Terms of business

HØIBERG terms of business

HØIBERG aims to provide prompt and effective counselling in a complex and specialised area of law with due consideration of the commercial aspects of our clients’ intellectual property rights. We not only provide legal advice; we also listen to our clients and adapt our procedures to accommodate their individual needs.

Every HØIBERG employee is bound to professional secrecy, and all inquiries made to HØIBERG are treated with strict confidentiality. This confidentiality also includes all material received in connection with the handling of a given case.

We sometimes process personal data in relation to the handling of a case. For more information, please see our privacy and cookie policy on our website.

The terms of business below define a list of important aspects of our relationship with our clients. By understanding and observing these business terms, you, as our client, contribute to a successful collaboration. All professional work carried out by us will be in agreement with these terms.

  1. We expect you to provide timely, complete and accurate information and instructions. Patent authorities often set time limits for performing procedural steps of various kinds, and failure to meet such time limits could lead to an irrevocable loss of rights. We do not accept any liability for a loss of rights if you have not provided clear and complete instructions in sufficient time for us to act within a given time limit. We will advise you of all relevant time limits and of the required actions or instructions.

  2. We expect to be notified promptly of changes in personnel, addresses or ownership rights, as many such changes must be registered with the relevant patent authorities.

  3. Although in urgent cases, we will, if necessary, commence work on the basis of oral instructions alone, we require written instructions (or written confirmation) in any case where a patent application is to be abandoned or allowed to lapse, or in any case where the action to be undertaken involves HØIBERG incurring fees or costs on your behalf, for example filing of a new patent application or instructing foreign colleagues to handle matters which will incur costs locally.

  4. We provide estimates of future costs associated with our work upon request. Cost estimates will be based on fee schedules and exchange rates at the time of the estimate. Our estimates are indicative and are not binding. Actual costs incurred may be influenced by matters beyond our control, and where costs are based on time spent, the amount of work involved cannot always be forecast accurately.

  5. We routinely work in teams of two consultants and one patent administrator in order to optimise the handling of a case. In general, all actions taken on your behalf and services provided to you are chargeable. This may include time spent on telephone calls, sending reminders about upcoming time limits and reporting communications we receive as your appointed agent.

  6. We always require full coverage of disbursements related to for instance official fees paid to patent authorities or expenses coming from work done by foreign patent attorneys based on our instructions. We may require payment on account as a precondition of work to be undertaken on your behalf. Accordingly, we routinely require advance payment of 75% of the total expected costs before commencing our services in relation to for instance foreign filings. A handling fee of 10% is added on disbursements. Completed work is invoiced continuously while ongoing work is invoiced on a monthly basis.

  7. Invoices are to be settled within 14 days from the invoice date. If an invoice is not settled within the payment deadline, we will send reminders, and we reserve the right to charge interests at a base rate on any amount which is overdue. In cases where an overdue amount is long overdue, we further reserve the right to suspend ongoing work until the outstanding amount has been paid. In such circumstances, we will always inform you in writing that we intend to suspend our work.

  8. Unless other agreements have been made and confirmed to us in writing, the organisation or individual who instructs us on a particular matter will be regarded as responsible for settling invoices arising from that matter.

  9. Our case files remain our property. If a case is transferred from HØIBERG to another firm, the case file remains our possession, and access to it will be provided subject to a charge for our work involved. In some cases, we may be prepared to transfer our files without charge if we are indemnified by you against any future claim or request for information from the files in question. Our files may be destroyed when no longer current, and you should therefore inform us if you require the return of any materials sent to us.

  10. We often cooperate with external experts. For example, many national patent authorities require that patent applications are prosecuted by local attorneys. Accordingly, we have an extensive network of professional contacts with whom we work together. We instruct an external expert on your behalf in good faith, and we are not liable for any failure on their part.

  11. HØIBERG is responsible for the counselling provided in accordance with the general provisions of Danish law. HØIBERG is not responsible for any indirect loss or consequential damages, including operating loss, loss of data, loss of earnings, goodwill, reputation, etc. Our professional liability insurance covers our general liability for damages as counsellors. Unless other agreements are made, HØIBERG’s liability in relation to performance of services cannot exceed three times the invoiced and paid fee for the performance of the service. However, any liability for damages is limited to an amount of maximum 10 million Dkr. per actionable act or omission per year. Our liability for damages does not cover subsuppliers. HØIBERG cannot be held liable for claims arising from false, misleading or incomplete information, data or documentation provided by others than HØIBERG.

  12. Disputes concerning HØIBERG’s counselling and these terms of business are governed by Danish law. A dispute can be brought before Danish courts alone.

No material change to these terms is valid unless agreed to in writing by a partner of the firm.

These terms apply to HØIBERG P/S and HOIBERG AB.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.

We look forward to working with you.

HØIBERG

17 May 2024