Our history
From 1865 to today: a journey through 160 years of history. Our history not only reflects the evolution of the leading firm in the sector, but also encompasses the development of industrial and intellectual property in Spain. Over more than a century and a half, we have witnessed and actively participated in major milestones in this field: from the first invention privileges to international systems for the protection of trademarks, patents, and designs. This shared history, that of our firm and that of IP, demonstrates how we have contributed, generation after generation, to building a legal and institutional framework that protects and fosters innovation, creativity, and the value of ideas.
Julio de Vizcarrondo founds Elzaburu in Madrid
Julio de Vizcarrondo Together with his wife, Henriette Brewster Cornell, he founded an industrial property agency, currently the oldest in Spain. Initially, Elzaburu specialized in trademarks and privileges, the precursors to patents.
We register invention privileges
In 1875 we managed our first privilege and in 1878 the last of the firm and of Spain (Privilege No. 5.909). Specifically, these were improvements in the mounting of cannons by Alfred Krupp, an inventor who registered more than 800 inventions throughout his career.
We see the birth of the Patent Law
Our first patent was number 3
On July 30, 1878, the Patent Law was enacted. Under this law, the former "privileges" were renamed "patents," mandatory publication of inventions was introduced, and their duration was limited, marking a turning point in industrial property legislation.
The first patent we registered was Patent No. 3 in the name of Alfred Le Grand and Robert Sutcliff: “Improvements in the manner of drilling or boring wells and in the apparatus or accessories related to said operation, as well as for the introduction of pipes for any other purpose.”
We are witnessing the signing of the Paris Convention
We made the first Nestlé registration in Spain
The Paris Convention was a particularly significant milestone for the protection of trademarks and patents. This agreement established fundamental principles such as the right of priority in registrations and created a common framework for the signatory countries. Shortly before, we registered the Nestlé trademark for the first time in Spain, which was undergoing international expansion.
We manage 20% of patent applications in Spain
Thomas Edison and Graham Bell, major clients of the firm
Driven by technological advances, the firm grew, and we witnessed the birth of great inventions such as the incandescent light bulb by Thomas Alva Edison (one of the greatest inventors of all time, with over a thousand patents) and the telephone by Graham Bell. These two great inventors became distinguished clients of our firm, trusting us to protect their innovations.
Trademark protection simplified by the Madrid Agreement
We protect one of the first brands of what we know today as Unilever
The Madrid Agreement allowed companies to extend the protection of their distinctive signs to other countries with a single international application, which facilitated the process of internationalizing trademarks.
Shortly before, we were already protecting brands such as the British Lever Brothers, one of the founding companies of Unilever.
BIRPI, the first international intellectual property office, is born
We accompany James Bartlett Hammond as he records his typewriter.
The United International Bureaux for the Protection of Intellectual Property (BIRPI), the precursor to today's WIPO, was founded. This organization was the result of the merger of the offices created to administer the Paris and Berne Conventions, with the goal of ensuring that entrepreneurs, inventors, and authors would enjoy similar protection in all countries.
We continue to protect great human inventions, such as the typewriter by James Bartlett Hammond and the sewing machine by Isaac Merritt Singer.
The models and industrial drawings arrive
We protect perfume bottles from the current Puig
In response to the growing industrialization of the time, industrial models and drawings were incorporated into Spanish legislation for the first time. Among the first designs we managed were those from Perfumerías Gal (now Puig), rolling papers from Yborra and José Laporta, and the famous playing cards from Heraclio Fournier.
We participated in the creation of the Spanish IP Association (current COAPI) and the AIPPI
2nd generation: Francisco de Elzaburu Vizcarrondo
Francisco de Elzaburu Vizcarrondo, Julio de Vizcarrondo's nephew, has assumed the firm's leadership. He highlighted its international vocation, its participation in BIRPI and the founding of AIPPI, as well as its role in consolidating the profession of industrial property agent in Spain.We see the birth of the autogyro, the precursor to the helicopter
Juan de la Cierva, a client of the firm with more than 20 patents
Juan de la Cierva worked on various inventions related to improvements and advancements in the autogyro. His patents and developments were fundamental to the design and operation of modern helicopters, as well as laying the foundation for aviation safety. We supported him throughout the registration and protection process, leading to what is now considered the safest and easiest aircraft to pilot.
We accompany veteran companies in their first steps
From the iconic Coca-Cola bottle to Harley Davidson or Puig
Throughout our history, we've been present at the beginning of numerous companies. We registered the Puig brand after its founding and facilitated the entry of brands like Harley-Davidson into the Spanish market.
In 1919, we registered the first Coca-Cola trademark in Spain, and in 1929, we protected models of its iconic bottle, as well as its first metal coolers. That same year, we saw the birth of the new Industrial Property Statute, which introduced key improvements to the protection of patents, trademarks, and industrial designs.
We continued operating during the Civil War and moved to San Sebastián
3rd generation: Alberto de Elzaburu Fernández
Alberto de Elzaburu, with the support of his brother Óscar de Elzaburu, took the reins of the firm during one of the most difficult periods: the Spanish Civil War. During this period, our headquarters moved to San Sebastián, returning to Madrid at the end of the conflict. Despite the conflicts of the time (in Spain and Europe), we continued our activity without interruption and handled the payment of all fees (sometimes even paying them in advance) to ensure that all our clients' rights were preserved once the war was over.
We celebrate our centenary
A century of history, overcoming challenges
After 100 years of uninterrupted activity, during which we experienced historic moments such as the Spanish Civil War, the First and Second World Wars, and the Second Industrial Revolution, we are proud to celebrate our centenary.
BIRPI becomes WIPO
In the midst of growing international cooperation, the Convention establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization, with which BIRPI became WIPO. This change strengthened cooperation among countries and promoted the harmonization of laws and practices, adapting to emerging technological and commercial challenges and consolidating a global system of intellectual property protection.
The AIPPI admits Spanish as an official language
4th generation: Alberto de Elzaburu Márquez
Alberto de Elzaburu took over as president of the firm in 1970, professionalizing it and establishing its international reputation. During his tenure, Elzaburu actively participated in the main industrial property forums and professional associations, contributing to major international milestones, such as the inclusion of Spanish as an official language in the AIPPI (Spanish Association of Intellectual Property Firms) in 1972.
We celebrate the arrival of the PCT system
Spain joins the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), an international system that simplifies and unifies the patent application process across multiple countries. For us, this incorporation represented a key opportunity to strengthen patent management globally, consolidating our position as a benchmark in strategic advice and international prosecution of industrial property.
Spain joins the European Union
Spain joined the European Union, a key step that marked the beginning of the modernization of the legal framework for industrial and intellectual property, with the enactment of fundamental laws that redefined the landscape of protection in the country: the Patent Law (1986), the Intellectual Property Law (1987), the Trademark Law (1988) and the Unfair Competition Law (1991).
The Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (OEPM) is founded.
The OEPM replaced the previous Industrial Property Registry. This change marked a decisive step toward modernizing the Spanish industrial property system, with more efficient procedures and a structure better adapted to European and international standards. As a firm, we witnessed and actively participated in this new institutional phase.
The OHIM is created and we contribute to its location in Spain
We experienced the beginnings of the EUIPO
The creation of the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (now EUIPO) opened up new avenues for European cooperation and managed new industrial property rights, such as Community trademarks and designs. Alberto de Elzaburu played a key role in the campaign to have its headquarters established in Spain.
We registered the first Community trademark in history
AIPPI
We were the first firm to register a Community trademark with the OHIM, on behalf of the AIPPI. The introduction of this system significantly improved the service we offered our clients, expanding their protection options and facilitating more efficient management in the European market.
We make the leap from agency to professional IP firm
We unify Litigation, Anti-Piracy, and Business & Contracts in the Legal area
We created the Legal practice, which encompasses Litigation, Anti-Piracy, and Business & Contracts, formalizing a practice the firm had already been developing. This structure allowed us to better respond to the growing demand for the protection, management, and valorization of our clients' intangible assets, in addition to professionalizing our copyright-related services.
Introducing our first community design
We registered design No. 21 for Mercedes Benz
The OHIM is beginning to accept Community designs, expanding the options for protecting creativity and industrial design in Europe. We were among the first applicants, and among our first registrations were designs for a Mercedes-Benz car and a Mitsubishi pen.
We registered the first international trademark in Spanish
We promote cases that have changed jurisprudence
The registration of international trademarks in Spanish is accepted, and Elzaburu becomes the first firm to carry out this type of registration, providing our clients with more direct and effective protection in international markets. That same year, the Commercial Courts and the Community Trademark Court became operational, marking judicial specialization in Spain, a long-standing demand of the firm's litigation lawyers.
Furthermore, at the beginning of the 1st century, we participated in cases that have changed jurisprudence, such as the first ruling for indirect patent infringement (Technical Concept case), the first stoppel ruling for patent invalidity (Talgo case), or the first STS ruling for parallel imports (Jack Daniel's case).
We formalized the Business and Contracts area
Advice on the management and strategic exploitation of intangible assets
Fifteen years after the creation of the Legal practice, a dedicated Business and Contracts division was created with the aim of professionalizing the service and better supporting our clients in the strategic and legal management of their assets. Since then, this team has been consolidating, adapting, and transforming to respond to the changing needs of the market.
We advise on audiovisual productions: Media&Entertainment is born
Intellectual Property for Cultural Projects
The rise and diversification of audiovisual and cultural productions has posed new legal and strategic challenges. To address this reality, Media&Entertainment was founded, a division that combines legal and industry expertise to protect and promote cultural projects of all kinds: feature films, short films, series, animation, TV programs, reality shows, theater, musicals, and live performances.
New address of the firm
5th generation: Alfonso Diez de Rivera Elzaburu and Ignacio Diez de Rivera Elzaburu
Alfonso and Ignacio Diez de Rivera Elzaburu, along with Mabel Klimt, took over the management of the firm, marking a new era that combines family tradition with strategic renewal. Since then, we have continued to follow the same path laid out with the same enthusiasm, tackling new challenges to maintain sustained growth and consolidate our position as a benchmark in the protection and defense of intangible assets.
We are expanding our services: Innovation Financing
We continue to grow and increase our service offering with the area of financing of R&D&I projects, which was created with the aim of helping our most innovative clients improve the profitability of their projects.
We celebrate our 160th anniversary
In the last 50 years we have protected more than 360.000 files
As the oldest firm in Spain, we've experienced both brilliant and deeply complex periods, but we've always maintained a strong commitment to protecting and enhancing intangible assets. For this reason, we're proud to say that since 1979 (the year we began our digitalization), we've registered more than 212.000 trademarks; 140.000 patents, designs, and plant varieties; and handled more than 1.500 IP lawsuits.
1829 - 1889
Foundation of the firm
Julio de Vizcarrondo
Founder of the Firm. Spain's first IP professional.
(Puerto Rico 1829-Madrid 1889): “Politician, journalist and philanthropist Julio Vizcarrondo founded, together with his wife Henriette Brewster Cornell, the first professional industrial property law firm in Spain in 1865. The firm’s mostly foreign clientele included such names as Edison, Bell or Nestlé.”
1880-1921
Foundation of the firm
Francisco de Elzaburu y Vizcarrondo
Member of the Executive Committee of the AIPPI for Spain from 1897, the year of its founding. Founder of the Spanish Group of the AIPPI in 1904. Founder of the Spanish Association of Industrial Property Agents (forerunner of today's Official Association of Spanish Industrial Property Attorneys) in 1907. Spain's correspondent for the International Bureau (BIRPI) in Geneva from 1895. The Firm’s Managing Director.
2st generation FRANCISCO ELZABURU VIZCARRONDO (Madrid 1862-Madrid 1921): "Francisco Elzaburu Vizcarrondo took over the reins of his uncle's office with the aim of maintaining the firm's professionalism and high level of clientele. His greatest legacy would become one of the firm's hallmarks: its international vocation. He not only participated as a Spanish correspondent at BIRPI (now WIPO) but also in the creation of the Spanish Association of AIPPI and in the consolidation of the profession of industrial property agent in Spain."
1921-1974
Foundations of a professional firm
Alberto de Elzaburu Fernández
3rd generation ALBERTO ELZABURU FERNÁNDEZ
(Madrid 1899 - Madrid 1974): “Alberto Elzaburu Fernández led the firm, then known as Vizcarralza, during some of the most difficult moments in 1965th-century Spanish history. During the Civil War, the firm moved its headquarters to San Sebastián, returning to Madrid at the end of the conflict. Despite the armed conflicts that ravaged Europe during these years, the firm continued operating without interruption and was able to celebrate its centenary in XNUMX.”
1948-2020
Long-standing leadership record
President and Managing Partner of the firm from 1970. Former President (1975-78) and Honorary President of FICPI. Honorary Member of the Spanish Section of FICPI. Former President and Honorary Member of the Spanish Group of AIPPI and Honorary Member of ASIPI.
4st generation Alberto Elzaburu Marquez (Madrid 1927-Madrid 2020): “With his 50 years as president of the Firm, Alberto Elzaburu Márquez manages to professionalize and give the firm great renown and international projection. Throughout this period, ELZABURU is present in the main forums and professional associations and participates in some of the great milestones of industrial property in Europe and in the world: the creation of the brand and community design, the establishment of Spanish as an official language of WIPO, etc. ”
During his presidency he was accompanied by Alfonso Diez de Rivera Elzaburu as Vice President up to 2006 and from 2009 by Antonio Tavira as Managing Director.
1965
Centenary of the Firm
1968
The Firm moves office
The firm moves its headquarters to 21 Miguel Ángel Street.
1972
Spanish at AIPPI
Through the efforts of Alberto de Elzaburu and the Spanish Group of the AIPPI, Spanish is designated one of the Association’s official languages.
1978
FICPI World Congress
FICPI World Congress organized by Alberto de Elzaburu and held in Santiago de Compostela.
1980
WIPO
WIPO names Alberto de Elzaburu as a lecturer for various training courses for officials of the Chinese Patent Office.
1987
Committee in Support of the Designation of Spain as the Seat of the Community Trade Mark Office
Committee in Support of the Designation of Spain as the Seat of the Community Trade Mark Office founded with Alberto de Elzaburu as spokesman.
1996
First community trademark
ELZABURU registers the first Community trademark for the AIPPI.
1997
Litigation Department
Litigation Department established with Antonio Castán as Director.
2000
First Ibero-American Forum on Innovation
First Ibero-American Forum on Innovation, Intellectual and Industrial Property and Development held, with the participation in the Organizing Committee of Alberto de Elzaburu as president and Alfonso Diez de Rivera Elzaburu as committee member.
2004
First international mark in Spanish
Spanish joins French and English as official WIPO languages and ELZABURU files the first international mark in Spanish. ELZABURU files the first Spanish industrial design application under the new Industrial Design Act of 20 with Spain's PTO.
2010
Digital transformation at ELZABURU
In 2010, ELZABURU launched its "Digital File" project. Over the next five years, all files were digitized and physical folders were eliminated. ELZABURU was a pioneer in its digital transformation, becoming a paperless office in Spain.
2011
ISO 9001 and ISO 27001 certifications
ELZABURU achieves ISO 9001 and ISO 27001 certifications. ELZABURU launches its Chinese website and becomes a member of the Forum of Renowned Spanish Brands.
2012
Visit of a delegation from the Beijing Intellectual Property Office to Elzaburu
A delegation of members of the Beijing Intellectual Property Office, led by its Deputy Director Mr. Li Zhong, visited the ELZABURU firm.
2013
ELZABURU opens office in Beijing
ELZABURU officially opened its Beijing office (the formal opening was in 2014).
2014
ELZABURU culminates its programme of further professionalization
The firm is converted into a limited liability professional partnership. The professional partners become shareholders and join the Management Board. The firm diversifies, its practice areas now extending to business law, media and entertainment, and anticounterfeiting. ELZABURU breaks new ground with offices in Beijing, Munich, Valencia, and Alicante.
2015
ELZABURU celebrates its 150th anniversary
A history of industrial and intellectual property in three different centuries.
2017
INTA Meeting in Barcelona
ELZABURU organizes social event at INTA in Barcelona.
2020
New corporate branding
ELZABURU completely renews its corporate image, reflecting its commitment to adapt to the new demands of a marketplace that is subject to constant technological and social change.
2021
New Management and 5th Generation #ExcitingRevolution
Alfonso Díez de Rivera Elzaburu, President; Mabel Klimt, Managing Partner; and Ignacio Díez de Rivera Elzaburu, Partner and Director of Operations.
5th generation: ALFONSO DÍEZ DE RIVERA ELZABURU AND IGNACIO DÍEZ DE RIVERA ELZABURUBoth are partners in the firm and lawyers specializing in intellectual and industrial property with over 30 years of experience. Throughout their professional careers, they have held various positions within the firm. They currently serve on the management team, along with Mabel Klimt, who serves as managing partner.
#ExcitingRevolution
2021
ELZABURU changes its headquarters and moves to the Crystal Tower
At this new headquarters, we have more than 150 professionals working collaboratively, utilizing new management models and taking advantage of the advanced technological tools available.