Company History

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O.Y. Insinööritoimisto Forssén A.B. 1949

The company was founded in 1949 by Sigurd Forssén and his sons Kaarlo (1920-1963) and Jaakko (1934-).

Sigurd Forssén was born in Jyväskylä in 1883. He graduated in mechanical engineering from Helsinki University of Technology in 1909. He worked in several different positions in forest industry. He even led his own tar factory in Jyväskylä for some time. In this connection he also developed and patented an invention concerning charcoal production (US patent 1589746). From 1931 on Sigurd Forssén acted as a patent examiner in the Finnish Patent Office.

After retiring from his position as a chief engineer in the Finnish Patent Office, Sigurd Forssén still decided to establish a company together with his sons Kaarlo, who was a university student, and Jaakko, who was still at school. The constitutive meeting was held in the family home in Hannusjärvi, Espoo on 15 September 1949. The company was given the name O.Y. Insinööritoimisto Forssén A.B. The line of business was “practising duties relating to the field of an engineering office”.

The company was entered in the Trade Register on 28 October 1949 and that date is considered to be the beginning of the official history of the company known as Forssén & Salomaa Oy.

Oy Patentti- ja Insinööritoimisto Forssén Ab 1950

Quite soon, the company expanded from being solely an engineering office to handling patent matters as well. Consequently, the company name was changed to Oy Patentti- ja Insinööritoimisto Forssén Ab as early as 8 December 1950. At the same time, the description of the line of business was amended to read: “the purpose of the company is to practise duties relating to the field of an engineering office and to handle patent matters”.

Sigurd Forssén passed away in 1952. Thereafter his son, technology undergraduate Kaarlo Forssén started off as Managing Director. He had his own construction engineering office as well. Kaarlo graduated and received his Master of Science degree in 1955.

Engineering office and Patent agency 1955

In 1955, the company’s know-how expanded to chemistry, when Jussi E. Salomaa (1910-1974) was invited to work for the company. He had studied chemistry and had also worked in the Finnish Patent Office. Approximately at the same time the company started to handle trademark cases. Now there were two separate companies operating in the same premises - Kaarlo Forssén’s construction engineering office and Jussi E. Salomaa’s patent agency, which he ran practically on his own.

The current company name Forssén & Salomaa Oy was taken into use on 24 April 1959 when Salomaa became a partner and Managing Director.

Forssén & Salomaa Oy 1959

Kaarlo Forssén died in 1963 in a car accident. Jussi E. Salomaa carried on as Managing Director until he passed away in the latter half of 1974.

After the mid-1970s, the partners and executive personnel of the company have changed several times. Nevertheless, the name Forssén & Salomaa Oy has remained unaltered since 1959. Currently all partners work in the company.

Development of intellectual property rights

Over the years, the possibilities to protect immaterial rights have diversified and internationalized. The Registered Designs Act in Finland entered into force in 1971. The first PCT-applications were filed in 1978. The Act on Utility Model Rights in Finland was introduced in 1991.

The field also became more internationally oriented. Internet domain fspat.fi was registered by Forssén & Salomaa Oy 1.1.1991.

Several notable changes took place in 1996, when Finland acceded to the European Patent Convention and became a member of the European Community Trademark system and the Madrid Protocol for International Registration of Marks. At the turn of the millennium, domain name registrations became common, and since the year 2003 it has been possible to obtain European Community Design protection.

Company today

During the past decades, the operations of Forssén & Salomaa Oy have expanded and the company has evolved into an internationally recognised full-service intellectual property rights agency.

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