​This is evident when you visit the Carlsberg neighborhood in Copenhagen with the famous Elephant gate and the site of the original brewery. The old buildings around you take you back in time and it is easy to imagine that once people lived their whole life at Carlsberg. Workers were housed on the brewery grounds and were part of the Carlsberg ‘family’, perhaps for generations. Although Carlsberg’s main production has since moved to Frederica in Jylland, the old brewery site is still a hive of activity. The brewery produces Jacobsen, a novelty beer brand, and the site is also home to a museum, restaurants, a go-carting track and a number of other business and leisure activities.

Carlsberg’s headquarters are located in a high-rise, glass building that was built in the 1960s. In the office where we meet Anne Buch, Carlsberg’s IP & Legal Coordinator, Copenhagen stretches out below us. “They are good at using the grounds for new ideas and new businesses,” Anne says. “For instance, there is a dance company in one of the old buildings.”

Throughout its history, Carlsberg itself has also benefitted from new ideas and new business ventures, with the once local Danish brewery growing into a modern global conglomerate that has witnessed dramatic expansion, particularly over the past few decades. The Carlsberg Group is now the fourth largest brewery in the world. With more than 500 brands represented in 150 markets and an extended international ‘family’ of more than 40,000 employees, Carlsberg represents a truly global business.

Anne Buch came to Carlsberg in 2010 and works with Group IP Director, Niels Lund Johansen. Anne divides her day between IP work, predominantly in the field of trademarks, and supporting the legal department in other matters.

Anne and Niels are a solid team and work very well together, as Anne explains: “Niels and I had previously worked together at another firm, and, when a position became available at Carlsberg, I applied.”  She continues: “We are good sparring partners. We twist and we turn, discuss and advise each other in different matters. We may not always agree on everything, but we have the upmost respect for each other’s opinion.”

An important part of their work is keeping the business in tune with developments in Carlsberg’s IP portfolio as well as raising awareness of the need for protection of the Group’s valuable IP Rights. “It is important that everyone understands why IP protection is so necessary, so we focus a lot on training and educating the rest of the business about IP and its value and importance to the Group, ”Anne says. “For example, it can be about explaining that just because you’ve filed a trademark application, the trademark isn’t immediately ready for use. There are still some other processes to go through".

When Carlsberg develops new brands, Anne is involved early in the process, keeping one ear to the ground, scanning the market and defining from an IP perspective what constitutes a new brand. She says:  “A large part of my work with trademarks consists of finding a balance between what a trademark is and what something more generic is. Not only to find the balance, but also to explain this balance to other parts of the business in the best possible way. That can be a challenge.”

Roles, access and collaboration

When it comes to working with trademarks in the Ipendo Platform™, Anne and Niels liaise closely with Carlsberg ‘s agent, Zacco, who handle most of the case administration work. However, for Anne, the system also helps her maintain oversight of Carlsberg’s international trademark portfolio, enabling her to generate comprehensive reports.

We asked Anne to explain how Carlsberg, as a global organization, manages its trademarks and how Ipendo fits in and is being used?

"The subsidiaries are in many ways autonomous. For instance we at HQ manage international brands such as Carlsberg and Tuborg, whereas the other companies in the Group are responsible for their own local brands. For example in Russia they have their own budget regarding annuities and protection of their regional brand Baltika. Every subsidiary has a certain degree of freedom. There is respect for their brands, their markets, and their history.

“There are no plans on having all IP matters handled at HQ in Denmark,” Anne says. She explains that the IP management is spread throughout the world, reflecting the geographic scale of the Group and its large numbers of subsidiaries. There are corporate IP guidelines for the whole group, and some IP activities are best handled locally.

That is also why Ipendo is a good tool to maintain overview of the diverse Group trademark portfolio.

Collaboration and clearly defined roles and responsibilities are a major factor for Carlsberg in the way that they work with the Ipendo Platform™. The Platform is used to encourage collaborative efforts between different departments across the Group; while also enabling each subsidiary and/or brand team to handle directly the IP relating to their own area within the system. This brings additional benefits in that the Carlsberg Group HQ is able to gain an overview of the entire IP portfolio and identify potential opportunities for synergies and further collaboration.

This way of working in the Ipendo Platform™ boils down to three basic attributes: overview, insight and access, which are important for companies of all size – but are imperative for a global organization like Carlsberg with a large IP portfolio. The overview of the whole Carlsberg Group and the insights provided on the status of IP assets makes it easy for efficient reporting and speedy interventions when required. Meanwhile, the system’s ease of accessibility gives users the ability to manage efficiently who will do what, where and when, without being tied down - but with everything still being tied together in a coordinated manner.

A series of regional IP conferences in 2011 - gave all subsidiaries the chance to come together to meet one another and share experiences. The meetings also provided a perfect opportunity for everyone to learn more about the Ipendo Platform™ through practical demonstrations.

When Anne started working at Carlsberg in 2010, the Ipendo Platform™ had only recently been implemented and, understandably, the IP team across the Group was not very experienced in using the system. Two years on, nearly all the Group’s subsidiaries have received user training and are now experienced in working in the Platform. “The training has gone very well,” says Anne. “It has been mostly through webinars, and I think everyone has received a good knowledge of the system this way and seem to be happy with it.”

We asked Anne whether, where IP is concerned, would Carlsberg like everyone within the Group to work in the same way?

“Well… we do try to streamline and direct the IP work as much as possible,” Anne explains. “It is the goal for the future, of course, that everyone manage their IP according to Group standards and share the view on the importance of IP. “

Earlier in 2011, Carlsberg Denmark celebrated founder J. C. Jacobsen’s 200th birthday with a huge party and free concert on the brewery grounds. During our conversation, we touched on Carlsberg’s long heritage, and what it is like to work in a company which has achieved so much. Does this sense of history spill over to the rest of the Group?

“It is a company and brand with much history, predominantly in Denmark,” says Anne.  Adding: “In the recent global re-launch of the Carlsberg brand the history does play a dominant role and thus influences all of our markets.”

By Malin Lindgårdh / Images: Niclas Tilosius

If you would like to know more about the Carlsberg brand and the Carlsberg Group, please visit: www.carlsberg.com