Affiliates

In 1915, a couple of innovative Venezuelan entrepreneurs, Leopoldo Terrero and his cousin Julio Bolet founded in Caracas Bolet & Terrero, a patents and trademarks firm. It was one of the first of its class in Venezuela.

Leopoldo Terrero and Julio Bolet had lived for many years in United States and built strong business relationships there. Although they returned to Venezuela a few years before founding their firm, for the rest of their lives, they maintained important business interests in this country. Family records, letters and postcards forwarded to friends and relatives in Venezuela, attest that both cousins were curious and passionate witnesses of the industrialization and modernization processes United States was undergoing at the beginning of the XXth century.

Some years later, when Venezuela was evolving into a global oil power, Bolet & Terrero played a key role protecting the patents and trademarks from foreign companies that were starting operations in the country. Those companies had arrived to Venezuela attracted by the opportunities oil wealth was creating.

Since those early years, and over four generations, the descendants and friends of the founding partners at Bolet & Terrero led and managed the firm with a vision that blended traditional values, such as integrity and loyalty, with more contemporary values and practices, such as clients orientation and the acknowledgment of the importance of both local and regional networking.

Julio Bolet died in 1935. He left no descendants. Leopoldo Terrero died in 1944. He left three sons, Leopoldo, Carolina and Euripides. The latter, youngest of the three, assumed the direction and management of the firm and remained in this position over a period of 49 uninterrupted years. During the early years of his administration, Euripides had to make the firm get through those tough times that were the Postwar years. Afterwards, he started a continuous and permanent process of promoting the growth and regional expansion of the firm until 1993.

Since 1999, Manuel Polanco, current managing partner, started a gradual but steady process of formalization of the organization and professionalization of its human capital. Both were aimed at fostering the transformation of Bolet & Terrero into a mature law firm.

At the present time, Bolet & Terrero is still the leading intellectual property firm in Venezuela. Over the period of more than 100 years it has operated, it has accumulated a challenging experience in the different areas of intellectual property. Its clients are well aware of such an accomplishment.

Bolet & Terrero has strengths in areas such as: filing and prosecution of patents, trademarks and copyrights, and litigation and other actions aimed at defending property rights. Another area where the firm is a leader is the investigation of potential and real counterfeiting actitivities.

Last, but not least, Bolet & Terrero, consistent with a century old tradition of being innovative and visionary, is developing capabilities to successfully help its clients manage IP issues related to: information technologies and startups, pharmaceuticals, entertainment and sports.

A paperless firm

Bolet & Terrero, aware of the impact fossil fuels have on Global Warming, has adopted a policy of using digital media for its internal communications. This practice shall be extended to external communications whenever legal constraints do allow it. Thus, the firm wants to remind its employees, clients, purveyors and friends of its commitment to the environment and the life quality of future generations.