can present in their business?
Yes, that's enough information. I don't see the disruption on the information side, I see it on the generation side. Today's startups don't imagine launching without a brand, they put it down to start-up costs. I perfectly agree with the other generations for whom it is important to be serious. Perfectly true! The plus is that if you are serious and appreciated by customers, the state allows you to register all this through a brand.
It only costs you 4.000 lei and all these things you have done over time you store and they can also be evaluated. And if at some point you need it, you can pledge this brand to the bank or you can leave it to the children.
The intellectual property part comes in addition to the things that those who made the first businesses believed in.
16. Do you think it will become mandatory to register the brand?
No, never. And that's the best thing. If there is an obligation, it already loses its value. There is no longer a difference between those who really feel that they are needed and that they have value and the rest who are struggling to do something of value.
Of two companies, one having the distinctive mark from the brand and one not having it, the second one will raise questions for the customer: "Didn't he have 4.000 lei to make a brand for himself, so I know it's him?" The trademark certifies the brand in the eyes of others and at the same time warns that you have ownership rights if someone wants to copy you.
17. Compared to say five years ago, how do you see this field in which you operate now and how do you see it in the near future? Will entrepreneurs be more open to registering their brands?
The market forces you. Compared to 10 years ago, there is a huge difference. We are called to companies that ask us to find ways to protect some creations that we don't know where to catch in the catalog. So it has reached the level where every thought, every sketch, every plan is recorded.
In the case of design firms or developing new recipes it is even more important. If the employee leaves with the prescription, whose prescription is it? A big argument ensues, the employee claims he did it, the employer says it was in the job description and he did it with the utensils there. But if, when he makes the recipe, you, as a company, register it, there are no doubts, it's easy.
Thus, compared to 5 years ago, I think it is a leap, but compared to 10 years ago, it is an enormous difference. With the brands we switched to the European system in 2007, now being perfectly aligned with them.
Monopoly in 18 EU countries
An office has appeared for patents, where if you submit the patent, you automatically receive it valid in 18 European countries. That is, if you bring any improvement to a machine, which can be patented, you will have a monopoly in 18 countries of the European Community, to sell only that product. It makes no sense to list yourself in countries you will never reach. But in European countries it's quite reasonable to think that you'll end up or someone else will do something similar. This is the case with large technology companies.
For normal companies, by investing in the registered brand you are basically investing in that relationship you have with the client. You know it's your brand and the customer will always remain yours, you make them loyal. That's where the money comes from, he recognizes you easily. And besides, I'm going to say that it's hard to believe that anyone doesn't think that all the advertising or promotion spending that they do is not wasted, but collected somewhere.
18. In conclusion, what an argument call to action can you add to convince entrepreneurs to consider protecting their brand?
Well, if you still have doubts about this, whether to register or not, it means that there are a lot of leaks in the company. If this - which is essential - you still doubt, there are many other things in the company that you should see. That's where it starts.
You must feel that that name is only yours. You don't need someone else to tell you. And that translates into intellectual property. How many times does a business owner say their business name or brand name per day? I say that for every pronunciation of that name, one leu, 50 money, something is added. But what if it's not yours?
You register so that someone doesn't come and tell you to change the name that you have had for a long time, because he has one registered more recently that is similar to yours. For example: someone has not registered their trademark. Someone else comes along, makes a similar brand and also does an aggressive marketing campaign. When it comes to the dispute, justice will not be given to the first who worked and built, but did not make his trademark. They will win the second one.
Negligence is punished
Why don't you register a thing that you created and consider good? Why don't you ask the state to be yours? Doesn't that mean you're a bit careless?
Taking advantage of another's negligence may not be moral, but this negligence is normally punished almost everywhere. I think that's the essence of the interview: one does, the other wins, if the first one doesn't register the mark. I know it hurts…
It doesn't matter that you created a name, register it and maybe someone will only need that name and then you can sell it separately from the rest of the company. You can lose your work if you don't register it, or you can stop benefiting from it if you're not careful. Your work is in vain. The only proper form of capitalization of your work is intellectual property capitalization, in which case you keep your brand safe.
Interview conducted by Gabriela Dan, Editor-in-Chief of Arta Albă
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