ELZABURU celebrates 160 years as a pioneer in IP protection
In 2025, ELZABURU, the oldest intellectual property (IP) firm in Spain, celebrates its 160th anniversary since its founding in 1865, marking a historic milestone in the world of innovation, invention, and brand protection.
Throughout its distinguished history, ELZABURU has played a pivotal role in the evolution of intellectual and industrial property in Spain and internationally. Key milestones include its participation in the founding of Spain’s first IP association in 1907, achieving Spanish as an official language of AIPPI in 1972, registering the first-ever European trademark in 1996, and filing the first international trademark in Spanish in 2004.
To commemorate this legacy, the firm has inaugurated a mini-museum within its Madrid offices, showcasing original designs, sketches, and historical documents used in registering some of the world’s most iconic inventions, trademarks, and designs — many of which have left an indelible mark on modern life and technological progress.
Among the landmark innovations ELZABURU has helped protect are the incandescent lamp by Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell’s telephone, Singer’s sewing machine, the Lumière brothers’ early photographic devices, Gillette’s safety razor, Juan de la Cierva’s autogyro, and the Rolls Royce combustion engine.
The firm has also been behind the registration of trademarks for global giants such as Nestlé, Cadbury, Martini, Harley-Davidson, Dunlop, and Coca-Cola, as well as the first EU designs for brands like Mercedes-Benz and Mitsubishi.
Over the past 160 years, ELZABURU has positioned itself as a key partner to innovators, entrepreneurs, and businesses, helping them protect and enforce their intangible assets while contributing significantly to economic and technological development.
Today, ELZABURU continues to lead in the field of intellectual and industrial property, offering comprehensive services in legal protection, strategic advisory, and asset valuation. The firm is composed of 155 professionals, including attorneys and technical experts such as engineers, chemists, biologists, biotechnologists, and physicists.
With over 60,000 active trademarks, 4,700 patents and industrial designs, and more than 1,500 litigations handled or ongoing, ELZABURU remains at the forefront of intellectual property law — a legacy built on innovation, excellence, and unwavering commitment to protecting ideas that shape the world.
