Jesús Mancha

After graduating from the Bilbao School of Engineering and after a postgraduate course in automation and industrial electronics, Jesús worked for one year as a software engineer in Milan, Italy, and thereafter, back in Bilbao, as a project engineer in the field of automation. In 1993 Jesús entered the world of IP by getting a job at the Bilbao office of an IP firm which during the next two decades became the maybe most important IP boutique firm in Spain, at least if one considers the number of patents “produced” for domestic clients; and a substantial part of those patents originated from the clients of the Bilbao office. Jesús was successful and became an equity partner of the firm, where he stayed for almost 19 years, until joining the BALDER project.

Jesús oversees BALDER’s first office outside Madrid. And for those of you who are not Spaniards, it may be surprising that this office is in Bilbao (or Bilbo, as it is called in Euskera, the Basque language) and not in Barcelona, the second largest city in Spain. For many foreigners, the Basque Country sounds like something rather exotic. People tend to think of it as remote area populated by proud and rural (not to say rustic) people. A little bit like an “Asterix world”.

Now, while it is true that the Basques, just like Asterix and his brave Gauls, are proud of their traditions and enjoy eating and drinking (some of the world’s best steaks are served in the Basque steakhouses, and only the Basques can compete with the Portuguese in the noble art of preparing “Bacalao”, that is, salt cod), the Basque Country is one of the most important industrial areas of Spain. While many of the traditional heavy industries had to close during the last decades of the past century, a new kind of modern and innovative enterprises now flourish among the green mountains, and the Basque Country is now, together with Catalonia, where most industrial innovation takes place in Spain.

Whereas in Catalonia the pharmaceutical industries may be the dominating ones (at least from an IP perspective), in the Basque Country you also see a lot of innovation in the electro-mechanical field. Many small and medium sized companies develop and produce high-tech products and compete successfully with their foreign counterparts. Part of that success would not be possible without paying attention to the IP portfolio. Or portfolios: not only their own portfolios, but also their competitors’ portfolios. Getting valuable patents and getting their competitor’s patents revoked whenever necessary, is part of the success stories. In the Basque Country you also find Spain’s maybe most successful private applied research centers, which also care about having the results of their R&D projects adequately protected.

And when IP is essential for your success, you want to make sure to have the right people working for you. That is why many of these companies and research centers, in the past, have chosen Jesús and his team to create and defend their IP rights. We trust that they will continue to do so in the future.

Jesús is devoted to his clients, but he also has some spare time, which he dedicates to his son and to fancy sports like golf and tennis (instead of taking part in the Basque pelota game, wood chopping –aizkolaritza– or stonelifting –harrijasotzaileak-, Basque sports reserved for real men). He loves going to concerts (his music taste is somewhat eclectic, ranging from opera to AC/DC) and also enjoys the beach and riding the waves, weather-permitting.

Jesús says:

“Many of my clients are small or medium sized companies which, however, compete with some of the world’s largest corporations. And when you are playing with the big guys, with those who have much more money than you to spend on IP, you have to make sure to spend your money efficiently. In IP, this means that you have to have the right attorneys. My clients do not work with me because they like my pretty face or because we met on the golf course: they work with me and my team because for years we have proven that we can live up to their expectations. Over the years, some of my clients have become close friends of mine.

My clients are demanding. Actually, I have made my very best to make them demanding, teaching them all I know about IP, telling them to make sure to get the quality work products that they deserve. This means that they have high expectations, which I can only satisfy if I have a team that can deliver what my clients expect: those high quality IP work products.

At my former company, my team comprised some of the best patent attorneys that you could find in Spain, spread out between Bilbao, Madrid, and Valencia. However, to keep this team going and to make it even stronger, I needed to be able to offer more than a decent salary. I felt that the only way to prevent disintegration of the team was to offer its members real partnership.

That is why I am now with BALDER: because BALDER has a unique -for Spain- career plan and partnership program, which will allow me to have a unique team and to continue to serve my clients as they demand and deserve. I am proud of this, and proud of contributing to continued success for Basque industry. ”