Digip digitizes the trademark application process • TechCrunch

For businesses, trademark protection is often a time-consuming and expensive process, especially if they have multiple trademarks. Digip digitizes much of the process, helping clients file trademarks themselves instead of going to law firms. The Stockholm-based legaltech startup announced today that it has added $1.3 million to its funding round, bringing the total to $3.4 million. The new funding was led by Industrifonden and Seed X, with participation from family offices and angel investors.

Founded in 2020, Digip now has 500 customers in 42 countries, ranging from startups to large enterprises making hundreds of dollars in revenue. Digip currently earns approximately $500,000 in annual recurring revenue and this amount is expected to triple in fiscal 2022. Over the past year, Digip has also expanded its IP service into the United States and other international markets.

Co-founder and CEO Viktor Johansson told TechCrunch that Digip was founded after his team found that entrepreneurs were reluctant to use traditional law firms that charge by the hour. To file trademarks, companies generally ask a lawyer to carry out trademark searches. They are charged per search, which adds up quickly if a business has multiple trademarks they need to register a trademark. Then they have to pay a lawyer to file trademark applications. But the process does not end there. Companies also have to monitor their brands in the markets where they own them, and that’s another burden.

Digip combines all of these steps into one online workflow. Instead of charging for different parts of the process, its clients pay a monthly or annual flat fee, plus filing fees charged by trademark offices.

Businesses can use Digip to research trademarks and get free on-demand advice from its team. If they become subscribers, they can then use Digip’s platform to manage their trademark filings in 180 countries. The platform enables this with a brand warehouse that has updated brand data. Data collection and updates are automated as Digip enters new markets.

It also trains AI/ML algorithms for searches spanning 100 languages ​​and manages client brands by reading and interpreting brand data. This automates onboarding and makes Digip’s process scalable.

Johansson said Digip originally considered offering its services to law firms, but decided against it because they are slow to adopt legal technology. But Digip has a worldwide network of lawyers that its clients can turn to for help.

Johansson said Digip’s biggest markets are the UK, the Nordics and the European Union, and demand from the US, Canada and Australia is growing. Many of its clients are venture-backed companies that run digital businesses in industries such as SaaS, deep tech, direct-to-consumer, life sciences, metaverse, blockchain, and cloud computing. fintech.

“The cool thing about the trademark is that you pick up on early commercial trends,” Johansson said. “We have been involved in some interesting projects with emerging technologies that will hit the market in the years to come. It’s a really fun and exciting part of our setup.

Johansson said Digip’s closest competitors are still law firms, but he also sees lawyers as close associates. “Because the digitization of legal has been slow, many businesses are stuck in legacy invoices in the age of branded solutions,” he said. “Some law firms that rely significantly on trademark filings are our competitors, while other law firms that do not do significant business through trademark filings view us as an excellent potential partner. for them.”

Over the next few months, Digip will launch several new features. These include an open API that will allow partners to integrate Digip’s technology into their workflows. Johansson said users will see significantly improved brand search on Digip.com. The company will also expand into new markets over the next 12 months.