The German multinational auditing firm, TÜV Rheinland, issued two certificates accrediting that both the Quality Management System (QMS) and the Information Security Management System (ISMS) implemented by ABG meet the requirements established by standards 9001 and 27001, respectively, drafted by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
The scope of the certificate in both cases relates to the services provided through various departments at ABG Intellectual Property and described in the certifying document as follows:
“Services relating to consultancy, obtainment, maintenance, monitoring, enforcement and trading of assets in the field of industrial and intellectual property (such as patents, utility models, industrial designs, trademarks and the like) as well as technical and legal assistance in conflicts and disputes over industrial and intellectual property, both on a national and international level.”
ISO 9001: Quality Management Systems
ISO is an independent, non-governmental organisation formed by standardisation entities from 165 countries. Its goal is to establish common standards which, in its own words, “describe the best way of doing something”, regardless of the sector and the size of the undertaking or institution. A great deal has changed in the way of doing things since the organisation began in 1946; therefore, through different committees, ISO standards have been updated and adapted to the times.
Namely, ISO 9001, for which ABG has obtained certification, lays down the standard for Quality Management Systems (QMS). In other words, it provides a set of policies, processes, documented procedures and records which control how the service is provided to the customer. Setting these internal standards in motion definitively guarantees customer satisfaction as well as the implementation of improvements when needed.
“From the perspective of the Human Resources Department, obtaining both ISO seals has allowed us all to be an equal part of the basic pillars of our company culture: providing quality customer service, constantly improving and adapting to the particular needs of each customer, and caring for key aspects in asset management such as the security of the information that we receive from them,” asserts David Manuel Cortés Lomas, Human Resources Manager at ABG IP.
ISO 27001: Information Security Management System
In turn, ISO 27001 specifies how to establish, implement, maintain and continuously improve the Information Security Management System (ISMS) within the context of the organisation. Furthermore, in order to obtain certification it is necessary to describe how security risks are assessed and mitigated.
The importance of ISO 27001 in an Intellectual Property firm
For the legal sector, this standard is extremely important, as it ensures that a firm complies with the principles of data confidentiality, integrity and availability. In this sense, a customer may rest at ease knowing that their information is stored and processed preventing any unauthorised accesses physically and/or contractually, that the documentation has not been altered or modified, and that they will be able to access it whenever required.
For ABG Intellectual Property, obtaining ISO 9001 and 27001 certifications represents a type of recognition for systems that we defined when the company was founded and have been the guiding force in relationships with our customers from the onset. Earning this seal of international validity somehow symbolises all the effort that has been poured in over the years and is yet another guarantee of our search for excellence in our relationships with present and potential customers.
