The Sticky Side of Diversification

The German adhesives manufacturer, DELO Industrial Adhesives, has announced plans to expand into the MedTech field. The company is one of the largest globally-distributed commercial adhesives manufacturers, and its already well-established expertise in bonding materials will undoubtedly gain quick traction in the field given the rise of wearable MedTech devices in recent years.

For any company that is already a leader in its field, expansion into a new market will be a carefully planned move. Intellectual property should form part of these plans, particularly in ensuring that any new activities are covered under the scope of existing trade mark registrations, or otherwise, by filing new applications to cover these interests.

From a brief search of trade mark registers, it doesn't appear that DELO have sought registration of any marks in class 5 (where adhesives for MedTech devices would belong). This serves as a useful reminder that even if your core interests remain the same, a different application for that general class of products may mean that you need to seek trade mark protection in new classes. There are key differences between industrial adhesives covered in class 1 and medical/skin adhesives in class 5, not least because adhesives for use on the skin will need to be specially formulated to avoid irritation.

As such, whilst DELO does appear to have fairly comprehensive protection for its activities to date (in class 1), having identified a gap in a new market and started its “foray” into that space, they should also be looking to identify and plug any gaps in their TM portfolio. This will put them in the strongest possible position to enforce their rights should the need arise.